--Sigh-- Elon Musk is in trouble with the SEC again.

Elon is a visionary genius and a brilliant entrepreneurial spirit. The problem is those types often make for utter snip managers and administrators. It's the same deal with our politics these days. People can't seem to comprehend the fact that it takes both temperaments working symbiotically to bring forward elegant solutions to intricate problems. Everyone always just seems hellbent on waging zero-sum warfare with this simplistic view that if you're the last one standing then you've come out on top. But all you've managed to accomplish is cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Musk reminds me of someone else, I can’t think of whom right now.

Another member of the billionaire's Tweet club

a reply to: FamCore

My coworker has a Tesla. The cars are cool, I like a lot of the technology in them. They're more environmentally friendly, they have insane performance for their price tier, and with software improvements they keep getting better.

That said, the cars have horrible quality, my coworker has something broken on his car every week, his trunk will leak, or his brakes make a lot of noise, or a mirror will stop working, or his key stops working and he has to use his phone, and so on... plus there's the issue that the cars absolutely suck in under 40 degree weather due to having a vastly reduced battery capacity.

Now, aside from all of that... his companies financials are crap. The cars themselves are manageable enough, but the companys future is in question.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: FamCore
Elon Musk is a FRAUD. It's funny to me how every time I say something like this, members on ATS say I'm "jealous" or that Elon Musk is saving the planet.

The irony is you get lambasted for saying anything about the actual Tesla too, they are both a cult of personality that far exceeded their actual achievements.

If Teslas had all of their existing features but cost $25k, customers would turn away from them. But, because they're sold for a premium price, people see more value when none is there.

I worked in a GM plant over 10 years and built the Cadillac all the way down to the old discontinued Corsica. The parts are the same basically. When you buy an expensive car your buying style not quality.

Big Oil has deep pockets.

Has everyone forgotten the Saga Of The GM EV1.

There was a great video titled 'Who Killed the Electric Car?' to watch about the history of lies and deception.

Linky

This is not really the SEC at work.

Don't be duped!

P

Confidence tricksters and fraudsters have a habit of getting in trouble with the authorities.

originally posted by: Ohanka
Confidence tricksters and fraudsters have a habit of getting in trouble with the authorities.

I like Elon, but you are right. He is all show. His car is the biggest inflatable "pop" to go bang! I bet they had fun betting on him though in the markets. Fair bit of cash won and lost in that gambling game.

originally posted by: Aazadan

If Teslas had all of their existing features but cost $25k, customers would turn away from them. But, because they're sold for a premium price, people see more value when none is there.

I was actually referring to Nikola Tesla, savior of humanity, who had his free energy stolen by the Illuminaughty.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

That’s why he built his earthquake machine to get back at them.

originally posted by: Mandroid7
a reply to: MarkOfTheV

I don't get it either. No 1st ammendment protection from sec?

I can understand the board taking action.

You do not have a 1st Amendment right to commit fraud. A corporate executive who continually misleads investors with overly-optimistic comments and predictions is violating SEC rules. Elon has done this, pretty much from the day he started his company. I'm pretty sure he only got away with it this long because Obama leaned on the SEC to let it slide.

a reply to: AndyFromMichigan

Or because regulations in the US are so weak that it takes repeated blatant and egregious violations to get even the most minor penalties.

originally posted by: FamCore
a reply to: AndyFromMichigan

Elon Musk is a FRAUD. It's funny to me how every time I say something like this, members on ATS say I'm "jealous" or that Elon Musk is saving the planet. Nope! I simply understand how the CEO of a company is responsible to their shareholders and GENERALLY should toe the line when the SEC asks. He has been completely irresponsible and pompous time and time again, at the expense of the company and his own public image. His ego is his Achilles heal and his fraudulent ways are being exposed more as time goes on

The constant pipeline of executives abandoning ship should be a major red flag (as well as Elon's outlandish behavior). Their general counsel, Butswinkas left after less than 2 months... HA!

Elon Musk didn't even start Tesla. Elon has done a lot of shady things, including buying his counsin's failing "SolarCity" company (now a subsidiary of Tesla), which has been nothing but trouble for the company. Not good for investors, not good for the company (but hey, he's "saving the world", so nepotism doesn't matter, right?)

Tesla has $920 million of convertible debt that matures March 1. www.sec.gov...
The company will have to pay bondholders in cash unless the stock exceeds $359.87 (tick tock - PS, it ain't gonna get anywhere near that price).

So many folks who love Elon so much seem to want to justify his choices as CEO, claiming "he's not in it to make money,", "he wants to change the world", but he has been stuffing his pockets with investors and taxpayers money and not making choices that are beneficial for a publicly-traded company. Defaming others, claiming he had funding secured to take a publicly-traded company private (which was an outright lie), making poor business choices to support his cousin's company, and personally profiting while hurting his investors all seem to point to the fact that Elon is, in fact, a fraud.

The haters are just as creepy! I find it very odd the hate the man gets. Very odd!

a reply to: Jay-morris
A big part of the hate is a reaction to the way Musk just kinda popped up one day, and immediately gained a cult-like following, as if he's the reincarnation of Henry Ford or something.

Also, the simple facts are he's never had a business plan that makes sense, and he's constantly over-promised and under-delivered. By all rights, Tesla should have gone bankrupt by now.

It's only been since Trump took office that the SEC has finally started calling him out, so it seems clear that Musk benefitted from friends in high places during the Obama years.

Well, it seems Tesla is finally launching the $35,000 version of the Model 3. They've been promising it for over 2 years now.

The thing is, I'm pretty sure this is actually bad news for Tesla. They've cut prices twice in the last few months, they recently had layoffs, and there's no longer a waiting list for their cars. The inescapable conclusion is that Teslas aren't selling as well as they used to.

Knowing a thing or two about the auto industry, I can tell you that multiple automakers -- General Motors, Nissan, Honda, and Mitsubishi -- have all failed to make money selling electric cars, and now produce them only in limited numbers as a "compliance vehicle" for places like California that require them to have a zero-emission option. Tesla's 2-year delay on the cheaper Model 3 was, almost certainly, because they knew they won't make money on them at that price point.

Also, it's being reported that Tesla is going to close all their showrooms, and only sell the cars via their website. I don't know about you, but no way am I going to buy a car without a test-drive.

A final factor, which isn't Elon's fault but is still a big problem, is that the auto industry overall is entering a slump. Cars in general are currently oversold. Unfortunately for Tesla, this is hitting right when they were hoping to ramp up production ever farther so they'd finally manage to be a profitable company.