We’ve got a treat for Tesla advocates today. Despite what seems like an attempt to surpass Volkswagen as the automaker to receive the most negative publicity in a single year, there remains a light in the darkness. Tesla may have finally sorted out its production issues with the Model 3.

Logistical problems had forced the company way behind schedule for most of 2018, making its goal of 5,000 units per week an unclimbable peak. But it finally managed to mount that hill and plant its flag in the final week of June. At the time, we had no idea if this was to be an isolated incident stemming from some divine automotive mercy or proof that Tesla had righted the ship.

While it not it did not experience a trouble-free July, the firm’s Fremont factory appears to be humming along at over 5,000 units per week now. What’s better is that analysts are now saying things are only looking up, estimating even higher output numbers in the months to come.  (Read More…)

It’s a portrait of a man who’s gone past fraying at the edges. In an hour-long interview with the New York Times, Tesla CEO Elon Musk appears as a man threatening to come apart — and it’s not a joyous sight.

Despite the frustration stemming from Musk’s actions and pronouncements, and the aggravation born of his cheerleading, conspiracy theorizing fan base, it’s difficult to watch a man’s ambition and drive spiral into self-destruction.  (Read More…)

In June, Ontario — the place just over yonder from Detroit and Buffalo — switched governments for the first time in 15 years. As part of his planned overhaul of the province’s finances, newly minted leader Doug Ford announced the cancellation of an electric vehicle rebate program that handed up to $14,000 to buyers of green cars.

Hardly an appropriate use of taxpayers’ dollars in a place where the debt’s approaching a third of a trillion dollars, the government implied. Ford axed the rebate last month, with buyers allowed to accept the former perk until Sept. 10th. Sorry — almost all buyers. (Read More…)

While the U.S. and now Canada enjoy carrying out international diplomacy via tweet, the business world lays out a few ground rules. If you’re the head of a multi-billion dollar publicly traded company, maybe it’s best to not announce your intention to take the company private — while stating there’s funding on hand to pull it off — in a tweetstorm, especially if there aren’t details to back it up. Dry, boring, but concise media releases or regulatory filings alerting shareholders usually do the trick.

After looking into Tesla’s going-private plan, announced August 7th by CEO Elon Musk over Twitter, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission now wants hard answers. While it might be willing to overlook the tweet (Musk, a prolific tweeter, previously told investors that announcements could happen this way), the SEC wants Musk to back up his “funding secured” claim. What person, persons, or entity made this deal possible?

Maybe a round of subpoenas will clear things up. (Read More…)

A truly bizarre rumor is just one of the issues facing Tesla CEO Elon Musk as questions swirl following the August 7th announcement that he wants to take the publicly traded company private.

As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission looks into Musk’s claim that there’s “funding secured” for the potential buyout, Musk was forced to confront a claim involving, of all things, a rapper, drugs, and spontaneous tweeting. Always a sideshow with this company…

The financial world, on the other hand, wants to know more about this Saudi business. (Read More…)

Like a Netflix original movie with lots of action but a threadbare plot, Elon Musk’s plan to take Tesla private has some glaring holes. The largest of which is how he’ll finance the buyback of stock (at $420 a share) to make his dream possible.

The list of people who’d like to know where exactly the money’s coming from is a long one, but at the top of the list is the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — followed, apparently, by Tesla’s own board of directors. (Read More…)

Six members of the Tesla board of directors issued a statement Wednesday, claiming CEO Elon Musk spoke to them last week about his plan to take the publicly traded company private. Musk shocked investors and analysts Tuesday after he tweeted his vision of the automaker’s corporate future, claiming funding existed to pull it off. He later shared an internal email to employees on the company’s blog.

Though Musk’s blog post doesn’t mention how he’d bankroll such a massive buyout, the company’s board says he discussed the funding issue with them. (Read More…)

After igniting a blaze of speculation via Twitter and halting the trading of Tesla stock, CEO Elon Musk made public an internal email sent to employees. In it, he lays out his reasoning for taking the publicly traded automaker private.

While there’s no mention of the secured funding mentioned in his earlier tweets, the desired share price — $420 — remains. And Musk seems quite confident that shareholders will see things his way. (Read More…)

Tesla may be going private, according to a Tuesday message from Elon Musk’s Twitter account. “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured,” the CEO wrote. “Good morning,” he said immediately afterward, accompanying the message with the smiley face emoji.

What followed was rampant media speculation as to whether Musk was in his right mind or not, while Musk continued responding to questions online.

“I don’t have a controlling vote now & wouldn’t expect any shareholder to have one if we go private. I won’t be selling in either scenario,” he said after being asked whether it would be an outright sale and if he could retain control of the company. “My hope is *all* current investors remain with Tesla even if we’re private. Would create special purpose fund enabling anyone to stay with Tesla. Already do this with Fidelity’s SpaceX investment.”

Meanwhile, CNBC and a few other news outlets noted that the number 420 has a special significance in the marijuana-smoking community and that Musk’s good-morning tweet was issued at around 1:30 p.m. Eastern, which — gasp — isn’t in the morning at all! (Read More…)

Complain about Tesla Motors’ hype machine all you like; it’s still an innovative company. Unfortunately, it has painted itself into a bit of a corner as a result. Still lacking the production might of its much larger competitors, it continues to brand itself as an upstart as it works on improving volume. That means its CEO, Elon Musk, has to continue coming up with new ideas and gimmicks to keep the public impressed.

This week, he came up with a special vehicle mode that would improve the vehicle’s usability while parked. But we can’t exactly tell if it’s a good idea or a bunch of meaningless fluff. Dubbed by Musk as “party & camper mode,” the setting would allow drivers to maintain in-car airflow, regulate the temperature, play music, charge devices, and have access to lighting for up to 48 hours.

There’s no timeline for the feature, but it would likely be done through via over-the-air updates, meaning it could be applied to every Tesla vehicle currently on the road.  (Read More…)

Tesla announced Wednesday that it lost $743 million in the second quarter of 2018, instantly pushing the automaker’s stock up by nearly double digit figures. No, this particular tidbit isn’t what investors hoped to hear, but CEO Elon Musk, who, unlike in past weeks, made it through the day without saying something overtly controversial, told them enough of what they wanted to hear.

The company’s revenue is up by over a billion dollars compared to the same quarter a year ago — $4 billion as a pre-tax total. Cash on hand was the lowest Tesla’s seen in two years ($2.2 billion), but the automaker’s reduced cash burn impressed some skeptics and reassured believers in Musk’s pledge to return to a positive cash flow in the third and fourth quarters. Having achieved its 5,000-Model-3s-per-week production goal, Tesla claims volume will crank up to 6,000 per week by late August. 10,000 per week comes in 2019.

There was even an apology from Musk for his bizarre behavior during a May earnings call, in which he snubbed analysts while acting like a bored teenager.

And did you know the Model 3 outsells all premium midsize sedans combined? Yeah, about that… (Read More…)

Agreements forged between automakers and suppliers aren’t etched in stone, and shaky financial ground has a way of altering how and when those suppliers are paid. Look back to the recession for prime examples of that.

However, a memo sent from Tesla to a supplier shows the electric automaker wants to recoup a portion of its previously spent cash — a request designed to help Tesla finally turn a profit. (Read More…)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has returned to Twitter, this time to issue an apology to British cave diver Vernon Unsworth. Musk had maintained radio silence on the social media platform ever since calling the Thailand cave rescuer a “pedo” in response to comments Unsworth made about the viability of his hastily prepared mini-sub. Musk later added that he’d bet money that his accusation was true.

The weekend tweets were subsequently deleted.

Yes, it’s a wholly ridiculous situation, but imagine yourself in Unsworth’s shoes. The diver claimed he received calls from lawyers in the UK and United States, and was considering legal action against Musk upon his return to Britain. Meanwhile, major Tesla investors entertained their own thoughts — troubling ones, as Musk’s out-of-the-blue attack on a man widely regarded as a hero raised serious questions about his leadership. (Read More…)

There’s a term in Canadian politics — “bozo eruption” — that, according to Wiktionary, refers to the moment when a politician or public figure says something “especially ill-considered and foolish, and which has negative repercussions for that individual and for his or her affiliated group.”

In Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s case, the eruptions seem to be ramping up. Each outburst — be it May’s dismissive earnings call, in which he called analysts’ queries “boring” before taking questions from a YouTuber, or this past weekend’s bizarre assertion that one of the Thailand cave rescuers (and Musk mini-sub disliker) is a pedophile — has a negative, if hazy, impact on the automaker’s stock price.

The most recent utterance didn’t disappoint, but it seems that pissing off Wall Street types is more consequential than accusing international heroes you’ve never met of sex crimes. (Read More…)

Morning! How was your weekend? Good? Hope so. I caught up on some sleep after a week-long bout of insomnia, and many of you probably enjoyed backyard barbecues and romantic encounters and car shows under the hot July sun.

Consider yourself lucky. You could have had a weekend like the driver of this spankin’ new Tesla Model 3 — or the man behind the car’s badge.  (Read More…)