TSLA - Tesla Motors

[Castanza]

https://investoramnesia.com/2020/08/09/speculation-innovation/

 

Interesting read on EVs from a historical perspective. Hard to believe there were EV capable of 180 miles back in the early 1900’s

[kab60]

Well the Golf ID.3 is launching in Europe this year. Seems to be a bit on the expensive side and performance isn’t as good as the Tesla, but it’s definitely not vacporware.

https://electrek.co/2019/12/13/vw-not-launching-id3-electric-car-us-demand-low/

 

BMW is due in 2021. Is have seen “Erlkönig” articles in German newspapers, so it shouldn’t be vaporware either. I think by next year, we should see some competition on the road. There are a bunch of other project in the Luxury class (Porsche etc) but those have limited appeal due to pricing.

 

I've heard this every year since the original Roadster came out. To me, it's vaporware until it's available for sale in most places in decent quantities. Too many automakers have come out with these compliance-cars that went nowhere and never sold in any numbers and were impossible to find in most markets...

But isn't that possibly an indication that the economics don't work? And that electric cars can't compete without subsidies (I'm FOR subsidies so these things can get rolling). I too have been surprised by the response of classic OEM's, but it makes sense they're not trying hard if the economics sucks - thus they only sell what is needed to live up to EU rules etc. I know some of the Koreans EV's are in demand here in Denmark but nowhere to be had. I skimmed a presentation from BMW the other day - they possibly have the best economics of all OEM's - and they basically indicated that while they were launching EV's they still hadn't cracked the nut on the economics. At least that was my interpretation.

[A Dhandho Investor]

Including this one here for the history records: http://www.creditbubblestocks.com/2020/08/tesla-accounting-fraud.html

 

If you are incompetent at manufacturing and have to scrap a lot of parts, you can prevent or delay any financial statement impact of this by keeping the parts on the books as inventory even if you have already thrown them away. It is very simple, comically so, and it makes your gross margin and profit figures look better. The only problem is it is a crime!

 

[so, if you were a Silicon Valley company doing this, you would need to provide illegal sex and drugs to accounting firm employees, SEC employees, and journalists. One good time to do this and get them on tape for blackmail would be an "anything goes" festival in the desert, where you could have "boom boom tents". It might also help to learn that trade from a master.]

 

Based on emails that have come out in the Tesla and Martin Tripp litigation (he was a whistleblower whose phone Tesla bugged, and they tried to assassinate him), Tesla distinguished between "physically" scrapping and "virtually" scrapping parts.

 

In an email from Michael Bowling to Chris Lister and Jens Peter Clausen, Michael Bowling wrote to "request permission" to write off an inventory inaccuracy. He said that "during the inventory we realized 1718 modules in WIP that have already been scrapped physically [were] never scrapped virtually." In the email below, it said that for the week of April 2, 2018, scrap for the Model 3 was $1,920 per car!

 

It is strange that "permission" would be needed to do this. If a subordinate tells you that an asset on your balance sheet does not exist, you either write it off or you are a fraud. But Jens Peter Clausen wrote, "We properly want to go deep this quarter?" And Adithya Vijayakumar wrote that Mike was "working with the finance team to get the buy off on scrapping the modules for the second quarter."

 

That makes it sound like actual ground truth is not the final arbiter of what appears in Tesla financial statements.

 

This is not the first time there have been Tesla cost accounting irregularities. Remember that the government indicted someone in Tesla's accounts payable department for impersonating employees of one Tesla vendor (Hota Industrial Manufacturing of Taiwan) in order to substitute their payment information with the payment information of a different vendor, Schwabische Huttenwerke Automotive GmbH (SHW).

[Dalal.Holdings]

Including this one here for the history records: http://www.creditbubblestocks.com/2020/08/tesla-accounting-fraud.html

 

Based on emails that have come out in the Tesla and Martin Tripp litigation (he was a whistleblower whose phone Tesla bugged, and they tried to assassinate him), Tesla distinguished between "physically" scrapping and "virtually" scrapping parts.

 

Oh, boy... ::)

[arcube]

Latest fiction novel. ; )

 

Including this one here for the history records: http://www.creditbubblestocks.com/2020/08/tesla-accounting-fraud.html

 

Based on emails that have come out in the Tesla and Martin Tripp litigation (he was a whistleblower whose phone Tesla bugged, and they tried to assassinate him), Tesla distinguished between "physically" scrapping and "virtually" scrapping parts.

 

Oh, boy... ::)

[A Dhandho Investor]

I thought you guys would dunk on the Burning Man - Epstein thesis, seems I got it wrong.

 

It might come as a surprise to you, but it's not because you can "discredit" a tiny part of a story that the message as such is less correct.

 

-> Dhandho out again

[rkbabang]

I thought you guys would dunk on the Burning Man - Epstein thesis, seems I got it wrong.

 

It might come as a surprise to you, but it's not because you can "discredit" a tiny part of a story that the message as such is less correct.

 

-> Dhandho out again

 

 

There is being wrong about something and then there is thinking that Elon Musk is trying to assassinate you.  It's like saying: "Sure he's a flat earther, but that doesn't mean he isn't right about everything else."

 

 

[arcube]

GM CFO just jumped ship. She is joining a real tech company Pre IPO. I don’t think we will hear much about senior management moves on this one.

 

 

General Motors Co. Chief Financial Officer Dhivya Suryadevara will leave the company, and be succeeded on an interim basis by GM executive John Stapleton, GM said.

 

Ms. Suryadevara is leaving GM for an external opportunity outside of the automotive industry, GM said Tuesday. She became the company’s CFO in 2018 after serving in a variety of executive roles at GM and GM Asset Management.

 

Mr. Stapleton, who will become acting CFO on Saturday, has been the CFO of GM North America since 2014. He has worked for the Detroit-based car maker since 1990.

 

[Spekulatius]

I thought you guys would dunk on the Burning Man - Epstein thesis, seems I got it wrong.

 

It might come as a surprise to you, but it's not because you can "discredit" a tiny part of a story that the message as such is less correct.

 

-> Dhandho out again

 

 

There is being wrong about something and then there is thinking that Elon Musk is trying to assassinate you.  It's like saying: "Sure he's a flat earther, but that doesn't mean he isn't right about everything else."

 

 

 

TSLA attracts more nutty people than any other stock I am aware off on both the long and the short side.

 

We value guys just can’t compete. The closest we got was the BH ( Biglari)  board, but it can’t hold a candle to Tesla.

[Liberty]

More vaporware:

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/11/lucid-makes-a-run-for-tesla-with-luxury-ev-sedan-with-a-record-517-miles-of-range-per-charge.html

[gary17]

this reminds me of a discussion with you a few days ago about estimate vs reality LOL

[Dalal.Holdings]

GM CFO just jumped ship. She is joining a real tech company Pre IPO. I don’t think we will hear much about senior management moves on this one.

 

Wow. Did she hear about the Cadillac LYRIQ doe ? All the kids are talking about it...

[arcube]

Here you go.

 

5:1 split announced after hours.

[Spekulatius]

Here you go.

 

5:1 split announced after hours.

 

Didn’t Elon say that Tesla’s stock price was too high at ~$700? Here is your solution. ;D

[Liberty]

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-martin-tripp-case-tslaq-financing-revealed

 

Tripp has now fired his lawyers and will represent himself moving forward. Notably, this action coincided with the revelation that a TSLA short seller, The Funicular Fund, LP (dba Cable Car Capital LLC), was financing Tripp’s legal defense.

 

Always drama..

[rb]

Here you go.

 

5:1 split announced after hours.

 

Didn’t Elon say that Tesla’s stock price was too high at ~$700? Here is your solution. ;D

So this thing is up 15% because they announced a stock split? Totally rational move.

[gary17]

for many people they can't even afford 1 share of TSLA - so the split helps - perhaps market is saying 15% increase in demand of the shares.

 

same reaction we saw with APPL split!

[jschembs]

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-martin-tripp-case-tslaq-financing-revealed

 

Tripp has now fired his lawyers and will represent himself moving forward. Notably, this action coincided with the revelation that a TSLA short seller, The Funicular Fund, LP (dba Cable Car Capital LLC), was financing Tripp’s legal defense.

 

Always drama..

 

Jacob seems like a good guy, hopefully he doesn't get dragged into another one of Elon's smear campaigns

 

[rb]

for many people they can't even afford 1 share of TSLA - so the split helps - perhaps market is saying 15% increase in demand of the shares.

 

same reaction we saw with APPL split!

If you can't afford one share of TSLA, probably shouldn't be in the stock market but meh.

[fareastwarriors]

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-martin-tripp-case-tslaq-financing-revealed

 

Tripp has now fired his lawyers and will represent himself moving forward. Notably, this action coincided with the revelation that a TSLA short seller, The Funicular Fund, LP (dba Cable Car Capital LLC), was financing Tripp’s legal defense.

 

Always drama..

 

Jacob seems like a good guy, hopefully he doesn't get dragged into another one of Elon's smear campaigns

 

 

He's a good guy when I met him. Soft spoken and smart.  I didn't know he started his own fund. Good luck to him.

[Liberty]

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-martin-tripp-case-tslaq-financing-revealed

 

Tripp has now fired his lawyers and will represent himself moving forward. Notably, this action coincided with the revelation that a TSLA short seller, The Funicular Fund, LP (dba Cable Car Capital LLC), was financing Tripp’s legal defense.

 

Always drama..

 

Jacob seems like a good guy, hopefully he doesn't get dragged into another one of Elon's smear campaigns

 

 

I have no idea what's going on, but I do wonder how often disinterested investors offer to pay stranger's legal fees for a battle against large corporations. I feel like there's a complex story there that we don't know.

[jschembs]

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-martin-tripp-case-tslaq-financing-revealed

 

Tripp has now fired his lawyers and will represent himself moving forward. Notably, this action coincided with the revelation that a TSLA short seller, The Funicular Fund, LP (dba Cable Car Capital LLC), was financing Tripp’s legal defense.

 

Always drama..

 

Jacob seems like a good guy, hopefully he doesn't get dragged into another one of Elon's smear campaigns

 

 

I have no idea what's going on, but I do wonder how often disinterested investors offer to pay stranger's legal fees for a battle against large corporations. I feel like there's a complex story there that we don't know.

 

Totally, and in this case the whole thing with Tripp has seemed very odd from both sides. Jacob isn't really a disinterested investor though.

[A Dhandho Investor]

No surprise that it isn't clear what is going when the (incorrect & incomplete) information you quote comes from the Tesla communications arm..

 

Maybe this makes the story more clear?

 

Imagine you were sold a lie, that your employer is advancing cutting-edge technology to save the world from environmental catastrophe.

 

Imagine being taught your whole life to believe in a fair and just system, that if you do the right thing, truth and justice will prevail. You served in the military honorably, and thought that rules and safety matter, that you have an inherent duty to protect the public.

 

Imagine then discovering that your gilded employer, the self-professed savior of mankind's existence, is committing a fraud to the tune of $150 M+. Imagine you finding out that your employer is using dangerous, defective parts that endanger public safety and lives.

 

Imagine telling your employer, only to be told to back off. Imagine raising concerns with the CEO at his invitation, only to have your phone illegally tapped. Imagine raising your concerns as a whistleblower with @SEC_Enforcement, only to see that

They.

Don't.

Care.

 

Imagine going to the media, only to have your CEO call the police to try to arrange a "suicide by cop" on you. Imagine being trailed by the CEO's goons 24/7. Imagine getting doxxed so dozens of cultists viciously attack you. Imagine your company suing you for $167 million.

 

You now have no job. Your reputation is smeared constantly. Your only hope is through the legal system. A system designed to reward economic attrition. A system that favors the rich, the powerful, the connected. A system that has shown, time and again, money wins cases.

 

Imagine being told that the system is working, but all you see is never-ending paperwork. Imagine being forced to pay $10k+ to go through a mandatory "mediation", when you know the other side won't settle, will grind you down more, and enrich the judge's pals as "mediators".

 

Imagine being told that all the damning evidence you get in discovery is subject to a gag order, so that most of it will never see the light of day. Imagine being called a liar, a saboteur, a mass shooter day in and day out on an internet that preserves these in perpetuity.

 

Imagine realizing, after seeing what has happened to fellow whistleblowers, good veterans themselves, that the CEO is so politically and economically insulated, and so sociopathic, that the legal system simply will not hold him accountable.

 

Imagine seeing the CEO get away with law-breaking with impunity because too many people in high places profit from this. The CEO dodges questions without consequence. The CEO is celebrated as a hero because his other subsidy-fueled company delivers space capsule services.

 

The CEO continues to pose with presidents and top bureaucrats, is proclaimed by Jay Clayton to be too big to jail, is paid by governments to embark on new fraudulent schemes, tells @SEC_Enforcement to fellate him, and has hymnals written for him almost daily in the media.

 

In the meantime, you are now scraping by, in a rural village, in a faraway country. To you, everything you have been taught -- Obey rules. Follow orders. Justice will prevail. The system works. -- All lies fed to a gullible public.

 

You never asked for this. You have nothing left -- no power, no money, no privacy, no name -- nothing left except the truth. So you decide to give the world the truth.

 

Only after understanding all of this can anyone judge Martin Tripp and what he has done.

 

So for rkabang and others, who clearly don't have an idea what this story is about: the bigger picture I was referring to is Tripp revealing (part of) the massive accounting fraud going on at Tesla. The fact whether Tesla wanted to have him killed or not is actually not relevant.

 

edit: btw is anyone shocked that Tesla shorts helped in funding Tripp his case if you know how the story goes? There was also a Gofundme for Skabooshka that was entirely funded by Tesla shorts. And in contrast to what you might think, for most shorts this is more a principles question (hoping that justice preveals) than a financial one. Jacob surely isn't a "disinterested investor who offered to pay a stranger's legal fees to fight a large corporation".

 

edit 2: for those that don't believe that this story could possible be correct, I can always offer you some WDI shares. 

 

edit 3: this is a podcast with Linette Lopez on her encounters with Tesla and Tripp: https://www.businessinsider.com/brought-to-you-by-podcast-btyb-wrench-in-tesla?r=US&IR=T

[Liberty]

I'm sure Tripp had a bad experience, and the truth is probably in between what both sides say it is (I mean, Tesla has 48,000 employees... they're all in on the coverup?), but he sounds like a 4chan/Qanon truther who's trying to make himself into a "martyr" to gather support and sympathy, not like a sane person trying to whistleblow.

[A Dhandho Investor]

I'm sure Tripp had a bad experience, and the truth is probably in between what both sides say it is (I mean, Tesla has 48,000 employees... they're all in on the coverup?), but he sounds like a 4chan/Qanon truther who's trying to make himself into a "martyr" to gather support and sympathy, not like a sane person trying to whistleblow.

 

He whistleblew over 2 years ago and nothing has happened until today. Wouldn't it drive you mad too that you became a paria because of trying to act in the correct way?

 

He's not the only whistleblower btw, Tripp his information was corroborated by another whistleblower, Sean Gouthro. There's a Bloomberg story on that: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-03-13/when-elon-musk-tried-to-destroy-tesla-whistleblower-martin-tripp

 

Wirecard had 6k employees, Enron 28k. I don't think the size of a company has an effect on whether a fraud can endure or not.