Way OT - SEC sues Elon Musk

Submitted by Autostocks on September 28th, 2018 at 9:34 AM

Sorry for the OT post on the day before a game, but this quote from the WSJ was too funny not to share:

"The SEC said in its complaint that “Musk stated that he rounded up the price to $420 because he had recently learned about the number’s significance in marijuana culture and thought his girlfriend ‘would find it funny, which admittedly is not a great reason to pick a price,’” the SEC’s complaint says. The number “420” is sometimes associated with marijuana."

huntmich

September 28th, 2018 at 11:07 AM ^

Eh?? I dunno, they've already been hemorrhaging talent. You lose your visionary CEO and what is left? It's not (or maybe barely?) profitable.

 

I could see this turning into a sell off of battery tech and car designs and a collapse of the company.

 

Also, what the fuck are we doing discussing this during football season? This is wayyyyyyyy OT.

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superstringer

September 28th, 2018 at 10:21 AM ^

I will refrain from my insider "cool stories bro" about Elon, because I have a few, but they are too insider.  (OK OK one that is public -- you can google how Robert Downey Jr. based his Tony Stark character on Elon Musk, after spending time with him.  And, related to that, Hammer's rocket factory in Iron Man 2 was, in fact, filmed at SpaceX.  Which is why Elon got a cameo in that movie (it was payoff for using the factory to film in), as well as the real-life Pepper Potts, named Mary Beth, who is also in that scene in IR2 standing against the wall in the background watching Elon and Tony talk.) 

I will say, I think a large chunk of his employees at SpaceX would take a bullet for him -- they literally believe (and, perhaps, rightly so) that they are changing the future of mankind.  They have already nuked the rocket industry, causing industry megagiant Arianespace to have to completely redesign new rockets if they want to compete in the future with SpaceX and Blue Origins.

The dude is weird, no question about it, even anti-social in his odd, unique way.  But that is necessarily part and parcel with who he is.  He is a true genius, but the manner in which he thinks and communicates doesn't meet everyone's norm.

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The Mad Hatter

September 28th, 2018 at 10:29 AM ^

I too have some insider stories regarding Mr. Musk, although they're of a much more mundane variety.

First, he's brilliant, but also bipolar (undiagnosed).  He works like 20 hours per day and sleeps on a cot in his office at the Gigafactory.  Dude often sends email in the middle of the night.

The people that work closely with him believe in his vision and are intensely loyal, but most of them avoid him on a day to day basis.  He has a reputation for berating people in public.

I think him running public companies isn't going to work out in the long term.  It probably would have been better for everyone if he did take Tesla private.

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PopeLando

September 28th, 2018 at 11:07 AM ^

My uncle has met him/worked with him a few times. His take: the "genius" label, which is given a little too quickly these days, definitely applies to Musk; he is not the best communicator in the world, reminds my uncle of Jeff Bezos a bit; also, when Musk turns off the public persona, he can be chill.

My take, never having met Musk: would love his life, minus the working-20-hours-a-day thing, but dude needs to shut up on social media.

Actually...pretty much everyone needs to shut up on social media. Except the Wendy's twitter account manager; he or she needs to post as often as possible...

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FauxMo

September 28th, 2018 at 10:22 AM ^

You have a billion dollars +. If you want to smoke weed and call people rapists on Twitter, and threaten to take your company private because investors are "big meanies" who are hard to deal with, just retire and be a playboy billionaire. Or, retire from Tesla and focus on space ships and flame throwers. Regardless, man, get a grip. 

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Arb lover

September 28th, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^

On this blog the SEC is more likely to support drug use, so some confusion at the op.

The Comission is nothing if not predictable in going after high profiles who flout the law. It's a shame that part of their argument is going to be his public support for smoking pot (including doing so during an investor related video interview).

That said you just throw everything on the initial complaint, and stranger things have made it in there. Sheep. Invalid horse trades.

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umich1

September 28th, 2018 at 12:22 PM ^

Elon Musk is a genius, an innovator, he is transforming our world as we know it... but he is not a (good) CEO for a publicly traded company.  Those two truths can coexist, and I think they do here.

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Stuck in Lansing

September 28th, 2018 at 12:48 PM ^

I didn't expect to see this here. 

Also, as a CPA, I am shocked he didn't take the 2 year ban as a settlement. The law and the facts of the matter are absolutely not in dispute. You can't lie and swing your market cap by $5 billion and not expect consequences.

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umich1

September 28th, 2018 at 1:22 PM ^

They don’t need to show that he personally materially benefited.  He is an officer of a public company.  They just have to show that he knowingly (or was negligent in not knowing) that he was materially misleading investors.  His tweet caused $1.3B in losses for those who shorted the company, and his claim that funding was secured was false.  It’s a no brainer.

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Arb lover

September 28th, 2018 at 1:08 PM ^

Since this way ot ot thread is still up, Bloomberg has a good review.

People who expected Musk to do a thorough discounted cash-flow analysis have an overly rosy view of how merger negotiations normally work, and of how Tesla is valued for that matter. “Take the trading price, add 20 percent, and round to a number that’s a weed joke because your girlfriend will find it funny” is … less standard, sure, but you gotta keep yourself entertained. I have no real problem with this.

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socalwolverine1

September 28th, 2018 at 1:29 PM ^

Tesla Model 3 owner here. Overall, best car I've ever owned by a wide margin. (Don't believe me? Test drive one yourself.)

It's too fcuking bad Musk can't seem to control his use of twitter, just like that guy in the WH. Way more drama than there ever should have been, but of course, Elon Musk doesn't give a shit what you or anyone else thinks about him, which is a double edged sword. 

With the imminent 3Q results, Tesla is poised to be the first profitable mass-produced all-electric vehicle company in the world, which makes it a huge threat to all ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) manufacturers who, until now, have been slow-playing EV sales because they're only doing it for CAFE standard compliance; and because they can't produce EVs at a profit (because of the high cost of the battery pack at low production volumes and using third party suppliers).

Ignoring Musk's self-inflicted image problems with the media, Tesla is an American success story that is on a trajectory to be one of the world's biggest auto manufacturers in ten to fifteen years as ICE vehicles start to be phased out, out of necessity. Best battery technology, largest battery manufacturer in the world (partnership with Panasonic), has robust long-term mining contracts for battery materials, its worldwide Supercharger Network is a huge competitive advantage, is building two more mega-factories in China and Germany, and leads the world in EV technology and infrastructure by at least three years compared to all competitors. 

Now that the shorts are covering, it's a good time to buy TSLA.

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