Musk Teases New Master Plan - If YOU Were In Charge Of Tesla What Would You Do To Pick Up The Pieces?

FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS. A laser-like Focus on the electric car business originally laid out in the 2006 vision. Get the Model 3 design frozen ASAP and into production on or before the end of 2017. Build out the supercharging and other charging network quickly to minimize potential buyer's range anxiety issues. Drop the tangents(model X,Auto-pilot, etc.) that were not in the original plan. They are distractions and causing problems. Let your partner, Panasonic, take more responsibility for the battery factory. It's closer to their core strength, not yours. Drop the Solar City merger. The financial market isn't buying that one, and you need them to fund the car business. To paraphrase "IT'S THE ELECTRIC CAR BUSINESS, STUPID". Sadly, Musk cannot make these moves, and unless the Board forces him out (see early Steve Jobs) the whole thing can go down in flames.

Update to the tangents. The Security and Exchange Commission has announced it is investigating Tesla for failure to disclose a significant event (the Model S Auto Pilot death) while it was raising money from folks who might not have invested had they known of the issue. Stockholder suit likely coming. It takes a LOT of management time (away from running the business) to deal with this.

@Vette71: while some people on this board may take your words as gospels, I think you are just an opportunist who grabs the WSJ headline and declares that the SEC "has announced... ". No they have not announced anything. This leak comes from unnamed source (see excerpt below from latest WSJ article. Also mentioned in the article but you conveniently omitted that "Tesla has not received any communication from the SEC regarding this issue,” and "An SEC spokesman declined to comment."

"The SEC is scrutinizing whether Tesla should have disclosed the accident as a “material” event, or a development a reasonable investor would consider important, according to the person familiar with the matter. The SEC’s inquiry is in a very early stage and may not lead to any enforcement action by regulators, the person said."


As for the context of the probe, it is merely an about-face action in response to the exchanges between Fortune and Tesla. The interviews with Securities experts cited by WSJ indicated that "there is no clearly defined standard for whether the May 7 accident was “material” enough to require disclosure by the company."

@HenryN You are correct in your quote on he fact that there is no clear standard on reporting "material events" and indeed the WSJ article ends with quotes from two lawyers arguing each side. My perspective comes from business experience with the last part of my high tech career as CEO or Board Member of Public Companies and as a consultant CEO parachuted in to fix broken businesses where the entrepreneur drove them right off the rails. One can see how they got into trouble and and the need for focused actions and a conservative approach to regulatory agencies like the SEC or avoiding shareholder lawsuits in order not to crash. Right now Tesla/Musk in my experienced opinion is following the path to a train wreck. By the way, what is your business/working experience that supports your viewpoint?

@Vette71 asked "By the way, what is your business/working experience that supports your viewpoint?"

I am just a technical guy with enough industry and life experience to make judgements for myself and have my own viewpoint. I respects everyone's opinion on this board but will not hesitate to voice mine against lies disguised in distorted facts. I don't try to change anyone's perception and have no agenda here. I enjoy the colorful make up of the posters and the contrasting topics and viewpoints, and even try to inject some dry humor where I can.

As for my stand in regard of Tesla, I like their cars and what they have been doing to the EV push. I may not always agree with what they do (for instance, the proposed merger with Solar City), but I think they are not "following the path to a train wreck" as you said. People had those similar opinions about them many times in the past, but they survived and flourished. I believe the next few years will see sea changes in the automotive landscape and Tesla will be a prominent part of it.

Tesla did not make its initial splash based on Autonomous Vehicle controls - it did so in making a real - longer distance - high performance - Electric Vehicle. So I agree with Vette71 that they should get back to the cars. However - I say that they need to get working in getting the cars produces and into the market - instead of always being late.

Still - I have in the past and still to this day think that their attempt at a purely monopolistic hold on their vehicles - before and after sale - is simply not a tenable business model - and is doomed to failure anyway - when other bigger companies compete in the same area. So If you really want a Tesla - get one now - while you still have a chance. Musk is likely to be better at Rockets.

So Musk is doing Mein Kampf II?

I'd cancel production of the Model X pending an emergency redesign to replace the falcon doors with conventional doors.

Then as Vette71 said, halt all tangents.

I'd also have Musk stop running his mouth 24-7.

If I were Musk I would sell to Koreans or Chinese before big boys (M-B, Porsche, Audi, BMW, etc) come to eat your lunch. They have the funds, distribution, manufacturing and know how to make Tesla's life extremely uncomfortable. Get out while you can and use the proceeds to fund your next grand venture.

That is the end result of his swindle.

Big boys? Tesla is worth 3X what Porsche is.

@runninglogan1 On what planet? If VWAG put Porsche up to the highest bidder, it would definitely command more than Tesla. Tesla is about to fall into the abyss.

@runninglogan1 The difference in calculating the worth of Tesla versus Porsche is that Porsche has a history. It is in a "mature" industry and is a known quantity so its value is calculated. A pre-profit start-up like Tesla has a value based on speculation and often hype. An acquirer would be nuts to pay that speculated price because it would likely hurt the acquirers stock price hence value. Once Tesla becomes profitable on a regular basis and they can be measured it will be a test of their value. Often a public startup's stock price declines then. In Tesla's case because they elected to manufacture entire cars (a mature industry), rather than partnering with a traditional manufacturer supplying the higher value software and electrics, their value will likely be a mix of the two industries.