… Grandma is on her feet again. “I get it! I’m not worried anymore. It’s unlikely that short sellers alone can kill a company that wasn’t already scheduled for termination from its own folly. Perception and fact intersect at some point. But give us the frosting on the cake. Has the price of TSLA risen due to a short squeeze?”
Two Morgan Stanley analysts contend the Tesla Semi will be the biggest catalyst for change in the trucking industry since air brakes and will add about 8% to the value of the company’s stock.
Pop quiz: You’re at an investor’s conference. The attendees are mostly “retail” investors who channel their money into stocks and mutual funds. You’re friends with a broker who works at the firm sponsoring the conference, and he has asked you to be in charge of handing out nametags to the attendees. You show up punctually to supervise all the pretty college girls who have signed up for the registration booth on the chance of zeroing in on Mr. Right. Life is good.
Traditional stock market analysts have never known what to make of Tesla. As a recent article in the Harvard Business Review notes, forecasts for Tesla stock [NASDAQ: TSLA] continue to be all over the map — there are roughly the same number of buy, hold, and sell ratings out there. Could it be that the metrics analysts are using to assess a company’s business prospects are outdated?
In a recent EV Annex article, I discovered a Jason Calacanis, who Wikipedia tells me is an Internet entrepreneur, angel investor, author and blogger. I should have known he had the blogger force in him — he nailed the headline above for me.
The rich Internet dude apparently has a few Teslas in his stable (well, every model) and had the right connections to get an early Tesla Model 3.
Going up against Big Auto is no easy task. They’re seasoned players with deep pockets and political influence. But Big Auto companies continue to be complacent when it comes to their flailing electric vehicle programs. Their leaders cling to the gas pump, while Tesla [NASDAQ: TSLA] electrifies — blowing past the likes of GM, Ford, and even BMW to become the third-largest automotive brand by market capitalization. How did Tesla pull this off?
Coming off a landmark Tesla Model 3 launch event, Elon Musk sounded upbeat, positive and somewhat relieved on Tesla’s recent conference call discussing the company’s second quarter financial results*. He explained that this was: “maybe the best I’ve ever felt about Tesla. Last week stressed the hell out of me but I really think this is probably the best I’ve ever felt about the company.” At one point, Elon said bluntly: “At a systemic level we are substantially more efficient than other carmakers.”
Tesla will be looking to raise around $1.5 billion through a new bond offering, with the funds to be used to support the ramp-up of Model 3 production, the company revealed this morning. The new debt/bond offering follows pretty closely on the final reveal of the Tesla Model 3 and the official start of deliveries.
Tesla was on a “death watch” nearly one decade ago. News coverage and editorials frequently postulated Tesla’s coming demise. “It couldn’t produce cars,” said some critics. “No one wanted its cars,” skeptics claimed. “Its cars broke down around every turn,” liars lied. “Where would people charge? Where could the cars be fixed?” The barriers to success were many and large.
Bad news may be on the horizon for Big Oil as electric cars gained traction this past week. Bloomberg reports that “France plans to end the sale of gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2040” and “Volvo Car Group became the first major manufacturer to say it will start phasing out vehicles powered solely by fossil fuels.” Who’s poised to fill this gas-mobile void? “More than a dozen automakers are jostling to lead the U.S. electric-car race, but Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) sees a clear winner separating from the pack: Tesla Inc.”
