Elon Musk: Always A Douche

[crazy canuck]

Yeah, can't be the maintenance cost, that is less than an ICE.

That is the conventional wisdom, but it is not clear if that's true. While the mechanical engine is not there as a point of failure, the chassis actually has a higher stress as the cars are much heavier. Most other things like body, electronics, etc. are the same regardless of drivetrain technology. Also if the electric drivetrain has a problem it is very hard to fix, harder than most combustion engines. Tesla specific topics like "giga casting" parts breaking also exist.

OK, but what is the percentage of failure of those items across the whole fleet?  I don't know the answer to that because I've never personally had the problem, but I do know that my cost of ownership is next to nothing. The only maintenance cost is taking it into the shop for periodic software updates.  But if you want an EV that updates remotely even that cost is removed.

[garbon]

I read a link this morning that said costs went up as more people crashed while using autonomous driving features and it was expensive to get Tesla to service them / some had to be written off do to damage to car body or battery.

https://cleantechnica.com/2024/04/04/ego-greed-the-hertz-ev-debacle/

[Valmy]

I think it was more about having that many Teslas in the fleet than EVs.

But give me a few more years with an EV before I have a good feeling about this for sure. Right now the costs of owning an EV have been tiny compared to an ICE vehicle but I have only had it for about 8 months.

[crazy canuck]

I think it was more about having that many Teslas in the fleet than EVs.

But give me a few more years with an EV before I have a good feeling about this for sure. Right now the costs of owning an EV have been tiny compared to an ICE vehicle but I have only had it for about 8 months.

One of the things you will notice is because of the regenerative breaking system, unless you are a race car driver you are going to spend a lot less on brake repairs and pad replacement.

I rarely have to use my brakes in city driving conditions, except to come to a complete stop after the car has already substantially slowed down to a almost to stop.

[Tonitrus]

I think it was more about having that many Teslas in the fleet than EVs.

But give me a few more years with an EV before I have a good feeling about this for sure. Right now the costs of owning an EV have been tiny compared to an ICE vehicle but I have only had it for about 8 months.

Same.  Especially as my housing doesn't charge for utilities, so the "fuel" is mostly free.  As CC said, minimal wear on brakes.  Some say that tire replacement may be more frequent (due to a heavier vehicle), but I'm not there yet.

[Syt]

For those interested, there's been a disposition in a suit that alleges Musk erroneaously doxed someone as having been part of a false flag psyops operation against right wingers. You can read the transcript here:

https://www.scribd.com/document/721193667/Elon-Musk-Deposed-In-Lawsuit-For-Falsely-Linking-Jewish-Man-To-Neo-Nazi-Brawl

Just skimming through it, it seems pretty hostile? But as non-lawtalker I don't know if either lawyer is overstepping their remit or if it's just idiots shouting at each other.

[The Minsky Moment]

Spiro definitely violated the state rules on conduct of depositions.  How serious that violation is will be decided by the Court.  It wasn't great but I've seen worse. 

[HVC]

Tesla laying off 10% of its workforce world wide.

[Syt]

https://apnews.com/article/musk-pay-compensation-corporate-registration-ef5e30f6b56f7d936f8c882fc1c96875

Tesla wants shareholders to reinstate $56 billion pay package for Musk rejected by Delaware judge

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Tesla will ask shareholders to reinstate a $56 billion compensation package for CEO Elon Musk that was rejected by a judge in Delaware this year and to move the electric car maker's corporate home from Delaware to Texas.

In a filing with federal regulators early Wednesday, the company said it would ask shareholders to vote on both issues during its annual meeting on June 13.

In January, Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick ruled that Musk is not entitled to a landmark compensation package awarded by Tesla's board of directors that is potentially worth about $55.8 billion over 10 years starting in 2018.

Five years ago, a Tesla shareholder lawsuit alleged that the pay package should be voided because it was dictated by Musk and was the product of sham negotiations with directors who were not independent of him.

Musk said a month after the judge's ruling that he would try to move Tesla's corporate listing to Texas, where he has already moved company headquarters.

Almost immediately after the judge's ruling, Musk did exactly that with Neuralink, his privately held brain implant company, moving its corporate home from Delaware to Nevada.

In a letter to shareholders this week, Chairperson Robyn Denholm said that Musk has delivered on the growth it was looking for at the automaker, with Tesla meeting all of the stock value and operational targets in a 2018 CEO pay package that was approved by shareholders.

"Because the Delaware Court second-guessed your decision, Elon has not been paid for any of his work for Tesla for the past six years that has helped to generate significant growth and stockholder value," Denholm wrote. "That strikes us — and the many stockholders from whom we already have heard — as fundamentally unfair, and inconsistent with the will of the stockholders who voted for it."

Tesla posted record deliveries of more than 1.8 million electric vehicles worldwide in 2023, according to a regulatory filing. But the value of its shares has eroded quickly this year as sales of electric vehicles soften.

Future growth is in doubt and it may be a challenge to get shareholders to back a fat pay package in an environment where competition has increased worldwide and demand for electric vehicle sales is fading. Shareholders also will be asked to cast a nonbinding advisory vote on future executive compensation.

Tesla's shares have lost more than one third of their value this year as massive price cuts have failed to draw more buyers. The company said it delivered 386,810 vehicles from January through March, nearly 9% fewer than it sold in the same period last year.

At the time of the Delaware court ruling, Musk's package was worth more than $55.8 billion, but the court may have cost the mercurial CEO over $10 billion due to the company's stock slide this year. The filing said Musk's 2018 compensation was worth $44.9 billion at the close of trading on April 12.

Since last year, Tesla has cut prices as much as $20,000 on some models. The price cuts caused used electric vehicle values to drop and clipped Tesla's profit margins.

This week, Tesla said it was letting about 10% of its workers go, about 14,000 people.

In the filing, Tesla's board wrote that the decision to seek shareholder approval of Musk's 2018 pay package was made by the board after it received a report from a special committee of one board member, Kathleen Wilson-Thompson.

The board wrote that if there is any significant vote against future executive pay packages, "we will consider our stockholders' concerns, and the compensation committee will evaluate whether any actions are necessary to address those concerns."

Shares of Tesla Inc., which slid another 8% this week, were down slightly in trading just after Wednesday's opening bell.

[HVC]

Cybertruck already has a recall. Accelerator pedal jamming and full throttle. Nothing says quality build like Tesla.

[Valmy]

This seems like a weird priority for the board under the circumstances. But I will let shareholders like Yi decide what will give them the most value.

[Zanza]

Financials for Tesla were poor as expected, but one figure stood out. Their free cash flow went from 441 million to minus 2.5 bn YOY in Q1. Supposedly because of high RD spending to build AI. At the same time the plant capacity usage was at best 78%, probably less.

Also a recent recall showed that they only delivered 3.900 cybertrucks so far, so a very niche car (so far?) for which they seem to have spend extraordinarily.

And apparently they have not even tried to license even a SAE3 car with the DMV yet, which makes the robotaxi story rather questionable.

[The Minsky Moment]

Saw my first cybertruck on the road today.

[Admiral Yi]

Zanza, personal question.  Your chance to answer. Obviously.

Do you have equity in your employer?

[Zanza]

Of course. We can buy shares at a very significant discount to the market price, mainly thanks to German tax laws.