Articles re Tesla—Fact or Fiction?

[FluxCap]

The bears are salivating today, spinning propaganda, with Santos leading the pack as usual trying to spin this ridiculous book into a bear case. Should we make things up too? How about this:

"Did you hear why Tesla is headed to $290/share again soon? Don't get left behind, here's why!"

 

[SteveG3]

I remember that time period and while people were excited about their cars, a lot were deferring. We have threads on TMC focused on 'how long can I defer before I have to buy?'. The snippet of the article rings pretty true to me. When I read that some execs kept the severity of the problem from Elon, I heard those stories back then from more than a few people who would know. And I know Jerome broke up the logjam that was keeping so many cars from being delivered, with twice daily meetings where he went over the issues with each VIN, wanted to know from the accountable individual what had been done to resolve things, etc.

Instead of doubting the company today, it's a piece of history that shows the rocky road to success.

Bonnie, are you saying you have memories of concerns from "people who would know" about deferrals, cancellations kept from Elon before the Broder article (out 2/8/13)?

I'm wondering if what you're remembering may have been either issues of a backlog of cars rolling off the assembly line needing substantial rework to meet quality standards for delivery to customers before the article (which Jerome later worked on resolving), or issues with orders or deferrals/cancels after the article, or some combination. I say this as I was following TMC very closely in the Fall of 2012 and customers were near universally delighted with their cars (despite minor issues like the mirror), and orders were looking great based on a thread here which at the time could give very accurate order information based on VINs. I was watching closely and I don't recall "how long can I defer" threads. I may have missed such a thread(s), but I was actively looking for any threads giving clues as to consumer reaction to the Model S. The very strong feedback on TMC was a very significant part of why I aggressively added to my position that fall.

I think it's quite possible their were talks between Page and Musk. I think it's quite possible that Elon was very concerned about where orders and/or cancellations were trending in February 2013 (enough to hardly pull any punches with the NYTimes repeatedly), but I don't know of any demand issue prior to that NYTimes article. This excerpt from the book seems quite sensationalized to me, and includes other distortions.

 

[MikeC]

Thank you for this. My personal sense was things were looking pretty good at that point, with issues that were solvable. With the DOE loan I think they were nowhere close to "a few weeks from bankruptcy". The tone of this article almost makes it sound like the time in Revenge of the Electric Car where they were having issues delivering Roadsters.

Edit: I'm going to backtrack a bit. I think the Bloomberg article may be the one adding flavor text about nearing bankruptcy Elon Musk Had a Deal to Sell Tesla to Google in 2013 - Bloomberg Business

I don't want to draw any premature conclusions about the book, I'm hoping it's accurate.

For the record, I could not wait for VIN 4375 to be delivered in Feb 2013 and they were still working through a healthy backlog at that point, as I had put my reservation in June 2012.

So I think it's impossible that: "By that point, so many customers were deferring orders that Musk had quietly shut down Tesla’s factory." I took the factory tour February 5th, 2013 and it certainly was not shut down. I was also following TSLA and TMC closely and what the article describes just does not match what was happening then.

 

[ibcs]

For the record, I could not wait for VIN 4375 to be delivered in Feb 2013 and they were still working through a healthy backlog at that point, as I had put my reservation in June 2012.

So I think it's impossible that: "By that point, so many customers were deferring orders that Musk had quietly shut down Tesla’s factory." I took the factory tour February 5th, 2013 and it certainly was not shut down. I was also following TSLA and TMC closely and what the article describes just does not match what was happening then.

I have one of the early Model S Vin's #513. We had some issues, but Tesla was so responsive I would have never considered them on the ropes at that time. If they were, they hid the fact very well. Did we have service issues certainly in the beginning, but after they got past the door handles, drivetrain and miscellaneous stuff it's been nearly perfect.

 

[eepic]

For the record, I could not wait for VIN 4375 to be delivered in Feb 2013 and they were still working through a healthy backlog at that point, as I had put my reservation in June 2012.

So I think it's impossible that: "By that point, so many customers were deferring orders that Musk had quietly shut down Tesla’s factory." I took the factory tour February 5th, 2013 and it certainly was not shut down. I was also following TSLA and TMC closely and what the article describes just does not match what was happening then.

Thanks for this anecdote. This, along with what I'm reading in the delivery thread from those days makes it feel more and more like this book is just writing the story they want to write with some facts sprinkled throughout.

Makes me sad - I have the book in my Amazon cart, but I feel conflicted supporting it if they are putting story above accuracy.

 

[SteveG3]

I reread the Bloomberg article. from the book,

"Musk fired senior executives, promoted hungry junior employees, and assigned former Daimler executive Jerome Guillen to fix Tesla’s repair service and get its glitchy cars back on the road."

Does anyone remember a single senior executive being fired in the late 2012/early 2013 timeframe, let alone multiple senior executives? Looks like cutting and pasting of events from different time periods (I suspect some even from Roadster days) implying they happened in those same few months. Perhaps the author carefully constructed the writing to imply gibberish without explicitly stating gibberish.

This book looks like it has low credibility, and with it's release in a month, there will likely be a bunch more gibberish from the rest of the book that shorts will look to draw from to write new FUD pieces.

 

[InTheShadows]

I reread the Bloomberg article. from the book,

"Musk fired senior executives, promoted hungry junior employees, and assigned former Daimler executive Jerome Guillen to fix Tesla’s repair service and get its glitchy cars back on the road."

Does anyone remember a single senior executive being fired in the late 2012/early 2013 timeframe, let alone multiple senior executives? Looks like cutting and pasting of events from different time periods (I suspect some even from Roadster days) implying they happened in those same few months. Perhaps the author carefully constructed the writing to imply gibberish without explicitly stating gibberish.

This book looks like it has low credibility, and with it's release in a month, there will likely be a bunch more gibberish from the rest of the book that shorts will look to draw from to write new FUD pieces.

Is there any chance that folks at TM would be legally entitled to reviewing it before it is published? I have be a TM enthusiast since late 2011 and have followed every bit of info I can find since the MS was announced. And from my recollection, at least the article doesn't line up.

Perhaps someone that is closer to TM Execs could see if they can review it. As everyone knows that once that book is published, wether it's true or not it will be regarded by most people as fact.

 

[austinEV]

Is there any chance that folks at TM would be legally entitled to reviewing it before it is published? I have be a TM enthusiast since late 2011 and have followed every bit of info I can find since the MS was announced. And from my recollection, at least the article doesn't line up.

Perhaps someone that is closer to TM Execs could see if they can review it. As everyone knows that once that book is published, wether it's true or not it will be regarded by most people as fact.

I am pretty sure we all have the legal right to publish books full of lies and nonsense. (of course you may be sued for libel afterwards)

 

[daniel Ox9EFD]

There is a new interview at bloomberg.
He is saying Elon told HR people and others to start selling cars, and in the course of two weeks they started somehow getting over the 'crisis'.
This just sounds so baloney... And he looks like he's making it up as he talks.
Has Elon Musk Turned Tesla Around? - YouTube

 

[Perfectlogic]

Has Elon Musk Turned Tesla Around? - Bloomberg Business

If you looked smugness up in the dictionary I'm sure you would find a picture of Cory, jesus that guy is unbearable. This whole story seems fishy, I find it unlikely that Elon has misrepresented the company's situation in the earnings calls.

 

[MikeC]

Seriously, Cory is questioning whether word of mouth was good in the early days of the Model S?

Are you kidding me? This was just a couple years ago and there is a written record of ecstatic owners on this website right here. People were bragging about how many cars they "sold" and how they should be getting a commission. It's one thing to spin the future negatively but it's another thing altogether to fabricate FUD about the past.

I would be very interested to know the author's source for his info.

 

[ecarfan]

I would be very interested to know the author's source for his info.

His delusional imagination.

 

[Johan]

This latest attemp of painting the recent history of Tesla in factually incorrect. There was no risk of having to shut down the factory due to lack of demand or too many deferrals at this time. Neither were "several executives fired". They were likely though a bit strained on cash.

The only thing there may be some truth to is Elon saying it's now everyone's job to get cars BUILT AND DELIVERED (not sold).

 

[daniel Ox9EFD]

I find it a plausible scenario that he just made the whole thing up.

 

[AB4EJ]

New book makes some claims...

Elon Musk wanting to sell Tesla to Google in 2013

Comments?

 

[InTheShadows]

I think @urvaksh's tweet hits the nail on the head:

@Urvaksh: BW's @valleyhack is a marketing ninja. the strategic dropping of Tesla-Google scoop days before launch of his @elonmusk book is brilliant

Urvaksh on Twitter:

 

[EarlyAdopter]

I'm getting the popcorn ready for Elon's tweets tearing the book a new one once it's released.

 

[SteveG3]

Paulo trying to use Vance's fictionalized history as "evidence" that Musk/Tesla cannot be trusted,

Can You Really Trust Tesla? - Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) | Seeking Alpha

 

[Auzie]

New book makes some claims...

Elon Musk wanting to sell Tesla to Google in 2013

Comments?

I do not know if that is true or not. My take is that having alternative scenarios ready is a part of running the business.

I just dug my phone for old messages, and here is my text exchange at the time with someone, on the Google Tesla buyout subject

It seems that rumour was not so baseless. Short squeeze was real, it did not happen due to a buyout but it seems the squeeze was unavoidable, either due to a buyout or due to a profit. That was such a fantastic setup. The text recipient did not act on my suggestions, what a miss

Just to qualify, I changed my mind on the subject who is better at innovation

As a TSLA shareholder, I would like to think that the business has mapped out plan A, plan B, plan C and perhaps few more letters down the alphabet.

Talking publicly about the contingency plans may be counter productive to the plan A execution. It might amount to a Ratner effect.

For some entertainment, here is my fav honest CEO speech, it so nicely sums the circumstances faced by many, no connection to or reflection on Tesla whatsoever

 

[mershaw2001]

Paulo trying to use Vance's fictionalized history as "evidence" that Musk/Tesla cannot be trusted,

Can You Really Trust Tesla? - Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) | Seeking Alpha

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