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Given we can now reasonably conclude that the "Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured." tweet ( https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1026872652290379776 ) was essentially a very bad pot joke, what should we make of this statement
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<p>Given we can now reasonably conclude that the "<span style="display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: transparent; color: #14171a; font-family: 'Segoe UI',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 27px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.27px; line-height: 32px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.</span>" tweet ( https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1026872652290379776 ) was essentially a very bad pot joke, what should we make of this statement from the 7/2 deliveries press release:</p>
<p><span style="display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: transparent; color: #263238; font-family: 'Roboto',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"The remaining net Model 3 reservations count at the end of Q2 still stood at <strong>roughly 420,000</strong> even though we have now delivered 28,386 Model 3 vehicles to date." </span><a class="Xx" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: #263238; font-family: " roboto",sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000156459018016465/tsla-ex991_6.htm&sa=D&source=hangouts&ust=1535399321699000&usg=AFQjCNFUAys6F4dBhguc0a-10FzJb5nVgw" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" data-display="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000156459018016465/tsla-ex991_6.htm" data-sanitized="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000156459018016465/tsla-ex991_6.htm&sa=D&source=hangouts&ust=1535399321699000&usg=AFQjCNFUAys6F4dBhguc0a-10FzJb5nVgw">https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000156459018016465/tsla-ex991_6.htm</a><u></u><span style="text-decoration: line-through;"></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I believe the reason Musk has been unwilling to do an underwritten equity offering is that it would require him to disclose what the current reservation number actually is. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>TSLA's disclosure of this metric has been spotty at best.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>TSLA opened up the Model 3 for deposits in late March 2016.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In the Q1 2016 10Q (filed on May 10th, 2016 TSLA states on page 23: "<span class="active" style="background-color: #d1ddeb; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13.3333px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 4.54%; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">We unveiled Model 3 in the first quarter of 2016 and received more than <strong>325,000 </strong><span style="background-color: #ffff00; color: #000000;">reservations</span> for this vehicle within one week of its introduction.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13.3333px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 4.54%; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;"> "</span></p>
<p>In the prospectus for a secondary equity offering on May 20th, 2016 TSLA stated on page S-1: "<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13.3333px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 4%; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #d1ddeb; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">On March 31, 2016, we unveiled Model 3, a lower priced sedan designed for the mass market, and as of May 15, 2016, we held deposits from about <strong>373,000</strong> customers who had made </span><span style="background-color: #ffff00; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13.3333px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 4%; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">reservations</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13.3333px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 4%; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #d1ddeb; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;"> for this car. This </span><span style="background-color: #ffff00; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13.3333px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 4%; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">reservation</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13.3333px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 4%; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #d1ddeb; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;"> total is a net number after customer cancelations of about 8,000 and after about 4,200</span><span style="background-color: #ffff00; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13.3333px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 4%; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">reservations</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13.3333px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 4%; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #d1ddeb; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;"> that we canceled on the belief that they could have been duplicates from speculators." </span></p>
<p>On the Q2 2016 Earnings call on August 3, 2016 CFO at the time Jason Wheeler said:</p>
<div class="trans_heading_h4 bold_text" style="font-weight: bold; color: blue; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">
<p> Brian Johnson, Barclays Capital - Analyst [10]</p>
</div>
<p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> Thank you for taking my question. A couple questions very much tied to cash flow and the borrowing capacity. First is just around customer deposits, which were a source of cash in the quarter but look to be about $288 million. As of May, you had 373,000-ish Model 3 preorders, which would imply about a $375 million inflow. Could you maybe walk us between that number and what the actual change in deposits were and, in particular, where did Model 3 preorders end the quarter at?</p>
<div class="trans_heading_h4 bold_text" style="font-weight: bold; color: blue; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">
<p> Jason Wheeler, Tesla Motors Inc - CFO [11]</p>
</div>
<p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> Sure. In terms of thinking about the cash flow, yes, you're doing your math correctly, but we also release deposits when we deliver cars. So there is an inflow and there is an outflow there. And we had, the deposits on the early Model X cars were larger than the later Model X cars as well, so that's one of the impacts there as well.</p>
<p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><strong> <span class="active" style="background-color: #d1ddeb; color: #000000;">In terms of the Model 3 <span style="background-color: #ffff00; color: #000000;">reservations</span>, the 373,000 number that you reference is what we talked about when we did our secondary offering.</span> We're sticking to that number in terms of disclosure.</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p>On the Q1 2017 Earnings call on May 3rd, 2017 Musk refused to quantify the reservation number but stated that reservations were climbing week after week:</p>
<div class="trans_heading_h4 bold_text" style="font-weight: bold; color: blue; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">
<p> Jeffrey David Osborne, Cowen and Company, LLC, Research Division - MD and Senior Research Analyst [150]</p>
</div>
<p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> Is there a way you could just give us what the cumulative numbers so far in the U.S. quarter to date -- or sorry, inception to date?</p>
<div class="trans_heading_h4 bold_text" style="font-weight: bold; color: blue; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">
<p> Elon R. Musk, Tesla, Inc. - Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO and Product Architect [151]</p>
</div>
<p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> No. Here's the problem. If we do that, then people run off and make all sorts of conclusions based on that, that really have -- that are not predictive of the future. Because there are no -- you can't test drive a Model 3. If you come into our stores and you want to buy a Model 3, we try to get you to buy a Model S or X instead. We anti-sell the Model 3. <span class="active" style="background-color: #d1ddeb; color: #000000;">But I mean, that's -- <span style="background-color: #ffff00; color: #000000;">reservations</span> continue to climb week after week.</span> No advertising, anti-selling, nothing to test drive, still grows every week.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>At a press event on July 28th, 2017 Musk indicated that the Model 3 reservation number was roughly 500,000.</p>
<p><a href="https://electrek.co/2017/07/29/elon-musk-confirms-model-3-reservations-have-surged-to-over-half-a-million/">https://electrek.co/2017/07/29/elon-musk-confirms-model-3-reservations-have-surged-to-over-half-a-million/</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>In the Q2 2017 shareholder letter published on August 2nd, 2017 Tesla writes "With no advertising, paid endorsements or guerilla marketing campaigns, <strong>Model 3 net reservations have still steadily climbed every month, and have even accelerated further in recent weeks.</strong> "</p>
<p> </p>
<p>On the Q2 2017 earnings call held that same day, Musk back tracked on his comments made a few days before saying:</p>
<div class="trans_heading_h4 bold_text" style="font-weight: bold; color: blue; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">
<p>Elon R. Musk, Tesla, Inc. - Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO and Product Architect [75]</p>
</div>
<p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> One thing I want to correct from Friday, I don't think it really has much materiality, but I did misspeak at the generalist review on Friday.<strong> <span class="active" style="background-color: #d1ddeb; color: #000000;">I had said that there were 500,000 net <span style="background-color: #ffff00; color: #000000;">reservations</span>.</span></strong> Well, I did also say that I wasn't sure because I don't follow this number and that this was just a guess. And so we did check for the -- to get some precision on this. To be more accurate, there are -- <strong>there have been 518,000 gross <span style="background-color: #ffff00; color: #000000;">reservations</span> for 3 and then -- and we have 455,000 net <span style="background-color: #ffff00; color: #000000;">reservations</span>.</strong> But those cancellations occurred over the course of more than a year.</p>
<p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><strong> The net gain over the last -- net gain since Friday, net of cancellations, has been over 1,800 per day.</strong> But I just didn't want to leave people with the wrong impression. I think this is like inconsequential because with a small amount of effort, we could easily drive the Model 3 reservation number to something much higher, but there's no point. It's like if you're a restaurant and you're serving hamburgers and there's like a 1.5 hour wait for the hamburger, do you really want to encourage more people to come order hamburgers? That doesn't make sense. So I think it's neither here nor there, but I wanted to just make sure that there was not a misunderstanding.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Model 3 deliveries began in Q3 2017.</p>
<p>In the Q3 2017 shareholder letter published on November 1, 2017 Tesla writes:</p>
<p>"Demand for Model 3 is not going to be a constraint for quite a long time. <strong>The global net reservations for Model 3 continued to grow significantly in Q3.</strong> " <u></u><span style="text-decoration: line-through;"></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>In the Q4 2017 shareholder letter published on February 7th 2018, TSLA wrote:</p>
<p>"Despite the delays that we experienced in our production ramp,<strong> Model 3 net reservations remained stable in Q4. "</strong></p>
<p><strong><br /></strong>In the Q1 2018 production press release published on April 3rd, 2018, TSLA wrote:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"<strong><span style="color: #000000; text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #d1ddeb;">Net Model 3 </span><span style="color: #000000; text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffff00;">reservations</span></strong><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13.3333px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #d1ddeb; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;"><strong> remained stable through Q1.</strong> The reasons for order cancellation are almost entirely due to delays in production in general and delays in availability of certain planned options, particularly dual motor AWD and the smaller battery pack. As described above, owner happiness with the product is extremely high."</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>In the Q1 2018 shareholder letter published on May 2nd 2018 TSLA wrote:</p>
<p>" <strong>Model 3 net reservations, including configured orders that had not yet been delivered, continued to exceed 450,000 at the end of Q1</strong> even though fewer than 20 stores worldwide had Model 3 on display." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>On the Q1 2018 earnings call that same day, Musk refused to answer a question about Model 3 reservations.</p>
<div class="trans_heading_h4 bold_text" style="font-weight: bold; color: blue; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">
<p> Joseph Robert Spak, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Research Division - Analyst [78]</p>
</div>
<p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span class="active" style="background-color: #d1ddeb; color: #000000;"> The first question is related to the Model 3 <span style="background-color: #ffff00; color: #000000;">reservations</span>, and I was just wondering if you gave us a gauge as maybe some of the impact that the news has had. Like of the <span style="background-color: #ffff00; color: #000000;">reservations</span> that actually opened and made available to configure, can you let us know like what -- how -- what percentage have actually taken steps to configure?</span></p>
<div class="trans_heading_h4 bold_text" style="font-weight: bold; color: blue; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">
<p> Elon R. Musk, Tesla, Inc. - Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO & Product Architect [79]</p>
</div>
<p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> We're going to go to YouTube, sorry. These questions are so dry. They're killing me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In the Q2 2018 shareholder letter published on August 1, 2018 TSLA wrote:</p>
<p>"Given that we are in full production mode for Model 3, <strong>we recently stopped taking Model 3 reservations</strong> in the US and Canada and moved to a direct order system, similar to our process for Model S and Model X. "</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Assuming all of TSLA's statements relating to Model 3 net reservations are true, between August 2, 2017 and July 2nd 2018 net Model 3 reservations + delivered vehicles fell from ~455k to ~448k despite TSLA claiming that orders were up significantly in Q3 2017, stable in Q4 2017, and "continued to exceed 450k" at the end of Q1 2018. Put in other words total demand for Model 3s as reflected by purchases and reservations has been falling for over a year even as the car has started to be delivered! In 2018, this metric has fallen by whatever amount 455k + "up significantly" is (let's say 470k) to 448k.</strong></p>
<p><strong>I don't think its unreasonable to assume that this metric is in free fall and is something Musk is highly reticent to disclose since it would reveal for all to see that there is no follow through demand for the Model 3 after first adopter demand is satisfied. I believe this is why Musk has steadfastly refused to do a secondary since the start of the year. </strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Needless to say, I don't think its a coincidence that the go private farce was ended before Goldman Sachs (hired for less than 2 weeks), Morgan Stanley (hired for less than 2 days), or Silver Lake (not officially hired, but advising for under 2 weeks) could get a chance to do any due diligence.</strong> I found this passage from today's puff piece in the NYT pretty complexing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"</p>
<p style="user-select: text; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; font-family: Lyon; font-size: 18px; line-height: 26px; color: #424858; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">On Thursday morning, Elon Musk and Tesla's board gathered for a meeting on the factory floor of the company's manufacturing plant in Fremont, Calif., people with knowledge of the events said. They were joined by representatives from the investment bank Goldman Sachs and the private equity firm Silver Lake, which were advising on a deal.</p>
<p style="user-select: text; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; font-family: Lyon; font-size: 18px; line-height: 26px; color: #424858; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">After a Silver Lake representative made a presentation expressing confidence in their ability to manage the process of taking Tesla private — a transaction that could have required $24 billion or more — the Wall Street representatives left the room, and the floor was given to Mr. Musk."</p>
<p><strong>Why was Silver Lake making the presentation on how the go private process would work and not the representatives from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley? I find it it very curious that Musk ended the go private nonsense right after a discussion of what would be involved in the go private PROCESS (ie the need for prospective buyers to conduct due diligence).</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/26/inside-elon-musks-reversal-on-taking-tesla-private.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter">https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/26/inside-elon-musks-reversal-on-taking-tesla-private.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter</a></p>
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<p>Finally, given how often TSLA's on auto pilot crash into random objects like parked fire trucks or highway dividers, shouldn't Musk be happy that tweeting "Funding Secured" while driving to Van Nuys Airport only resulted in his share price and career crashing?</p>
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