Unmoored. Unrealistic. Unlikely. Underperform.
Ask me why Tesla is tanking.
If there’s one thing we no longer can dispute about Russian predictions for its “space age technology” T72 tank variant (e.g. optimistically branded T90) is that they aren’t anything like what was promised.
They’re death traps using a “go big” mindest that thinks a dumb “rapid charge” into things (while ignoring how much strategic thought has changed) will somehow not be a financial and moral disaster.
Almost as bad as Tesla.
Bloomberg got right to the point and said Tesla is right now peddling market blindness, almost nonsense.
The company’s forecast for vehicle production falls short of estimates and its focus on compound annual growth obscures 2023’s sharp slowdown.
Some analysts quoted how dumb the dictator sounds, sheltered from critics while obsessed with fans.
“Let me check my Twitter account. OK, so I’ve got 127 million followers, and it continues to grow very rapidly,” Musk said. “That suggests that I’m reasonably popular. Now, I might not be popular with some people, but for the vast majority of people, my follower count speaks for itself. I’m the most interacted social media account, I think maybe in the world, certainly on Twitter”…
Journalists: Here’s a problem
Musk: I can’t see it and neither can my followers
Journalists: That makes three problems
Musk: My followers will find you, and will harm you, unless I can assassinate you first, if you know what I mean.
Might makes right?
I’m sure Putin right now is telling someone he has so many followers he can’t be doing anything unpopular, arguing he shouldn’t listen to anyone other than his loyalists.
There’s something special in that message, a dangerous market warning even.
Nobody will be allowed to have more followers than the platform dictator.
In fact, Trump not too long ago has 140 million Twitter followers. Fraud, amiright? That was a reflection of a very unpopular man who took other people’s money to do very bad things.
That’s a similar story to Musk, who is right now not even in the top ten of popularity while claiming he’s “growing rapidly” by being “most interacted” (e.g. such self-arousal shouldn’t be confused with being liked by others).
Pride before the fall.
More to the point, Musk is getting booed in public because he’s known as an abusive liar, a toxic brand too scared to face reality. Him thinking he isn’t accountable to victims because he has fans, is a perfect example of why he can’t be trusted.
The question Musk was supposed to answer was about Tesla brand, which is weak. And it’s getting weaker because of who follows him.
Tesla’s brand could be stronger… Automotive brands are typically worth about 40% of the auto makers’ market capitalization, but Tesla’s brand value divided by market cap is about 16%. The figure for Mercedes is more than 70%.
A charity warns it can’t even give away a Tesla now.
…entrants have said they no longer want to win a Tesla thanks to Elon Musk.
That’s how popular Musk has become by surrounding himself with people who tell him only what he wants to hear.
And so we see the Tesla truck, promised years ago, is a total failure in both design and timing. The company had to stop production and drop prices 20% across its models to find any buyers, even as other EV brands saw increased interest (e.g. Tesla fell out of the top ten EV sold in Germany, and couldn’t attract workers there either). Nobody is buying their luxury models anymore. There has been almost no innovation since 2012 and it’s being classified a mediocre small scale car manufacturer, left in the dust by technology companies and legacy brands. The CEO was exposed in court testimony for intentional deception.
That’s the real quarterly update, but you’re about as likely to hear that from Musk as a tank casualty read out from Putin.
Tesla competitors probably know the song in my head that comes naturally at the end of Musk’s sad disinformation performance.