The Elon Musk Thread

[caltrek]

Tesla Stock Has Cost Musk $200 Billion. Here’s Who, and What, to Blame.
by Allen Root
November 22, 2022

Introduction:

(Barron’s) The drop in Tesla TSLA +7.82% stock has cost investors and CEO Elon Musk a huge amount of money. As the end of the year approaches, investors—and maybe even Musk—should consider how it happened.

On Monday, Tesla (ticker: TSLA) stock closed at $167.87, down 6.8%, at the lowest close since Nov. 20, 2020, when shares closed at $163.20, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Shares are off 58% from their 52-week high of $402.67, set back in January.

Stephen King: Twitter’s Only Advertiser Will Soon Be MyPillow. Here’s Elon Musk’s Response.
By Nicole Lyn Pesce
November 23, 2022

“Pretty soon the only advertiser left on Twitter will be MyPillow.”

That was master of horror and bestselling fiction writer Stephen King riffing on the parade of advertisers including GM, United Airlines, and Audi pausing or scrapping their marketing on the social-media platform since Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took over.

Source: https://www.barrons.com/articles/steph ... 669220182

[erowind]

I can't believe how incredibly far this man has fallen in recent years. Now he's attacking the concept of longevity too... https://www.lifespan.io/news/we-can-thi ... elon-musk/

Lifespan's news feed has a good rebuttable going. It's absurd it's even needed.



If I were biologically immortal it would completely change my actions and course in life as almost any problem I have would eventually be solved with self-growth and by having patience and acting with care and empathy towards other people. (I already try to do this, but over 1,000 years I'd really perfect myself here.) All the while technological growth would eventually solve any of my more substantive problems outside my control. This applies to anyone here too who isn't a fatalist like Musk is apparently.

[Time_Traveller]

Elon Says He’ll Make His Own Phone If Apple and Google Deplatform Twitter

Yesterday 9:20PM

Twitter’s new ruler Elon Musk makes so many pronouncements on the platform, it’s hard to keep track. This week alone, Musk polled Twitter users over whether he should provide “general amnesty” to suspended accounts and got into a public fight over whether the disgraced founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, owns a part of Twitter. On Friday, Musk was at it again, telling people that he may make an alternative phone to face off against Apple and Google.

The tech billionaire’s comments were made, naturally, in response to a tweet directed at him by conservative podcaster and former OANN host Liz Wheeler. On Friday afternoon, Wheeler tweeted that Musk should make his own phone if Apple and Google decide to kick Twitter off their app stores. Twitter’s future in Apple and Google’s app stores has been a hot topic lately, given Musk’s commitment to “free speech”—as long as it doesn’t offend him—and lax content moderation.

https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-alternati ... 1849822836

[Xyls]

Lol his own phone hunh?

Good luck with that Elon.

[peekpok]

Elon's always had one or two crazy ideas but these days he is straight up delusional. First it was some announcement about making "the everything app," now he's claiming to have designs on entering the mobile phone market? I think his prior successes have gone to his head. Producing consumer electronics is one of the most difficult, competitive and EXPENSIVE businesses in the entire world. It's leagues beyond the challenges that Tesla has had to contend with over the years.

And to top it off he wants to challenge the company with the strongest brand loyalty in the world, Apple. Does he really think the average iPhone user is going to have even a tiny bit of difficulty choosing between Twitter and their beloved iPhone? They've still got tiktok, insta and facebook.

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

Elon Musk could lose world’s richest person title as Tesla value almost halves

Fri 9 Dec 2022 15.15 GMT

Tesla has lost nearly half its market value since its founder, Elon Musk, bid for Twitter in April, reducing his net worth by about $70bn and putting his title as world’s richest person at risk.

Shares in the electric car company traded at $340.79 on 13 April, the day before Twitter revealed in a securities filing that the billionaire had made a hostile bid to buy the social media company for $43.4bn. Since then the Tesla share price has plunged 49% to $173.44 (£141.29), also due to concerns around disruptions at one of its factories in Shanghai.

The Tesla boss has sold $20bn of Tesla shares since April to fund the buyout. He now owns 445m shares, according to Reuters, and the share price decline has reduced the value of that holding from $151bn to $77bn.

This means his claim to be the planet’s wealthiest person is under threat, with France’s Bernard Arnault, chief executive of the luxury group LVMH, snapping at his heels. On Wednesday, share movements meant Arnault briefly took top spot.

Musk has said of his Twitter takeover: “Having a public platform that is massively trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilisation.”

However, Tesla shareholders worry about how he is dividing his time between the social media site and his many other ventures such as the rocket company SpaceX, and that running Twitter is too much of a distraction.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... es-twitter

[wjfox]

[spryfusion]

Elon Musk said he's 'open' to buying publishing platform Substack after a Twitter user said it would give him control of the 'narrative layer' of the internet

Elon Musk said he's "open to the idea" of buying publishing platform Substack, on Friday morning.
He agreed with a user saying that Substack would give him "control" over the "narrative layer" of the internet. 
Musk has also speculated about possibly buying Wikipedia this week, but was told the site was not for sale.

Elon Musk said he's "open to the idea" of buying publishing platform Substack after a Twitter user said doing so would give him control over the "narrative layer" of the internet. 

Musk was responding to a thread started by conservative commentator Dave Rubin who alleged that YouTube and Google's "manipulation for political purposes is FAR worse than Twitter's."

Musk replied to Rubin's tweet with a thinking face emoji.

One user then continued the thread and suggested Musk should try and buy Substack, the subscription newsletter platform now used by many prominent journalists.

The user said: "You would have the information layer with Twitter and the narrative layer. Corporate media would then have specialize on reporting government leaks, from 'people familiar with the matter.'"

Musk responded by saying: "I'm open to the idea."

Article: https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-mu ... ck-2022-12

[ººº]

Elon Musk said he's 'open' to buying publishing platform Substack after a Twitter user said it would give him control of the 'narrative layer' of the internet

Elon Musk said he's "open to the idea" of buying publishing platform Substack, on Friday morning.
He agreed with a user saying that Substack would give him "control" over the "narrative layer" of the internet. 
Musk has also speculated about possibly buying Wikipedia this week, but was told the site was not for sale.

Elon Musk said he's "open to the idea" of buying publishing platform Substack after a Twitter user said doing so would give him control over the "narrative layer" of the internet. 

Musk was responding to a thread started by conservative commentator Dave Rubin who alleged that YouTube and Google's "manipulation for political purposes is FAR worse than Twitter's."

Musk replied to Rubin's tweet with a thinking face emoji.

One user then continued the thread and suggested Musk should try and buy Substack, the subscription newsletter platform now used by many prominent journalists.

The user said: "You would have the information layer with Twitter and the narrative layer. Corporate media would then have specialize on reporting government leaks, from 'people familiar with the matter.'"

Musk responded by saying: "I'm open to the idea."

Article: https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-mu ... ck-2022-12

First time I heard about it.

[caltrek]

In case you missed it in the Starlink thread and/or are interested in The Next Big Future’s take on the latest SpaceX Starlink announcement.

SpaceX Starlink Has 1 Million Active Subscribers
by Brian Wang
December 19, 2022

Introduction:

(Next Big Future) SpaceX had 1 million Starlink dishes manufactured in September, 2022 but has just announced 1 million active Starlink customers about 2.5 months later.

The primary drivers of SpaceX revenue is the rate that they can produce Starlink dishes and then sell the dishes and services to customers. They are at 150k per month now in late 2022 which is 1.8M per year but are increasing the speed of sales. September 25, 2022, Elon Musk tweeted that over 1 million dishes had been manufactured. Elon had said that 500,000 customers were signed up in early June, 2022. This means over 150,000 dishes per month on average for three months. SpaceX will end 2022 with about 1.1 million Starlink customers.

(SpaceX Twitter feed announcement can be found through the link provided below).

They would need to average 450k per month in 2023 to hit the targets in my forecast below (see link to article provided below). They would need to average 1.2 million dishes per month in 2024. The direct phone revenue is determined by how many cellphone customers choose to buy global satellite text and voice from T-mobile and any other new SpaceX cellphone partners. There are 110 million potential t-mobile customers and 5-10% will likely join different levels of global text and voice with no deadzones.

I think the Gen 2 satellite numbers will be higher in 2023. If there were 5000 Gen 2 satellites then the direct to phone revenue could be $6-10 billion in 2023 and $20 billion in 2024. Any total revenue over $10 billion for a year would mean profitability and a strong case for an IPO of Starlink. The Starlink IPO seems like a Q4 2023 thing based upon progress at SpaceX.

Read more here: https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2022/12/ ... bers.html

[wjfox]

[Vector]

[weatheriscool]

Musk tells Tesla workers not to be 'bothered by stock market craziness'
Source: Reuters

Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk told employees that they should not be "bothered by stock market craziness" after the company's shares fell nearly 70% this year on jitters over softening demand for electric vehicles and Musk's distraction with running Twitter.

In an email sent to staff on Wednesday and reviewed by Reuters, Musk said he believes that long term, Tesla will be the most valuable company on earth.

He also urged employees to ramp up deliveries at the end of this quarter, after the automaker offered discounts on its vehicles in the United States and China.

"Please go all out for the next few days and volunteer to help deliver if at all possible. It will make a real difference!" he said in the email.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 022-12-28/

[caltrek]

Elon Musk’s Net Worth Fell $206 Billion in 2022
by Brandon Gage
December 30 , 2022

Introduction:

(Alternet) Twitter owner Elon Musk's net worth has plummeted by more than $200 billion since November 2021 – an amount greater than the fortune of Bernard Arnault, who recently dethroned Musk as the richest man in the world.

The Independent reported on Thursday that Musk – who purchased the dollar-hemorrhaging microblogging platform for $44 billion earlier this year – has lost more money than the gross national product of Greece.

"Musk’s net worth peaked at $338bn in November 2021, according to Bloomberg, coinciding with the fortunes of Tesla," the British outlet explained, adding that "the electric car maker has lost roughly 70 percent of its value in 2022 following production delays in China, vehicle recalls, and concerns among investors that its CEO has been distracted by his new role as head of Twitter. Tesla’s market cap is down by nearly $900bn since November 2021, causing it to drop out of the top 10 most valuable companies."

Despite this setback – if that term even applies to twelve-figure assets – Musk remains extraordinarily well-off. Bloomberg estimates his net worth at $132,000,000,000 – or enough to give around $16 to every human being on Earth.

Read more here: https://www.alternet.org/elon-musk-net ... cxrecs_s

[Time_Traveller]

Elon Musk’s Net Worth Fell $206 Billion in 2022
by Brandon Gage
December 30 , 2022

Introduction:

(Alternet) Twitter owner Elon Musk's net worth has plummeted by more than $200 billion since November 2021 – an amount greater than the fortune of Bernard Arnault, who recently dethroned Musk as the richest man in the world.

The Independent reported on Thursday that Musk – who purchased the dollar-hemorrhaging microblogging platform for $44 billion earlier this year – has lost more money than the gross national product of Greece.

"Musk’s net worth peaked at $338bn in November 2021, according to Bloomberg, coinciding with the fortunes of Tesla," the British outlet explained, adding that "the electric car maker has lost roughly 70 percent of its value in 2022 following production delays in China, vehicle recalls, and concerns among investors that its CEO has been distracted by his new role as head of Twitter. Tesla’s market cap is down by nearly $900bn since November 2021, causing it to drop out of the top 10 most valuable companies."

Despite this setback – if that term even applies to twelve-figure assets – Musk remains extraordinarily well-off. Bloomberg estimates his net worth at $132,000,000,000 – or enough to give around $16 to every human being on Earth.

Read more here: https://www.alternet.org/elon-musk-net ... cxrecs_s

Too bad, it wasn't all of it.

[weatheriscool]

It's a fucking shame! Imagine what he could have done if he would have focused on space, electric cars and probably got into cures for cancer or something along those lines. First trillionaire was a possibility? The shit he is doing right now is dumb.

[wjfox]

Elon Musk's drop in fortunes breaks world record

2 hours ago

Elon Musk has broken the world record for the largest loss of personal fortune in history.

From November 2021 to December 2022 he lost around $165bn, Guinness World Records said in a blog on its website.

The figures are based on data from publisher Forbes, but Guinness said other sources suggested Mr Musk's losses could have been higher.

It follows a fall in value of shares in Mr Musk's electric car firm Tesla after he bought Twitter last year.

His $44bn (£36bn) takeover of the social media company has sparked concerns among investors that Mr Musk is no longer giving Tesla enough attention.

Mr Musk's losses since November 2021 surpass the previous record of $58.6bn (£47bn), suffered by Japanese tech investor Masayoshi Son in 2000.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64236726

[caltrek]

Elon Musk Rebuffed in Bid to Move Tesla Tweet Trial to Texas
January 13, 2023

Introduction:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge on Friday rejected Tesla CEO Elon Musk's bid to move or delay a trial over a misleading tweet about a potential buyout of the electric automaker, setting the stage for the mercurial billionaire to be thrust into a legal drama amid the turmoil of his Twitter takeover.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen came during a hearing held in San Francisco federal court to go over the final details of a trial scheduled to begin Tuesday with jury selection.

Musk's attorneys last week asked Chen to transfer the trial to a federal court in Texas, where Tesla moved its headquarters in 2021, arguing that negative coverage of Musk since his $44 billion purchase of Twitter in October had poisoned the jury pool in the San Francisco Bay Area.

But Chen brushed aside those concerns Friday and expressed confidence that a panel of impartial jurors could be drawn from a region populated by millions of people.

Further Extract:

Musk's upcoming trial revolves around a civil lawsuit brought on behalf of Tesla shareholders who allege they were duped by an Aug. 7, 2018 tweet in which he indicated he had lined up financing for a Tesla buyout — a deal that never materialized and resulted in a $40 million settlement with U.S. securities regulators.

Read more here: https://www.courthousenews.com/elon-mu ... to-texas/

[caltrek]

Elon Musk Takes Stand in Tesla Tweet Securities Trial
by Eric Burkett
January 20, 2023

Introduction:

SAN FRANCISCO (Courthouse News) — A surprisingly staid Elon Musk took the witness stand Friday in the Tesla securities trial after what must have been a frustrating morning for his defense team as they cross-examined the plaintiffs’ star expert witness, attorney and Harvard professor Guhan Subramanian.

In all, three witnesses sat took the stand throughout the day, including small-time New Jersey investor Timothy Fries who had lost $5,000 with his investments in the electric car company.

Musk faces trial in the lawsuit filed by Tesla shareholders who say they were misled by an Aug. 7, 2018, tweet in which he said he secured financing for a Tesla buyout. That buyout never came to fruition, however, and stockholders cried foul.

“Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured,” the South African-born multibillionaire tweeted at the time. Tesla stock jumped in value and then sank when it when it became clear nothing of the sort was going to happen. The tweet also cost Musk $40 million when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fined him following an investigation.

The morning began with the testimony of Guhan, the Joseph Flom Professor of Law and Business at Harvard Law School and the Douglas Weaver Professor of Business Law at Harvard Business School. An expert in mergers, acquisitions and management buyouts, the 52-year-old proved an almost immovable force in the witness stand. He curtailed numerous efforts by defense attorney William Price to trip him up on his studies of previous MBOs, notably those of apparel design and distribution company Perry Ellis, and former computer giant Dell.

Read more here: https://www.courthousenews.com/elon-mu ... es-trial/