The fire does little to shake my long term bullish view on TSLA, though I must admit I'm disappointed Tesla hasn't come out yet with a more comprehensive statement on their blog. When I click to the Tesla blog at
Tesla Blog | Tesla Motors I see an old post on the hyperloop. This gives the impression they're either disconnected from the concerns of customers and investors, or it's reluctant to deal with it publicly. In my prior life, I ran a PR firm. Tesla has a crisis on its hands. If it deals with the crisis swiftly, it'll make it yesterday's old news. If it fails to confront it head-on, it'll fester like a cancer and damage the company long term. Tesla has an opportunity to turn this event into a net positive if it quickly comes out with a fuller disclosure of what happened, what it knows, and most importantly, what it doesn't know and what its plan is to determine what it doesn't know. And then articulate that as with all accidents, it will strive to incorporate what it learns to make the cars even more safe. And then remind customers/investors about the proud safety record, but also reiterate that they will remain relentless in their focus to make the Tesla the safest car on the road and to that it will continue to study this and learn from this. And then continue to keep us updated as its investigation progresses. The big risk Tesla faces now is that the story is taking on a life of its own, and it's damaging the brand. Tesla should have come out with such a statement before the market open.
Still consider getting some short term insurance.
