Tesla, TSLA & the Investment World: the Perpetual Investors' Roundtable

[MC3OZ]

Well, in the absence of a PR department, the ONLY narrative here is that of a respected newspaper, the Washington Post, and the article is pretty damning.

Who wants to own a car in which includes slave labor?!?

IF we had a PR department, EVEN IF IT WAS ONE PERSON DEEP, at least there would be SOMETHING to counter the only narrative out there.

But, fine, we'll agree to have differing opinions . . . even if only one of us is likely correct.

Elon on X is the one man PR department.

Any post Elon makes on social media is often linked by others on social media and sometimes make it into mainstream media reporting...

One problem is Elon's output can be of variable quality, but when it comes to quickly debunking false claims he is very effective.

 

[ggr]

Well, in the absence of a PR department, the ONLY narrative here is that of a respected newspaper, the Washington Post, and the article is pretty damning.

Who wants to own a car in which includes slave labor?!?

IF we had a PR department, EVEN IF IT WAS ONE PERSON DEEP, at least there would be SOMETHING to counter the only narrative out there.

But, fine, we'll agree to have differing opinions . . . even if only one of us is likely correct.

Tesla's annual Sustainability Report talks about the issue and quite clearly says that they don't manufacture in, or source parts, from the areas in China where forced labor is used. The facts are there already. It's the journalists who are painting a false picture without doing their own research.

 

[2daMoon]

Oh boy, this should get plenty of FUD coverage. FUDverage?

Elon Musk under investigation from the DOJ for Tesla perks: report

Elon Musk is under investigation over CEO benefits received from Tesla and whether they were properly disclosed.

www.teslarati.com

Not likely to see headlines apologizing should (when?) these investigations bear no fruit.

More ammo from the oh, so, reliable mainstream for @TSLA Pilot to hate on Elon over?

 

[Cosmacelf]

Oh boy, this should get plenty of FUD coverage. FUDverage?

Elon Musk under investigation from the DOJ for Tesla perks: report

Elon Musk is under investigation over CEO benefits received from Tesla and whether they were properly disclosed.

www.teslarati.com

Not likely to see headlines apologizing should (when?) these investigations bear no fruit.

More ammo from the oh, so, reliable mainstream for @TSLA Pilot to hate on Elon over?

I think the original sourcing for this was the WSJ, so take with a grain of salt.

 

[bkp_duke]

I think the original sourcing for this was the WSJ, so take with a grain of salt.

Yeah, lots of sites are reporting "perks" being things for his home. How does that work out when the guy doesn't own any houses?

 

[SmokyPeat]

SpaceX just completed a record successful 17th launch and landing of a Falcon 9 booster!

 

[Electroman]

To be clear it was not "won" it was dismissed before actually being heard as a case because there were deficiencies with the filing....No findings of fact happened here and the idea Tesla was "cleared" in the headline is outright false.

It may be refiled as an amended complaint in the next 30 days- though they might not decide to do so.

Teslarati is not main stream media and they are generally a bit biased as in pro-Tesla, but still they need to main some standards and not stoop to the level of BI, or WaPo or NYT or LAT or CNBS and such ...

 

[Krugerrand]

Yeah, and OF COURSE the massive price cuts have NOTHING to do with demand decline, and massively negative articles, which Tesla does NOT respond to, have NOTHING to do with that.

Of course . . . .

I'm just saying that even a one-person deep PR department would do wonders to counter the FUD, FUD which appears to be getting stronger with each passing week.

As someone else posted, when demand was off the charts, sure, cancel the PR department.

Things change . . . .

‍

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Elon on X is the one man PR department.

Any post Elon makes on social media is often linked by others on social media and sometimes make it into mainstream media reporting...

One problem is Elon's output can be of variable quality, but when it comes to quickly debunking false claims he is very effective.

Yes, of course he is "very effective."

That's why my "just now" search of X.com revealed no reply to the damning article from Elon Musk . . . .

Plus, let's be honest: is this the BEST use of his time?

Answer: No, it's not.

TSLA price: It would have been a far less erratic ride over the past few years of FUD were addressed in some form, but let's just discount the cars by A LOT instead to ensure demand matches output. Got it . . . .

 

[aubreymcfato]

Yeah, and OF COURSE the massive price cuts have NOTHING to do with demand decline, and massively negative articles, which Tesla does NOT respond to, have NOTHING to do with that.

Of course . . . .

I'm just saying that even a one-person deep PR department would do wonders to counter the FUD, FUD which appears to be getting stronger with each passing week.

As someone else posted, when demand was off the charts, sure, cancel the PR department.

Things change . . . .

As much as I agree a PR department would be useful, I remember vividly it didn't change much in the past.
If it responded, it was just a quote within the article; it it didn't, it was "Tesla did not respond to the request of comment".

What you want is a spokesperson that is the go-to person to go on screen and on the record, speaking constantly with journalists and media, batting a thousands, be the face of Tesla.
Musk has and will never allow it. He is the face of Tesla, for good and for worse. It is like it is.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Tesla's annual Sustainability Report talks about the issue and quite clearly says that they don't manufacture in, or source parts, from the areas in China where forced labor is used. The facts are there already. It's the journalists who are painting a false picture without doing their own research.

Yes, the Wash Post article quoted from the Tesla Impact report.

In the real world, sometimes things are not as written--hence the WaPo article. And yes, they did "their own research" as indicated at the top of the article (at significant risk since China is a communist state where there is no first amendment protection for free speech; instead you can go to jail for years on end.):

Reporter Evan Halper spent months mapping the opaque China-based supply chains behind the production of millions of electric vehicles. With the help of researchers, he pieced together hundreds of financial disclosures, company communications, social media postings, reports from Xinjiang news outlets and contracts to reach the findings in this project. Halper covers energy for The Washington Post’s business desk.

Source:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2023/electric-vehicles-forced-labor-china/

Again, for the sake of the mission, and TSLA stock valuation, it would have been far better for a least some comment, reply, and rebuttal by a one-person deep PR department. Even a "we are very serious about forced labor and are looking into this" would have been better than what we have, which is "crickets."

The void is filled by the press narrative.

Period.

Not smart.

Where is Tesla's BOD on their duty to govern Tesla?

 

[Atomsla]

Again, for the sake of the mission, and TSLA stock valuation, it would have been far better for a least some comment, reply, and rebuttal by a one-person deep PR department. Even a "we are very serious about forced labor and are looking into this" would have been better than what we have, which is "crickets."

I find it hard to believe you'd honestly think that a reply like the above would be an improvement over the current situation. Its the typical political way of speaking without actually saying anything at all.
If there were to be a worthwhile reply from an imagined Tesla PR person, you'd have a case to be made. I'm against - I don't think attempting to battle the press narrative is worth it in the slightest. Rebuttals from an official Tesla talking head would serve mostly to fan the flames and extend the 'debate'.

 

[wws]

OT: At the local Chargepoint near my office today, a woman in a rental Polestar asked me for help in activating the charger. She said the rental company (don't know which one) gave her no instructions. Chatted with her for a minute explaining the process. She didn't strike me as very tech-savvy and I'm sure it would have taken her quite a while to get the app and set it up, so I used my card. Not the first time this has happened here....

In the interest of the mission, it would be nice if these companies provided better info for their BEV rentals. Hopefully Hertz does better than that with their Tesla fleet.

My brother is visiting the area on business. He rented a Polestar 2 from Thrifty - same deal, no info. Fortunately his hotel has some complimentary L2 stations: one Tesla, one Clipper Creek, and a dual head Chargepoint. The Chargepoint was showing error messages... So I showed him how to use the Clipper Creek and he should be good.

I rented a Model 3 through Hertz a few months ago. Besides a bunch of screen setting being messed up, including screen brightness at 0%, it went pretty well. Emails said to return with 80+%, but at checkout they said 70+%. I returned it with 79%. Got to Supercharge at my first Bucee's!

 

[wws]

Oh boy, this should get plenty of FUD coverage. FUDverage?

Elon Musk under investigation from the DOJ for Tesla perks: report

Elon Musk is under investigation over CEO benefits received from Tesla and whether they were properly disclosed.

www.teslarati.com

Not likely to see headlines apologizing should (when?) these investigations bear no fruit.

More ammo from the oh, so, reliable mainstream for @TSLA Pilot to hate on Elon over?

It is why the late Rush Limbaugh used to refer to them as "drive by journalists". By the time their stories are proven false, they are nowhere to be found.

 

[Max Plaid]

Yes, the Wash Post article quoted from the Tesla Impact report.

In the real world, sometimes things are not as written--hence the WaPo article. And yes, they did "their own research" as indicated at the top of the article (at significant risk since China is a communist state where there is no first amendment protection for free speech; instead you can go to jail for years on end.):

Reporter Evan Halper spent months mapping the opaque China-based supply chains behind the production of millions of electric vehicles. With the help of researchers, he pieced together hundreds of financial disclosures, company communications, social media postings, reports from Xinjiang news outlets and contracts to reach the findings in this project. Halper covers energy for The Washington Post’s business desk.

Source:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2023/electric-vehicles-forced-labor-china/

Again, for the sake of the mission, and TSLA stock valuation, it would have been far better for a least some comment, reply, and rebuttal by a one-person deep PR department. Even a "we are very serious about forced labor and are looking into this" would have been better than what we have, which is "crickets."

The void is filled by the press narrative.

Period.

Not smart.

Where is Tesla's BOD on their duty to govern Tesla?

Surely this would implicate almost every electronic device as being manufactured today? That all contain rare-earths, which almost exclusively come from China, and you can be very sure that the vast majority of manufacturers don't go out of their way to acquire ethically sourced materials

Tesla and Apple are the only two I'm aware of that put a lot of effort into cleaning-up their supply-chain, do you think GM and Ford have any clue about the where the cobalt in their chips came from?

Sad as it may seem, do you think people even care about this? When they buy a new TV from Samsung, or LG, are they first researching the material sources? Nope

"Gee Bobby-Sue, I sure like that new Ford truck they made, I'm gonna go get me one"
"Hold your horses, Scooter, did you read Ford's latest sustainability report on supply-chain"
"Sustain-a-what? You know I can't read Bobby-Sue"
"What if the 'lectrics in your truck have kiddie-sourced cobalt?"
"What's cobalt? Get the **** outta here!"

 

[jeewee3000]

Can we please take the "Tesla needs a PR department!" discussion outside this thread, together with all the other subjects that have been discussed extensively multiple times over the past few years?

("Tesla needs to buyback shares!", "Tesla needs to advertise!", "Tesla needs to improve service!", "Tesla needs to post daily/weekly/monthly production and delivery updates!", rabble rabble rabble)

 

[Todd Burch]

Cory Moving to Palo Alto on X

Cory Steuben is moving to Palo Alto for his new job. Wonder if he is coming to work for Tesla? He says he’ll reveal it soon…

 

[CreativeName]

Yes, the Wash Post article quoted from the Tesla Impact report.

In the real world, sometimes things are not as written--hence the WaPo article. And yes, they did "their own research" as indicated at the top of the article (at significant risk since China is a communist state where there is no first amendment protection for free speech; instead you can go to jail for years on end.):

Reporter Evan Halper spent months mapping the opaque China-based supply chains behind the production of millions of electric vehicles. With the help of researchers, he pieced together hundreds of financial disclosures, company communications, social media postings, reports from Xinjiang news outlets and contracts to reach the findings in this project. Halper covers energy for The Washington Post’s business desk.

Source:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2023/electric-vehicles-forced-labor-china/

Again, for the sake of the mission, and TSLA stock valuation, it would have been far better for a least some comment, reply, and rebuttal by a one-person deep PR department. Even a "we are very serious about forced labor and are looking into this" would have been better than what we have, which is "crickets."

The void is filled by the press narrative.

Period.

Not smart.

Where is Tesla's BOD on their duty to govern Tesla?

OMG! I’m glad I decided to check TMC this morning so I know what atrocities Tesla is doing to ruin the world today!

 

[elasalle]

Lots of FUD … means.. they are trying hard to defend 300

Cheers!!

 

[TN Mtn Man]

Cory Moving to Palo Alto on X

Cory Steuben is moving to Palo Alto for his new job. Wonder if he is coming to work for Tesla? He says he’ll reveal it soon…

That's too bad, at least for Munro. He adds a lot to that company-I find his content and presentations far more informative and focused than Sandy's. Sandy tends to ramble and miss important details. I also think Cory understands actual manufacturing processes better than Sandy, some of the info Sandy has presented has been either wrong or missing important considerations.