Tracking a Canadian TSLA troll, Jeremy Cato of the Globe and Mail

[RiverBrick]

Unlike Mutual Funds, writers don't have to reveal their past performances. Five days ago, Jeremy Cato recommended shorting TSLA:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...-for-elon-musks-tesla-motors/article22548681/

He conveniently fails to mention that he has been spouting such hate since at least 2008. He even has the audacity to write, Far be it for me to say I told you so. This is pathological. He said TSLA wasn't a good buy at $24, it goes up to $291, then falls to $190, and he is patting himself on the back for an expert prognostication.

Since he hides his performance from readers, I'll periodically update this thread to do the tracking for him.

January 26, 2015: TSLA 206.97
January 21, 2015: Cato says short at 191
November 11, 2010 TSLA rises to 29.26, Cato calls that strange. http://http://www.theglobeandmail.c...ny-losing-money-invest-anyway/article1392346/
June 30, 2010: Cato says Ford is a better investment than Tesla if you believe in EVs. http://www.ctvnews.ca/a-tale-of-two-ev-companies-1.528057
At that date, Ford $10.10, TSLA $23.83. Ford is currently trading at $15.10. Note that the S&P 500 is up nearly 100% since June 2010.

Funny how Ford is labeled an EV company in 2010, yet still hasn't revealed a purpose-built EV in 2015.

 

[Breezy]

Cato is anti-EV in general. He's written about how Canadians don't want electric cars, about how the "middle class" should not be subsidizing electric vehicles with rebates... blah blah.

 

[Duckjybe]

I just commented on his article. He is almost equivalent to John Petersen. Where is JRP3 when you need him? I had it out with Cato via email last year as I suggested that he was partial to those companies that advertise around his articles.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

I used to enjoy reading/watching cato and his reviews. Did not realise he was a neanderthal, never saw that coming. Oh well i always enjoyed driving television more anyway, they tend to be "ev friendly" over there too.

 

[Chisdad]

There will always be nay-sayers. He's just one of them.
Maybe if he owned a Tesla he would realize what a great car it is.

 

[wayner]

I don't think there has to be direct alignment on your view on Tesla as an investment and Tesla cars. I am hugely bullish on companies like Amazon, Netflix and Tesla from the perspective of a customer of their products but I think they all have very expensive stocks that are unlikely to justify their current earnings multiples. But then again I am a Benjamin Graham type value investor.

 

[mrElbe]

I used to enjoy reading/watching cato and his reviews. Did not realise he was a neanderthal, never saw that coming. Oh well i always enjoyed driving television more anyway, they tend to be "ev friendly" over there too.

And Lacey is way better looking. :smile:

 

[RiverBrick]

TSLA is trading at $209.41, up 10% since Cato specifically advised shorting the stock. How does he react? Not well, the more he's wrong, the more he acts like a desperate, cornered animal.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/commentary/elon-musks-tesla-circus-is-a-true-bonfire-of-the-vanities/article23883288/

 

[Hugh Mannity]

Meh, the ramblings of an uninformed neanderthal. You cant avoid them.

 

[RiverBrick]

He was on a regular bi-weekly Tesla-bashing schedule, but has been silent ever since his short TSLA at $190 recommendation has been down around 25%.

Still, he somehow continues to think Ford's worse than Toyota non plug-in hybrid technology and ICE converted Focus EVs are more significant products than the Model S.

 

[rapoport3a]

I had an exchange with Cato in which he was insulting and irrelevant. His writing about Tesla is full of errors. When they're pointed out to him, he goes silent and then tries to launch an even more offensive offensive, based on nonsense.

He was kind enough to write to me that if Tesla is still around in 18 months (from April 2015), he'd buy me a new one. In October 2016, that statement will be made more public…unless, of course, he's gone by then.

 

[eye.surgeon]

A smart investor can separate his love or hate for a product or company from his assessment of the stock value. I love my model S, whether the stock is overvalued is a totally different argument, one that even Elon has made at times. Love with your heart, invest with your head.

 

[Doug_G]

rapoport3a, maybe you could tone it down a little. We wouldn't tolerate that sort of language against another forum member.

 

[wayner]

A smart investor can separate his love or hate for a product or company from his assessment of the stock value. I love my model S, whether the stock is overvalued is a totally different argument, one that even Elon has made at times. Love with your heart, invest with your head.

I agree - there are several products that I like as a consumer but which I think aren't great investments given extremely high valuations - this includes Tesla, Amazon and Netflix. But I am a value guy.

 

[sitter_k]

I agree - there are several products that I like as a consumer but which I think aren't great investments given extremely high valuations - this includes Tesla, Amazon and Netflix. But I am a value guy.

I hate Apple and their restrictive infrastructure, low spec iPhones, proprietary peripherals and their lock on any sort of content that doesn't come from Apple iTunes. But I got a lot of shares because many people are "sheeple" and Apple iPhones are a status symbol.

 

[wayner]

I hate Apple and their restrictive infrastructure, low spec iPhones, proprietary peripherals and their lock on any sort of content that doesn't come from Apple iTunes. But I got a lot of shares because many people are "sheeple" and Apple iPhones are a status symbol.

That's a bit of a ***** comment, but then again I, and about 50% of the Tesla family, are "sheeple". So what do we know.

 

[Duckjybe]

I hate Apple and their restrictive infrastructure, low spec iPhones, proprietary peripherals and their lock on any sort of content that doesn't come from Apple iTunes. But I got a lot of shares because many people are "sheeple" and Apple iPhones are a status symbol.

These are precisely the reasons I love Apple. Apple's products work consistently across all their offerings. Everything designed by one company and under their control so it's secure and works well.

 

[rapoport3a]

As for Cato, he has two little problems: 1) he writes "FACT!" when what he's writing is either erroneous or opinion; 2) he confuses Tesla's stock value with the car. Lately he's been touting hydrogen cells. That's okay, although he doesn't seem to know any more about those than about electric batteries.

Post above softened as requested. My comments, of course, are in response to repeated, insistent nonsense in a national newspaper, nothing in these forums.

 

[Johan]

I had some exchanges with him in the comments to some of his articles, but he wasn't interested in debate; only pushing his agenda.

It's referenced in the "Fact or Fiction" thread.

 

[RiverBrick]

I had an exchange with Cato in which he was insulting and irrelevant. His writing about Tesla is full of errors. When they're pointed out to him, he goes silent and then tries to launch an even more offensive offensive, based on nonsense.

He was kind enough to write to me that if Tesla is still around in 18 months (from April 2015), he'd buy me a new one. In October 2016, that statement will be made more public…unless, of course, he's gone by then.

So in six months he has to buy you a Tesla? I would say best case is a die-cast model. More likely he'll be a complete deadbeat.

Lots of haters stretch the truth , but I too have noticed his outright lies and tendency to become unhinged when called out on them. Perhaps his editors at the Globe noticed it too, because he has moved most of his hit pieces to his own site where comments aren't allowed and you can only "like" articles.

In today's hatchet job, he claims the Model 3 deposit is not refundable and implies that analysts pump TSLA due to conflicts of interest. For the latter point, isn't it true that Cato only has a job thanks to ICE manufacturers flying him around the globe, putting him up in 5-star hotels and lending him cars? For instance, he had a Jaguar for a road-trip and gave it a favorable review. Somehow, he swept Jaguar's long history of unreliability under the rug, yet claims Teslas are plagued by problems.

He even goes as far to say Roadsters are fire-prone. I don't know the Roadster well, but this seems fishy. May I get a fact-check?

Tesla Model 3: fans cheer, critics jeer | CatoCarGuy.com