Hamartia Antidote
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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ri...s-much-trash-talks-nearly-everyone-2016-10-26
Tesla Motors Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk was all fired up after the electric car company reported a surprise profit and better-than-expected revenue Wednesday, confidently trash-talking rivals and naysayers, while setting a few more goals that may to [sic] tough for the company to meet.
Even before the company’s call with investors, Musk retweeted a CNBC interview with former General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz, who disparaged Tesla’s financials and likened its supporters to members of a religious cult. Musk had his own response to Tesla fans:
"Dear cult members, I love you"
Riding high on delivering quarterly profits for only the second time in Tesla’s history, driven by cost-cutting and helped out by selling zero-emissions tax credits, Musk told investors the company could see another profit in the fourth quarter. He also said that he expected volume production of the upcoming Model 3 in the second half of 2017, and in perhaps the biggest, most unlikely stretch goal, said that SolarCity Corp. SCTY, +5.80% , which Tesla TSLA, +4.26% is in the process of buying, could perhaps be a cash contributor in the fourth quarter “in a small way.”
Musk confidently trash-talked Uber Technologies Inc., saying the ride-hailing app company has the wrong strategy about self-driving cars, and that he favors an autonomous-vehicle network made up of people’s cars while they are not driving them. In addition, he dissed Tesla’s former technology partner Mobileye N.V. MBLY, -0.99%without naming the maker of its earlier sensor chips.
“I would separate what Tesla says from, say some supplier of ours, [that is] raining bullshit,” Musk said, referring to the dispute between the two companies over radar and its use as a self-driving technology. Musk said he was highly confident in the company’s use of radar and that, as he has written before, radar is moving from a supplemental to a primary sensor.
Perhaps one Musk’s most risky comments was that SolarCity could be cash-neutral or even a cash contributor next year. But he hedged that comment carefully.
“Do not take this to the bank,” Musk said during the company’s analyst call. “This is not a promise. This is like, this is what appears to be the case. So contingent upon shareholder approval, we expect SolarCity to be somewhere between neutral and a cash contributor in the fourth quarter. And yeah, I mean, things are looking good.”
Investors thought so too, with Tesla’s shares jumping over 4% in after-hours trading. But once again, Musk is setting a high bar for himself and the company, and investors are betting he can defy the odds. But even if he doesn’t achieve all of these goals, the Tesla cult is not likely to mind, for now.
Tesla Motors Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk was all fired up after the electric car company reported a surprise profit and better-than-expected revenue Wednesday, confidently trash-talking rivals and naysayers, while setting a few more goals that may to [sic] tough for the company to meet.
Even before the company’s call with investors, Musk retweeted a CNBC interview with former General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz, who disparaged Tesla’s financials and likened its supporters to members of a religious cult. Musk had his own response to Tesla fans:
"Dear cult members, I love you"
Riding high on delivering quarterly profits for only the second time in Tesla’s history, driven by cost-cutting and helped out by selling zero-emissions tax credits, Musk told investors the company could see another profit in the fourth quarter. He also said that he expected volume production of the upcoming Model 3 in the second half of 2017, and in perhaps the biggest, most unlikely stretch goal, said that SolarCity Corp. SCTY, +5.80% , which Tesla TSLA, +4.26% is in the process of buying, could perhaps be a cash contributor in the fourth quarter “in a small way.”
Musk confidently trash-talked Uber Technologies Inc., saying the ride-hailing app company has the wrong strategy about self-driving cars, and that he favors an autonomous-vehicle network made up of people’s cars while they are not driving them. In addition, he dissed Tesla’s former technology partner Mobileye N.V. MBLY, -0.99%without naming the maker of its earlier sensor chips.
“I would separate what Tesla says from, say some supplier of ours, [that is] raining bullshit,” Musk said, referring to the dispute between the two companies over radar and its use as a self-driving technology. Musk said he was highly confident in the company’s use of radar and that, as he has written before, radar is moving from a supplemental to a primary sensor.
Perhaps one Musk’s most risky comments was that SolarCity could be cash-neutral or even a cash contributor next year. But he hedged that comment carefully.
“Do not take this to the bank,” Musk said during the company’s analyst call. “This is not a promise. This is like, this is what appears to be the case. So contingent upon shareholder approval, we expect SolarCity to be somewhere between neutral and a cash contributor in the fourth quarter. And yeah, I mean, things are looking good.”
Investors thought so too, with Tesla’s shares jumping over 4% in after-hours trading. But once again, Musk is setting a high bar for himself and the company, and investors are betting he can defy the odds. But even if he doesn’t achieve all of these goals, the Tesla cult is not likely to mind, for now.
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