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Tesla Enters “Whistleblower Hell”

thedrive.com

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Re: Tesla Enters “Whistleblower Hell”

#2
"Pablo Escobar’s brother recently demanded $100 million in cash or Tesla shares from Musk for purportedly stealing his flamethrower idea, but the Escobars are Colombian."

(Edit: sorry, didn't see the first part where it is stated that the lawsuit includes Mexican nationals. But, I still think it's crazy that this is included in an article about Tesla and whistleblowers)

Re: Tesla Enters “Whistleblower Hell”

#3
I have no perspective on the merits of these claims, but the approach smells a bit off.

1. Make a name as a whistleblower

2. Invite further insiders to volunteer new negative stories

3. Solicit "the right people" to fund your operation

The concern here is insider trading. It's implied that funding contributors (Tesla shorts) may receive preferential access to negative news stories.

Edit: insider trading is not the correct legal term. Extortion perhaps? Which law would prevent them from just coming out and saying "fund us and get the scoop on bad news for Tesla"?

Re: Tesla Enters “Whistleblower Hell”

#4
Tesla (or at least Elon) has a terrible habit of engaging with critics in deeply unproductive ways, such as all the anti short seller stuff they pulled. It makes them look very defensive and seem like they feel vulnerable/cant face the criticism, and maybe it's because they actually are vulnerable and doing things that merit short selling and whistleblowing.

At least from a PR perspective you dont want to engage like this if you have nothing to hide, so either they're doing something wrong or they have terrible terrible PR sense. Both seem equally likely right now.

Re: Tesla Enters “Whistleblower Hell”

#5
post #4

Tesla (or at least Elon) has a terrible habit of engaging with critics in deeply unproductive ways, such as all the anti short seller stuff they pulled. It makes them look very defensive and seem like they feel vulnerable/cant face the criticism, and maybe it's because they actually are vulnerable and doing things that merit short selling and whistleblowing. At least from a PR perspective you dont want to engage like…

Short sellers have been causing the company a lot of trouble, Musk is correct in pointing them out so that their activities become known.

Re: Tesla Enters “Whistleblower Hell”

#6
post #2

"Pablo Escobar’s brother recently demanded $100 million in cash or Tesla shares from Musk for purportedly stealing his flamethrower idea, but the Escobars are Colombian." (Edit: sorry, didn't see the first part where it is stated that the lawsuit includes Mexican nationals. But, I still think it's crazy that this is included in an article about Tesla and whistleblowers)

It's not clear from your one word comment exactly what you're "whatting" about. Perhaps it's the silliness of the demand. Perhaps it's the "Colombian" thing at the end?

If it's the Colombian bit, what you didn't quote makes clear what's happening. The lawsuit alleges links to a Mexican drug cartel. The Colombian comment at the end was to make clear that the Escobars are (allegedly) part of a different drug cartel.

Here's the full paragraph:

Paragraphs 16 through 19 of the lawsuit identify thefts ranging between $37 and $150 million dollars, along with links to a Mexican drug cartel. (Pablo Escobar’s brother recently demanded $100 million in cash or Tesla shares from Musk for purportedly stealing his flamethrower idea, but the Escobars are Colombian.)

Re: Tesla Enters “Whistleblower Hell”

#7
post #5
post #4

Tesla (or at least Elon) has a terrible habit of engaging with critics in deeply unproductive ways, such as all the anti short seller stuff they pulled. It makes them look very defensive and seem like they feel vulnerable/cant face the criticism, and maybe it's because they actually are vulnerable and doing things that merit short selling and whistleblowing. At least from a PR perspective you dont want to engage like…

Short sellers have been causing the company a lot of trouble, Musk is correct in pointing them out so that their activities become known.

No, they really haven't. The best way to deal with shorts is to have a good quarter and crush them all. Or wait for a short squeeze. Lots of companies have misinformation spread by shorts all the time, but very few companies engage and attack shorts.

Re: Tesla Enters “Whistleblower Hell”

#8
post #4

Tesla (or at least Elon) has a terrible habit of engaging with critics in deeply unproductive ways, such as all the anti short seller stuff they pulled. It makes them look very defensive and seem like they feel vulnerable/cant face the criticism, and maybe it's because they actually are vulnerable and doing things that merit short selling and whistleblowing. At least from a PR perspective you dont want to engage like…

If you have any examples of companies who weren't doing something unsavory and had a recurrent problem with whistleblowers I'd love to hear them.

Re: Tesla Enters “Whistleblower Hell”

#9
620 lawsuits over about 10 years seems remarkably small for a company the size of Tesla. Is there an attorney who can shed light on how many lawsuits a company with a 50 billion market cap would normally receive?

Anecdotally: I worked for a company with a sub hundred million dollar market cap and they had /thousands/ of open lawsuits every year.

Re: Tesla Enters “Whistleblower Hell”

#10
post #7
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Short sellers have been causing the company a lot of trouble, Musk is correct in pointing them out so that their activities become known.

No, they really haven't. The best way to deal with shorts is to have a good quarter and crush them all. Or wait for a short squeeze. Lots of companies have misinformation spread by shorts all the time, but very few companies engage and attack shorts.

Tesla’s stock is shorted FAR more than any other company with comparable market cap. 30% of outstanding shares are shorted. It’s bonkers.
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