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Damned if Elon does. Damned if he don’t. “An electric vehicle is worthless without electric charging stations.” So Tesla makes a risky move to save one such company that happens to provide an answer to that criticism. People pile on. Predictably.
Is SolarCity an exclusive, or otherwise prominent producer of the solar panels required for Tesla charging stations?
If anyone is unfamiliar with the author, she was one of the first mainstream media authors to be critical on Enron and eventually wrote a book on Enron as well.
For many Tesla fans it never seemed to make sense that Tesla would buy Solarcity except as a bailout of Solarcity. The loose connection they have with regards to the environment was certainly not sufficient to justify the move.
This bit seems pretty damning: > As SolarCity struggled to raise money from institutional investors, it began offering individuals a chance to buy what it called Solar Bonds. (“Now you can get paid while driving the solar revolution,” the marketing material said.) But there were few takers—so other parts of the Musk empire took up the slack. According to the shareholder lawsuit, SpaceX acquired $255 million of the bo…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Risky move to save a company run by Elon's cousin. edit , also Solarcity didn't/doesn't provide charging capabilities, but solar cells. There is not a lack of solar cell companies in the world and SolarCity was never particularly advanced.
A company that was founded based on his suggestion, with his financial and leadership support. He was there from day zero. Solar City is not just a solar cell company. It is a power generation and distribution company. Which clearly ties into charging electric cars. Another (very) common early criticism of Tesla: You’re just filling up with coal power. And. Risky for sure. Elon Musk obviously doesn’t shy from risky.…
Damned if Elon does. Damned if he don’t. “An electric vehicle is worthless without electric charging stations.” So Tesla makes a risky move to save one such company that happens to provide an answer to that criticism. People pile on. Predictably.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Risky move to save a company run by Elon's cousin. edit , also Solarcity didn't/doesn't provide charging capabilities, but solar cells. There is not a lack of solar cell companies in the world and SolarCity was never particularly advanced.
A company that was founded based on his suggestion, with his financial and leadership support. He was there from day zero. Solar City is not just a solar cell company. It is a power generation and distribution company. Which clearly ties into charging electric cars. Another (very) common early criticism of Tesla: You’re just filling up with coal power. And. Risky for sure. Elon Musk obviously doesn’t shy from risky.…
And that's part of the huge conflict of interests being discussed here. The process didn't start with Tesla execs saying "hmm, we should acquire a solar company, let's look at a dozen potential targets and see which one is the best fit." It started with SolarCity needing a bailout and Musk finding a way to justify it as supposedly in Tesla's interests. Tesla could have waited for SolarCity to go under and bought the assets and tech for much less, without the broken business model attached, but instead it overpaid in order to let Musk's family save face (and have a payday).
Damned if Elon does. Damned if he don’t. “An electric vehicle is worthless without electric charging stations.” So Tesla makes a risky move to save one such company that happens to provide an answer to that criticism. People pile on. Predictably.
"Musk’s believers argue that the details of his ventures don’t matter: It’s the grand vision that counts. “The guy has a will to make stuff happen that is extraordinary,” says someone who worked closely with Musk. “He willed Tesla to happen. And in willing a reality into existence, he might not stick to the facts.”"
If anyone is unfamiliar with the author, she was one of the first mainstream media authors to be critical on Enron and eventually wrote a book on Enron as well.
But then a stock investor tipped her off that Enron's numbers didn't make sense. She started investigating and wrote an article, "Is Enron Overpriced?"[1]. That was the first domino.
Here's a clip about that from "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room". A fascinating documentary and cautionary tale.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaZOIAJJ6Kk
1) https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archiv...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Risky move to save a company run by Elon's cousin. edit , also Solarcity didn't/doesn't provide charging capabilities, but solar cells. There is not a lack of solar cell companies in the world and SolarCity was never particularly advanced.
A company that was founded based on his suggestion, with his financial and leadership support. He was there from day zero. Solar City is not just a solar cell company. It is a power generation and distribution company. Which clearly ties into charging electric cars. Another (very) common early criticism of Tesla: You’re just filling up with coal power. And. Risky for sure. Elon Musk obviously doesn’t shy from risky.…
Also an incorrect criticism since plenty of power in the USA is generated by natural gas, hydro, nuclear, and utility scale solar and wind.
The purchase of SolarCity by Tesla was the single dumbest thing Elon Musk did and it has dire consequences for Tesla the car company. Shareholders definitely have a great chance to sue Musk because he did not do this in the best interest of his shareholders, it's in the best interest of his cousin. Co-mingling all parts of his companies (SpaceX buying SolarCity Bonds) is a huge red flag that reeks of corporate malfea…
Edit: Down vote! Quickly! Do it before Elon notices your lack of loyalty.