Tesla's "Reckless" Management Will Lead to Its Demise, Says Short-Seller
*By Michael Teich*
The entire market is in a bubble, according to Mark Spiegel, a short-seller at investment firm Stanphylーand Tesla may be the biggest one of all.
"It's a terrible business," he said in an interview on Cheddar Tuesday. "The financials are terrible and getting worse."
Tesla stock closed below $300 a share on Tuesday, its lowest level since early June. Shares are down 20 percent from their highs of the year. Spiegel thinks it's only a matter of time before the stock really crashes.
There's plenty to rattle investors. The company has burned through $8 billion in cash over the last four years and has more than $10 billion in debt. On Sunday, a report emerged that the company was asking for refunds from suppliers to help it turn a profit, though Tesla said it was only negotiating contracts on projects that were still active. And late Monday, the company said a top sales executive was leaving the company.
Spiegel said the recent string of executive departures is a sign of rising fatigue among insiders. He also said Elon Musk is partially to blame, calling his leadership reckless and describing the CEO as an "incredibly deceptive guy."
"He thinks you have to be as smart as he is to see through his BS. When in fact you don't have to be, you can just fact check."
One potentially problematic area, for SpiegelーTesla's self-driving cars, which he says aren't nearly as safe as CEO Elon Musk would like.
"Their autonomous driving tech is way behind," he added. "What they put on the road ... does more than what other people are willing to put on the road"
Tesla will report its second quarter earnings on August 1.
For full interview, [click here] (https://cms.cheddar.com/videos/VmlkZW8tMjA5NzM=).
Orangetheory Fitness is redefining the future of workouts with smarter tech, strength-based programming, and community-driven studios built for what’s next.
Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
