This Week in Tesla: Bannon, Buffett, and a Flying Model S
*By: Hope King*
Our look back at Tesla this week actually starts with last week ー last Friday actually, when CEO Elon Musk published a blog post on his company’s website stating he had changed his mind: Tesla is [“Staying Public”](https://www.tesla.com/blog/staying-public%20).
Investors weren’t thrilled by the news and punished the company’s stock price. Shares of Tesla have been down all week; the stock has fallen about 7% since Friday's close.
During the week, Musk found himself in hot water again after repeating a claim on Twitter that one of the rescue divers who saved a group of young boys trapped in a cave in Thailand [is a pedophile](http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-musk-pedo-suit-20180829-story.html).
Musk and his company also became a side topic of conversation with two powerful men this week: former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett.
Bannon has attacked major tech companies for years and [told CNN Wednesday night](https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/30/media/steve-bannon-elon-musk/index.html]) that Musk “flat out lied about securing funding” for his plans to take Tesla private. He also called Musk a man-child in the same interview.
Buffett didn’t go nearly as far. In an [interview with CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/08/30/buffett-i-have-better-things-to-do-than-tweet.html), the Oracle of Omaha mused that Musk’s tweets have not “helped him a lot.” Buffett, in a separate interview with [Fox Business](https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/5828949631001/?#sp=show-clips), also weighed in on the idea that Apple could or should buy Tesla, saying that would be a very “poor idea.”
Outside of the he-said-this-about-that-guy room, there was actual news about Tesla. BlackRock, [in a filing with the SEC](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-musk-blackrock/blackrock-voted-to-replace-teslas-musk-with-independent-chairman-idUSKCN1LG01R?il=0), revealed that the funds it runs voted in favor of a recent shareholder proposal to replace musk with an independent chairman. That proposal was defeated at Tesla’s shareholder meeting in June. Also, Bloomberg [on Wednesday] (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-29/tesla-hr-chief-has-been-on-leave-of-absence-amid-musk-s-tumult) reported that the company’s head of HR has been on leave of absence during this tumultuous time.
And the kicker for this week – security cameras in Canada captured a Model S flying through the air…before crashing. Musk responded to video, [tweeting simply](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1035029257557237760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1035029257557237760&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businesslive.co.za%2Fbd%2Fnational%2F2018-08-31-elon-musks-bizarre-tweet-after-watching-footage-of-flying-tesla%2F)]: “!”
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
