Tesla Death Watch 27: Elon Musk Talks IPO

John Horner
by John Horner

In this breathless interview by an adoring newswoman, Elon Musk says that the Tesla Roadster is doing great! And that Tesla’s OEM supply business is doing great! And that the Silicon Valley electric vehicle maker (retrofitter? is slowing down on WhiteElephant sedan development because it’s the fiscally prudent thing to do so. Musk anticipates some cheap government capital in six months (courtesy of tax payers just like you), so why raise more money now? In other words of wisdom, Tesla’ self-appointed CEO says falling gas prices aren’t a concern for the company’s business plan because gas prices “aren’t the main reason” for buying a hot sports car which is “environmentally friendly.” (Hint: it’s all about green cred.) Officially, Musk has “no comment” about specific time frames for an IPO, but says it’s “within the realm of possibilities” that Tesla will fleece more investors let outsiders buy a piece of the automaker’s mean, green dream sometime next year. Meanwhile, if your idea of great reporting is a newsbabe hanging on every word of a sanctimonious rich guy, today’s your lucky day.


John Horner
John Horner

More by John Horner

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 11 comments
  • SherbornSean SherbornSean on Oct 22, 2008

    David, You make good points there; I wasn't trolling to start an electricity vs. oil debate, only to point out that we are talking about a sports car. Now I love sports cars, but I am a little sick of companies wrapping themselves in the 'green' flag to sell what is essentially a luxury good.

  • Psarhjinian Psarhjinian on Oct 22, 2008

    Poor Elon. Six or so months ago he probably could've gotten whatever he wanted for Tesla stock in an IPO. But now? No way. It makes me suspect that Musk has spent the last several months trying to "shine'er up for trade-in" but the problems were so deep that they couldn't get things sufficiently "shiny" before the recession hit. Heck, they might not have their ducks in order now, but the only way they're going to get the cash to keep going and/or pay off the VCs is to go public.

  • David C. Holzman David C. Holzman on Oct 22, 2008

    Sean, It may be naive of me but I've thought of Tesla more as creating a halo to wrap around more practical electric cars. Building glorified golf carts hasn't worked and imo won't work. I would have hoped that the tesla effort would foster discoveries that would make electrics R Us more practical. So in this case, I think it was reasonable for them to claim green cred. David

  • Lewissalem Lewissalem on Oct 23, 2008

    "WhiteElephant"... Love it... To push off development of the White Star is very telling. If I were shoveling money into this company, I would be concerned about delays on this project. The White Star is the Duke Nukem Forever of the automotive industry.

Next