Tesla And The World's Greatest Con Man

Everyone’s talking about the possibility that the world’s best-known electric car manufacturer, Tesla, could be going bust within the coming months. Many are saying they will, and many are saying that they are too big to go under. We certainly don’t agree with the latter and absolutely believe that the demise of this joke of a company is gathering pace at a rapid rate.

We’re just going to come out and say it - we absolutely want this company to sink – not because we are bitter and anti-business, quite the opposite in fact – but because the whole company is a sham and has been from its very origins. The realisation that the Tesla bankruptcy rumours could be truer than first thought makes us a tad excited.

One of the biggest problems that the company has (aside from its terrible financial situation and monetary mismanagement history which we’ll touch on later) is the fact that Elon Musk is at the helm. He’s an egotistical maniac at best and is an ugly personality with hidden agendas and possible undiagnosed mental health issues at worst. Regardless of this, he is undoubtedly, however, a canny and cunning man that knows how to get what he wants. The latter is the only reason that Tesla has been able to hang on for so long.

For years he has actively and purposely voiced his opinions on a range of subjects, many of these opinions have deliberately been antagonistic and have simply been made in order to keep him in the headlines. In theory, we normally like people who are not afraid to speak their minds and on the face of it should appreciate Elon Musk for not being afraid to say things out of turn and ruffle a few feathers. But this prat is an exception. He doesn’t make these comments because he passionately believes in what he is arguing and discussing, he only makes these remarks because it keeps him in the headlines (keeps the Tesla name going) and also keeps people away from smelling a rat - the fact that the business is a financial disaster zone and if you look at the data, always has been.

He’s had numerous governments eating out of the palm of his hand for many years now. For instance, Tesla has never posted a profit, but yet is still one of the most known about brands on the planet. How many other companies do you know that would still be in business despite never making a profit? You don’t have to be Einstein to know that there have been leg-ups going on.

Government’s love the ‘green energy’ propaganda machine and Elon Musk has always known this and has exploited it for all its worth. He knows an electric car company cannot be seen to be struggling under any circumstances (they’re saving the planet apparently) and they certainly cannot be seen to struggle under a particular government either, hence why the establishment has always been there to bail him and the company out in one way or another. He’s well aware that a government would be remembered for Tesla going bust whilst they were in power and he knows that nobody in authority wants this tag associating with them.

He’s also been able to get into a position whereby consecutive government’s have bailed the company out so much through the years that the current government really doesn’t want the company to falter as all the bailouts over the years will have been for nothing. Elon Musk has, over time, been able to somehow squeeze money out from every available source to keep the Tesla brand alive and kicking and has deliberately utilised social media to exercise PR stunts that keeps his ego, and more importantly the company, on the lips of people across the world. When you look at the company from afar – they’re not very good at making energy efficient cars (not great when that’s their very business model) but they have always been good at sound bites, obnoxious PR stunts and gimmicks. All of this has been achieved under the stewardship of Musk. He isn’t a businessman, but more of a social media and PR spinner who knows how to talk the talk and happily accepts bailouts for the brand that he is so famously associated with.

He’s a very well-connected man (cough cough) and his big mouth and outlandish comments have served him well over the years but things finally and thankfully, look to be changing. But why now, you may ask. Why after all these years of bailouts and hanging on by the skin of their teeth might Tesla actually be closer to the edge than they ever have been?

There isn’t one particular issue, more like a culmination of issues that have collided and have rocked the company for real.

Let’s start with the finances, which are disastrous, even for Tesla. According to figures that we managed to get hold of last week, the company is managing to swallow over $7,100 every minute. Yes, you read that right. SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS EVERY MINUTE. The figure is mind boggling and goes some way to highlighting why the company is on its knees. The difference is that this time we have reason to believe that the bailouts may be drying up – and Elon Musk knows this.

It’s no coincidence that the company is running into serious money trouble and he’s started shouting his mouth off about anything and everything again. This is something that he has always done, but this time he’s taking risks and a lot of these risks seem to be backfiring. This is what Elon Musk is about; he disguises what’s really going on by mouthing off – it’s symptomatic of the bullied insecure teenager that everyone knew at school. This time, however, the pressure that he’s under seems to be far more obvious and he’s making mistakes. There’s no denying that the comments he made about the British diver who rescued the Thai schoolboys stuck in a cave were a PR disaster on his part. He referred to the diver as a ‘pedo’ but faced a huge backlash and this did more harm than good to him and the company. He’s used to saying things for a reaction and most of the time he gets the headlines that he needs for the company with very little damage financially, but in this instance these comments were out of line and people saw through what he was trying to do and rather than courting controversy and getting the Tesla name back on the tips of people’s tongues, he made himself look like an unhinged psychopath trying desperately to keep hold of the reins of a sinking ship.

Other figures make for grim reading too. The company has had ‘negative free cash flow’ for a good couple of years but despite this has quadrupled its workforce in the last three years. Not only that, but financiers believe that just to make it through to the beginning of 2019, the company needs to find another $2.5 billion. Things certainly don’t look great.

A more serious issue involving the billionaire that has cropped up is the announcement, again on social media, where Musk tweeted about taking Tesla private. This inevitably saw massive swings on Tesla’s stock price and ultimately led to cries of foul play by people in the finance and business industry. Think about it. He makes this announcement on social media – to the watching world - and suddenly share prices at Tesla alter. The billionaire was quick to say that it wasn’t a stunt to make him richer or give him greater power at the firm, but everyone is doubtful. If he is playing games like this, it’s fraud, plain and simple and he should not and cannot get away with it.

If the whole thing is a stunt (which we all know it is!) it’s a stunt that should end up costing the big head dearly. There are strict rules and regulations in place regarding how companies can release information that could affect stock price of a company and Musk has broken everything in the rule book in our opinion. Surely, it’s obvious what he’s doing?

Despite the blatancy of it all, however, we fear there will be no repercussions. But doesn’t that just make you dislike him even more? He, in effect, will probably get away with fraud and nobody will even bat an eyelid.

It also looks a little suspicious when no Wall Street Bank knew anything about a buyout of the electric car firm, according to sources in America. What more evidence do people need to realise the whole thing stinks?

As already said if there is an investigation and it looks like there has been some foul play, he should be taken down for fraud, but this is Elon Musk and the slippery character seems to get away with just about everything. Or does he? We don’t think he’ll be brought to task for his obvious social media stunts and potential financial foul play because he knows far too many people, but we honestly believe that the company is in far worse trouble than he likes to let on. There is something telling us that the company might not be strong enough to withstand another year at the rate that they are going – despite Musk’s best efforts – and we just can’t wait to see if we’re right.