A tough week for Elon Musk ended on Friday. Tesla In an open letter published Friday, it warned the company’s board to curb an “overly committed” CEO.
The letter follows the mid-air explosion of a SpaceX Starship rocket on its first test flight on Thursday and Tesla’s first-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, which sees net income drop more than 20% year-over-year as margins shrink. and sent to Tesla. The stock fell nearly 10% on Thursday, removing about $13 billion from Musk’s net worth. Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
Musk has also re-entered the controversy with Twitter, removing verified status from most free subscribers’ accounts, removing markings on accounts with government officials, and sparking rampant specters of scammers on the platform. I got
Contents of the letter
Investors in Tesla, which claims to have more than $1.5 billion in assets, fear the board could bring in more independent members, posing “substantial legal, operational and reputational risks.” I would like to work harder to solve certain problems. Electric car makers, ‘jeopardize their long-term value’.
Investors are particularly interested in Musk’s and Tesla’s handling of human rights and labor rights. Their letters talk about the many lawsuits filed against Tesla, including racism, union busting, wage theft, sexual harassment, and unsafe working conditions.
“Tesla seems to embrace a broad culture of ‘above the law,'” they wrote, adding that Tesla is currently under criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the California Department of Motor Vehicles. He added that he was facing On his claims about autopilot technology and self-driving cars.
“Instead of addressing issues with regulators, Musk made derogatory tweets and comments to heighten tensions,” they wrote.
of Open Letter to Tesla’s Board of Directors The announcement came after Tesla’s stock fell more than 15% last month.
Nia Impact Capital’s Kristin Hull told CNBC that the letter was intended as a “call to action” and hoped Tesla chairman Robyn Denholm would at least take the time to write a meaningful response. said there is. “I hope the board takes their job seriously. I don’t think they’re doing a good job as Elon Musk’s boss,” she said.
erode margins and explode rockets
Tesla’s stock was up in early trading on Friday, but the company’s first-quarter earnings update this week showed inventory levels soaring and margins slipping.
After ramping up production at its factories and implementing price cuts through the first quarter, Tesla owed $7.32 billion to vendors and owed 143 million, according to the company’s investor presentations for the first three months of 2023. We have $80 million in inventory.
Tesla raised prices for the Model S and Model X in some markets on Friday, but those models still make up a small portion of Tesla’s overall sales and production today. The modest price increases also came with incentives. It’s his three-year free supercharger on the company’s electric vehicle charging network.
The fall in Tesla’s share price has a direct impact on Musk, whose personal wealth mostly stems from holdings of Tesla, as it lost about $13 billion in book net worth the day after Tesla’s first-quarter earnings.
Also on Thursday, Musk’s U.S. defense contractor also launched a Starship Super Heavy Vehicle on an orbital test flight from its Boca Chica, Texas facility.
As CNBC previously reported, the rocket left the launch pad — a victory of sorts — but also exploded, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to suspend the program for the time being pending further evaluation.
Before the explosion, local environmental groups and indigenous rights groups protested the launch Anticipating harm to wildlife, public health, and property.
CNBC has reached out to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the FAA’s Texas Regional Office for more information. A FWS spokesperson said the agency is currently gathering information about the impact of the blast on local habitats and wildlife, and the FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk, meanwhile, has continued his controversial moves on Twitter, the social media platform he bought for $44 billion last year, selling billions of dollars worth of Tesla stock to fund the acquisition.
This week, Twitter removed verified status from public and government accounts, including President Joe Biden, public figures including the Pope, and even transit agencies, including San Francisco’s BART.
Musk-led Twitter has also removed the “government-funded” and “Chinese state-owned” labels from the Twitter accounts of countless global media organizations. The label implied government involvement in editorial decisions by those media. Most notably, Reuters first reportedTwitter has removed the “Chinese state media” label from the Xinhua News account and the accounts of journalists associated with these publications.