Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Tesla Loses Money – Musk Becomes Deranged About Profitability





Tesla announced their 4th quarter and yearly results today.  Again the company has no working capital and had a bigger than expected loss for the quarter.  They claimed to have sold 2,400 Model Ss in the quarter and claimed to have $294 million of automotive sales.  Tesla may sold a few remaining roadsters but for simplicity sake let’s divide the $294 million by 2,400 cars and we have a simple statistic that the average selling price of each Model S was $122,500.  Let’s call it $120,000 even. 

OK so the DOE financed the majority of Tesla’s balance sheet.   The DOE debt now stands at over $450 million and the total assets of the company are $1.1 billion.  The second largest source of financing for Tesla has come from suppliers that are being paid far more slowly than Mr. Broder drove on the Connecticut Turnpike.   These suppliers are now owed $343 million.

Musk claims he will be profitable in the next quarter and that all is good in Tesla Town.   The DOE needs to ask where are the $50,000 electric vehicles that Mr. Musk promised?  His company is limping along on borrowed money from the tax payers and suppliers, and is selling cars for $120,000.  This is not the intended purpose of the loans Dr. Chu gave Tesla.

Mr. Musk had all sorts of electronic eavesdropping equipment in the car given to Broder of the New York Times for the test drive.  I suggest that Dr. Chu and the Inspector General of the DOE start placing some folks as well as electronic eavesdropping equipment inside Tesla and let we the people know what is going on with the company for, of, and by the 0.1% .

I really don’t care that Tesla fibs about their range.  I don’t care that CNN and CNBC go along for the ride.  But I do care that Tesla rapidly produce the $50,000 People’s Electric Car as we were promised this by Tesla, our elected officials, and Dr. Chu.    Of course I know the $50,000 People’s car will have a 40 kilowatt hour battery and will be lucky to go from DC to New York City (230 miles) with 2 stops at superchargers on a cold winter’s night.  These superchargers will need to be in Delaware at the Cavaliers Country Club (Route 1 and the DE Turnpike) and at the Intersection of 195 and the Jersey Turnpike near Allentown NJ.

Mr. Musk I suggest you soon provide Mr. Broder with one of the 40 kwh Stripped Down Model Ss without a panoramic roof that he can retest the People’s Electric Car driving from the White House to the New York Times HQ.  Also please commence building the two superchargers at the locations I have suggested, Else Mr. Broder will have to report that he got stranded again.

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