this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2023
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I agree that Tesla has done a lot to push us towards a more sustainable future with cars, and unfortunately I have to give Musk some credit for that also. The thing is, I don't think you can separate Musk and Tesla like you are trying to.
Without Musk there really isn't a Tesla. Even now they are very tied to him and his way of thinking. Nobody but Musk would ask someone to design the Cyber truck, and nobody but Musk would even call it that, or name the other vehicles so they spell S3XY, or release beta driver assist /self driving software to the public.
Without Musk, you have 87% of Tesla (when you measure by shares of ownership). I'm surprised other shareholders haven't tried to fire Musk as CEO.
It's not just the share percent, it's the whole company culture, he is the face of Tesla and his crazy thinking and over promising got the company this far. I doubt it would have gotten this far with a more rational and ethical CEO.
He is the ultimate hype man, without him Tesla just wouldn't have the same pull IMO.
I agree with you that's he's a good hype man. But Tesla doesn't need hype any more; they just need to solidify their lead over the EV market. At some point, hype and headline-grabbing turns from a fundraising asset to a corporate liability.
At a $747B market cap, I'd argue Tesla has definitely crossed that line.
Honestly, if Musk poured himself into a new futurist investment, he'd probably do better than he is doing right now... encumbering America's biggest EV manufacturer with stock leverages for a social media platform he took off the public market and completely tanked the valuation for is not a good look.
If you had someone honest at the head of Tesla saying realistic stuff like "we won't have FSD for at least a decade, robotaxis even longer, and it's going to take more than just the cameras we have" and "due to legal liability concerns we are pulling FSD from the market until it's ready" , I don't think you would have nearly that market cap.
Tesla built that market cap off Mr Hypeman, the market cap only begins to make sense if those hype promises are realistic. If Mr Reality takes over Tesla that market cap is going to crash hard, they need Mr Hypeman.
I respectfully disagree that they still need Musk. The man has spent the past two years visibly shirking his own duties as CEO of Tesla while he was busy burning Xwitter down, and his personal brand is getting tarnished daily.
I do agree they need someone a bit more visionary, though. They couldn't just snatch up the CEO of GM or Ford, but I bet you they could find someone out there who can focus on the future.
If they could find a better liar and hype man than musk, that would be a miracle.