Musk won't answer "boring" questions.

[goodtimes]

Originally Posted By: PimTac
Originally Posted By: goodtimes
People who own electric motor cars love the instant silent power. Superior to any ICE. Thanks in part to this guy, GM, Nissan, Hyundai, and others, the change over to electric drive for many will reduce gas prices for the others who hate them, just because they hate them.

It’s not hate, (overused word), it’s a general dislike of someone who may be brilliant but has a business mind of a card shark.


I was referring to hating anything new like electric cars or hybrids. Not the man Musk. Just ask how well loved the Prius is around here. Say I love the Prius, it's just great. It will come out real clear.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: goodtimes
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Originally Posted By: goodtimes
People who own electric motor cars love the instant silent power. Superior to any ICE. Thanks in part to this guy, GM, Nissan, Hyundai, and others, the change over to electric drive for many will reduce gas prices for the others who hate them, just because they hate them.

It’s not hate, (overused word), it’s a general dislike of someone who may be brilliant but has a business mind of a card shark.


I was referring to hating anything new like electric cars or hybrids. Not the man Musk. Just ask how well loved the Prius is around here. Say I love the Prius, it's just great. It will come out real clear.

Bunch of people on the board fake a persecution complex and use the word "haters" from E.V's, Royal Purple...and on and on.

It makes it easier to label people whose views that they disagree with (or often can't form rational argument to disagree with)...so it's "haters".

I've said on multiple times
* I love the Toyota synergy drive train.
* I enjoy driving them, barefoot, to let the engineer in me use them to their full utlity.

And haven't felt a moment's worth of hate directed to me (bar the TGMO fanbois of course).

Musk, by his own admission, doesn't want the sort of investors who ask questions about the performance and delivery of his company...he wants investors who are besotted with the announcements and flashing lights, while he practices his art of misdirection...

"Look over there, an electric Semi Trailer that will save the world"
"Look over there, a car in space"

Just don't ask "boring questions" about the balance sheet.

 

[Carmudgeon]

He's clearly feeling the pressure.

In the short term, Model 3 production hasn't worked out as well as planned, even with anticipation that it would be a difficult ramp (the reasons why are a whole other topic). The stakes are high for the company.

With the most recent crash involving "Autopilot," he's finding that relying on the media to do your marketing can go both ways, and Tesla's image is suffering. He also found that the NTSB is not something he can manipulate, bully, and is not subject to his reality distortion field.

Longer term, the rest of the industry is slowly, but surely gunning for Tesla, and the window of opportunity as the sole electric car pacesetter is shrinking.

Visionary genius is a desirable trait, but ignoring the practical and pragmatic side can leave one vulnerable.

Mass vehicle production is a process that has been refined over the course of more than a century, and the OEMs have gotten very good at it. There may still be incremental gains to be found, but the fundamentals aren't going to change. Shooting for the moon with M3 production when the company's future rests on it carried considerable risk that has now been grudgingly realized.

Given his considerable hubris, pointed questions about those difficulties, continued cash burn and the need for additional capital no doubt stung more than a little and made him get defensive. He's still human, after all.

 

[Garak]

How does he handle boring questions at a board of directors meeting?

 

[KrisZ]

He's a smart guy but a genius he is not. The electrification movement needed an idol and I guess he fit the bill, media made him a hero and a genius in the eyes of the unwashed masses. Heck, I heard from someone that Tony Stark's character is based on him

Gee, that comic writer guy must've been a fortuneteller on the side lol.

Now that the major players are getting into this gig, willingly or not, cough VW, cough, his usefulness is diminishing rather quickly.
But as someone already mentioned, he's set for life, so that may explain his behavior.

 

[Garak]

Tony Stark's character was developed in the comics, and predates Musk. Now, if Musk stated he was going to build himself a flying, invulnerable exoskeleton and fight threats to our freedom, I'd say that fits well with his other delusions of grandeur and has a similar likelihood of coming true.

 

[Shannow]

Regarding the "boring questions"...

Car manufacturers often strong arm their suppliers into providing discounts for future contracts, encouraging continuity, and improvements both ends to improve quality and reduce costs to maintain profitability.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/22/tesla-...-profitability/

Quote:
In an unusual move, Tesla reportedly asked some suppliers to return part of the money it’s paid them since 2016, including for past work. According to the Wall Street Journal, which reviewed a memo Tesla sent to a supplier last week, the electric auto maker said it is asking suppliers for refunds to help it reach profitability. This stokes concerns about the company’s cash flow, despite earlier assurances from Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk that it will be profitable in the third and fourth quarters of this year.


So now he's effectively asking suppliers of past goods and services to subsidise his future...and presumably he won't be answering the "boring questions" that these people need to make their investment.

 

[DoubleWasp]

No surprise there. Tesla is the Kingdom of Handouts and Musk is the King.

"Can't someone just hand me money for no good reason, just to keep going?" is a question perpetually on his mind.

His latest problem seems to be letting that inflated ego of his out of control a little too much lately.

Auto manufacturing is an enterprise that has brought many to their knees. The success stories can be counted on 2 hands, and the failures cannot be counted at all.