Is It Possible to Replace Elon Musk as CEO of Tesla?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the potential implications of Elon Musk's leadership at Tesla, including concerns about his behavior, the company's financial health, and the future of electric vehicles. Participants explore various aspects of corporate governance, market dynamics, and consumer sentiment regarding Tesla and its products.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express concern that Tesla could struggle without Musk's leadership, citing his role as an intellectual and inspirational figure.
  • Others note that Musk's position as chairman of the board complicates any potential removal, although it is theoretically possible if the board acts decisively.
  • There are questions about Musk's recent behavior, including his public appearances and statements, which some participants describe as erratic.
  • Participants discuss the implications of Musk's tweets and whether they could be viewed as market manipulation, potentially affecting his eligibility to lead the company.
  • Concerns are raised about Tesla's financial stability, with some noting significant losses and questioning the sustainability of its stock value compared to traditional automakers.
  • Some participants share personal anecdotes regarding deposits on Tesla vehicles, questioning the wisdom of such investments given the company's current challenges.
  • There is a broader inquiry into the future of electric vehicles in the market, including the demand for Tesla and competitors like the Chevrolet Volt.
  • Participants debate the impact of Musk's behavior on Tesla's stock performance and the perception of the company among consumers.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views, with no clear consensus on the implications of Musk's leadership or the future of Tesla. Disagreement exists regarding the assessment of Musk's behavior, the company's financial health, and the viability of electric vehicles in the market.

Contextual Notes

Some discussions hinge on the interpretation of Musk's actions and their legal implications, as well as the financial metrics used to evaluate Tesla's performance compared to other automakers. The conversation reflects varying assumptions about corporate governance and market behavior.

  • #61
I would love to get stupid high with Elon Musk.
 
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  • #62
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for fraud, according to court documents filed Thursday. Sources close to the company told CNBC the company was also expecting to be sued, though Tesla was not named as a defendant in the complaint.

Shares of the automaker fell roughly 10 percent in extended trading Thursday.

The SEC complaint alleges that Musk issued "false and misleading" statements and failed to properly notify regulators of material company events. The SEC plans to hold a press conference at 5 pm E.T.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/27/tesla-falls-4percent-on-report-elon-musk-sued-by-sec.html
 
  • #63
I note they also want him banned from being a director or officer of any public company if found guilty.
 
  • #64
Tesla is a company and Telsa is expecting to be sued. What's the problem?
 
  • #65
Aww this administration is adorable!
 
  • #66
SEC offers settlement, Musk refuses, SEC goes ahead with fraud charges, TSLA down 14%.
 
  • #67
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/28/son...-have-a-suicide-pact-to-refuse-secs-deal.html
Tesla and the SEC were close to a no-guilt settlement but Musk pulled out at the last minute, according to reporting by CNBC's https://www.cnbc.com/id/105061837.

Under the deal, Musk and Tesla would have had to pay a nominal fine, and the CEO would not have had to admit any guilt, said CNBC's https://www.cnbc.com/id/105061442, citing sources.

But those sources said Musk would have been barred from being chairman for two years and Tesla would have to appoint two new independent directors.

"It was an unbelievably generous deal," said Sonnenfeld, a senior associate dean at the Yale School of Management.

So good, in fact, that former SEC Chairman Richard Breeden said the agency likely sees Musk's and the board's decisions to turn down the deal "as another reckless act by Tesla."
 
  • #68
Tesla board already has 3 too many directors, adding 2 more would make it the most useless, divergent board in history of corporations.
 
  • #69
cronxeh said:
Tesla board already has 3 too many directors

Really? Why is six the perfect number?

cronxeh said:
dding 2 more would make it the most useless, divergent board in history of corporations.

I'm assuming that's a joke, right?
 
  • #70
When you have that many people on your board, reaching a consensus is a non-trivial matter, which makes it an ineffective board.

An optimal number, just like an optimal number of direct reports to have for a manager, is 5-7.

Currently there are 9 members, adding 2 more would make it a very ineffective board.
 
  • #71
cronxeh said:
Currently there are 9 members, adding 2 more would make it a very ineffective board.

That is different than whagt you said before:

cronxeh said:
dding 2 more would make it the most useless, divergent board in history of corporations.

You do know that the average number of board members in the S&P 500 is 10.8?
 
  • #73
He's not the messiah, he's just a naughty boy.
 
  • #74
Greg Bernhardt said:
Musk out as chairman but stays on as CEO.

That's probably the best outcome he could have hoped for.
 
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  • #75
In the September 28th issue of The Atlantic, Ian Bogost wrote an article, Elon Musk Is His Own Worst Enemy.

It includes this gem:

According to documents described in the complaint, Tesla’s board and investor-relations team knew nothing about the matter before Musk had announced it. (The marijuana joke, however, was apparently real: Musk rounded up a 20 percent price-per-share premium to $420 because his girlfriend, the singer Grimes, “would find it funny, which admittedly is not a great reason to pick a price.”)
 
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  • #76
He needs to get his act together, maybe being fired from Tesla would the best thing that could happen to him.
 
  • #78
nsaspook said:
Let it go guy.
Not his style to let things go...
 
  • #79
This was phenomenally stupid. Part of the consent agreement was "no more unvetted tweets" - and a couple of days later, we not only have an unvetted tweet, but one where Musk largely admits that the original motivation was to punish short sellers. Not only is he risking five years in the big house for this, he has a billion-dollar investor lawsuit on his hands where he pretty much said "Yup. That's what I did."
 
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  • #80
Well... This whole story more and more sounds like a rage quit.
 
  • #81
Vanadium 50 said:
This was phenomenally stupid. Part of the consent agreement was "no more unvetted tweets" - and a couple of days later, we not only have an unvetted tweet, but one where Musk largely admits that the original motivation was to punish short sellers. Not only is he risking five years in the big house for this, he has a billion-dollar investor lawsuit on his hands where he pretty much said "Yup. That's what I did."
Where did he say that?

The vetting of tweets has 90 days to be implemented:
The proposed settlement, should it be approved, would require Tesla to "establish a new committee of independent directors and put in place additional controls and procedures to oversee Musk's communications." That oversight would only take effect 90 days after the settlement takes effect.
 
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  • #82
mfb said:
The vetting of tweets has 90 days to be implemented

You got me. That moves it from "phenomenally stupid" to merely "extremely stupid".
 
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  • #83
mfb said:
Where did he say that?
He didn't come right out and say it, he just implied that the SEC was successfully defending short sellers from his attacks.

I'd call this merely an unmodified "stupid" because I think the issue is officially closed...but then Musk is forcing us to re-calibrate our grades of "stupid" with respect to CEO conduct.
 
  • #84
So I have followed Musk's current actions and I have read his biography.
I really like and admire that man. He is a genius, great at engineering and product design. And he is a visionary that aims to build a better future (most important point).
However, he is bad with social stuff and not a good CEO. From an economic perspective, maybe he should step down as Tesla's CEO. On the other hand, without Musk, nobody would know Tesla today. He is still the driving power behind that company (aside from the money of the investors, ofc^^ ).

Still, a man who helps driving the digitalisation (Paypal), who helps revolutionizing the space industry (SpaceX), who improves the world's ecology (Tesla, Solar City), who aims to decrease the cost and time for traveling large distances (Hyperloop), who works on projects that would lead to cities with less traffic and pollution (Boring Company)... a guy who invests his millons of dollars he had just earned via selling his Paypal parts into funding a freaking space company. You got to love that guy!
 
  • #85
SchroedingersLion said:
I really like and admire that man. He is a genius, great at engineering and product design. And he is a visionary that aims to build a better future (most important point).
Besides visionary and scientist, I hate to point out the obvious that he's also a businessman*. In a sense, perhaps, it's good that he got a little landed ... . But, hey, life[business&science] goes on! ...

* despite
 
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  • #86
You guys need to stop calling Musk an engineer or a scientist. He is neither. He is the introverted, slightly autistic version of Bill Nye, with ability to sell the idea to the right people at the right time. Some of the engineering ideas he has like digging tunnels are absolutely ridiculous. I would still rather hang out with him than 99.99999% of people in the world.
 
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  • #87
cronxeh said:
I would still rather hang out with him than 99.99999% of people in the world.

So there are roughly 7000 people you'd rather hang out with than Elon? This might hurt his feelings... o0)
 
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  • #88
  • #89
  • #90
cronxeh said:
Some of the engineering ideas he has like digging tunnels are absolutely ridiculous.
Some of the engineering ideas he has like privately developing an orbital rocket are absolutely ridiculous.
Some of the engineering ideas he has like reusing rockets are absolutely ridiculous.
- many aerospace experts, before SpaceX did it
 
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