Rogue Tesla mechanic

[the_great_white]

From the front page of today's Wall Street Journal. Sorry for the lengthy post. I couldn't link to the article because it is behind a paywall, but here are the opening paragraphs:

Some Tesla Suppliers Fret About Getting Paid
Auto maker’s tumultuous year has concerned some of its suppliers, which are pushed to extend payment terms or asked to give cash back

Tesla Inc.’s TSLA 0.96% tumultuous year has fueled concern among some of its suppliers about the auto maker’s financial strength after production of the Model 3 car drained some of its cash, according to industry executives and documents.

A recent survey sent privately by a well-regarded automotive supplier association to top executives found that 18 of 22 respondents believe that Tesla is now a financial risk to their companies, according to the document reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Separately, several suppliers in interviews said Tesla has tried to stretch out payments or asked for significant cash back. And in some cases, public records show, small suppliers over the past several months have claimed they failed to get paid for services supplied to Tesla.

Tesla has improved its on-time payments to production-related suppliers to about 95% from 90% last year, according to people familiar with the matter. For nonproduction suppliers, Tesla is paying on time about 80% of the time, the people said.

“We’re not behind because we can’t pay them,” Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said in an interview Friday. “It is just because we’re arguing whether the parts are right.”

And one of the more interesting items from later in the article:

Public records show 16 companies since October have taken the unusual step of filing mechanic’s liens—or legal claims seeking unpaid compensation—against Tesla claiming bills haven’t been paid for supplies and services. Previously, only four liens had been filed against Tesla in all of 2015 and 2016 combined.

The liens were mostly filed this year in Alameda County, Calif., by small subcontractors against Tesla and contractors of the auto maker, primarily for providing work at the company’s Fremont factory. Some of the suppliers have since been paid, and the total outstanding dollar amount of claims is relatively small, totaling nearly $8 million, according to the documents.

Liens filed by suppliers against auto makers are rare, say automotive industry specialists. “When a customer is having financial issues…suppliers start filing liens to protect their secured position to ensure they are paid,” said Dan Sharkey, a lawyer at Brooks, Wilkins, Sharkey & Turco PLLC who specializes in supply-chain issues.

start shoring Tesla, it's going down, and it's gonna go down in a blaze!

They can't even afford to refund the customer's deposits who want to cancel their orders.

 

[rbstern]

start shoring Tesla, it's going down, and it's gonna go down in a blaze!

They can't even afford to refund the customer's deposits who want to cancel their orders.

Careful. Shorting a stock like Tesla, the price of which is fueled by irrational factors and the high profile public persona of its founder, is risky business.

Not saying you're wrong. Just that the price of the stock isn't driven by reality.

 

[Kyzrsoze]

It would be interesting to find a quote from Musk criticizing Trump's business acumen.

 

[Grunk]

It would be interesting to find a quote from Musk criticizing Trump's business acumen.

I don't know if he's commented on Trump's business acumen or not but he was on President Trump's Advisory Council. He quit when Trump pulled us out of the Paris Climate Change Accords.

 

[Kyzrsoze]

Tesla’s Elon Musk, SEC settle fraud charges


https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/teslas-elon-musk-sec-settle-fraud-charges

 

[rbstern]

Tesla’s Elon Musk, SEC settle fraud charges


https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/teslas-elon-musk-sec-settle-fraud-charges

Basically, a slap on the wrist for what a lot of other people have done federal prison time for.

 

[gh1950]

The coming thing. A lot of independents can't work on Hondas or high end JAP cars because they company will not distribute the software need to diagnose and repair them.

Bought JD all my adult life. Never again because of the crap they are pulling.

 

[Smoothie]

I road in a Tesla over the weekend, unbelievable car. It was a S model all electric

As compared to their fuel burning models?

 

[rbstern]

As compared to their fuel burning models?

 

[Gaducker]

A buddy of mine has been steady buying stock since it went public and usually yaps my ear off about how well his stocks doing, I haven't heard from him in a month or so...…...