Is Tesla Inc. (formerly Tesla Motors) an elaborate ponzi scheme?

Elon Musk and his corporate empire, much of it financed by taxpayer dollars, is very much in the news. Most of it is not good. And it may be getting worse.Tesla spends $1 million annually on Washington lobbyists. Its cars are financed by over $280 million in federal tax incentives, including a $7,500 federal tax break and millions more in state rebates and development fees. SpaceX has also received over $5 billion in government support. It has over promised and under delivered. SpaceX rockets, for example, are far less reliable than many of its competitors. This is outlined in reports from December 2017 and January 2018 in which the Department of Defense Inspector General and NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Council described a list of security concerns they have with SpaceX, among them 33 significant non-conformities.

Things, however, may be even worse than they appear.

In the view of many, Elon Musk has been engaging in similar behavior to Enron (fake accounting). A Bloomberg report in November suggests that SpaceX may be less than honest with its numbers, giving a false illusion of profitability. According to Bloomberg ,

In the case of Tesla, the Wall Street Journal reports that,

Elon Musk and his companies have a very questionable record when it comes to truth and honesty. Overstating prices to qualify for higher state tax credits seems to fit a pattern. According to a recent report in The Oregonian/Oregon Live, "The state of Oregon has recovered $13 million it paid to Tesla for solar power projects, after an investigation conclude the company inflated prices to qualify for higher tax credits."

“Tesla, Inc. has submitted reports that indicate that its cumulative sales of qualified vehicles reached the 200,000-vehicle limit during the calendar quarter ending September 30, 2018,” reads an IRS notice published Friday.

“Accordingly, the credit for all new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles sold by Tesla, Inc. will begin to phase out January 1, 2019,” the IRS noted.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-18-96.pdf

It is Deja Vu for the Tesla China factory

It was the year 2016, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the automaker secured a location and a local partner for a manufacturing plant in China. Bloomberg, at the time, learned that Shanghai could be the front-runner as Tesla reportedly signed a “non-binding memorandum of understanding” to invest in a $9 billion electric vehicle factory in the region.

Two and a half years later, the facility was never built and seemed more like a publicity stunt to boost the stock price.

Now it is Deja Vu, CNBC recently said Tesla had acquired an 864,885-square meter plot in Shanghai’s Lingang area for a manufacturing facility.

According to an official WeChat post from the government, land leveling has been completed, and construction could begin in the near term, the factory is expected to be completed and producing electric cars in late 2019. The article also reported a visit by Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong and Vice Mayor Wu Qing.

Since Musk first unveiled the automaker’s manufacturing plans for China, more than two and a half years ago, a new video has emerged showing the future site of the Tesla Gigafactory in China. As one social media user put it, "You call that construction? It is a half-flooded dirt field."

Low altitude flood plain. With Global Warming bringing stronger storms, what could go wrong?

"You call that construction? It is a half-flooded dirt field."

Tesla is here to stay (for now) and has revolutionized the car industry. This is an innovative American car company doing things that the others were reluctant to do. America invents and pushes technical boundaries and should be embraced. Because of Tesla’s efforts every car company is putting out an electric car.

Musk is an idiot. But let’s not pretend that other car companies don’t get tax breaks or bailed out or will get the same electric insensitive. When the electric mustang comes out I’m buying and cashing in my $7500 rebate thank you.

Tesla announced this morning that it had delivered 63,150 Model 3 vehicles in the fourth quarter, missing analyst estimates of 63,698.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/31/tesla-4q-2018-production-and-delivery-numbers.html

https://twitter.com/markbspiegel/status/1080461106819280897

The end-of-year attempt to sell vehicles abusing a $7,500 FTC federal tax credit as bargaining chip power fell flat for Tesla (TSLA). A report from electrek published NYE says Tesla possessed more than 3300 Model 3 vehicles in USA inventory.

https://electrek.co/2018/12/31/tesla-model-3-inventory-us/

Model 3 wrote:

Tesla is here to stay (for now) and has revolutionized the car industry. This is an innovative American car company doing things that the others were reluctant to do. America invents and pushes technical boundaries and should be embraced. Because of Tesla’s efforts every car company is putting out an electric car.

Musk is an idiot. But let’s not pretend that other car companies don’t get tax breaks or bailed out or will get the same electric insensitive. When the electric mustang comes out I’m buying and cashing in my $7500 rebate thank you.

We will see if Tesla survives. Tesla has not revolutionized the car industry. They are not doing anything another car company couldn't do. Soon you will see the big players selling more electric cars for lower prices with a better tuned in manufacturing process. Building cars in tents will not cut it for the future.

Well duh, the China wasn't going yet. They needed a permit.

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-gigafactory-3-china-ramps-construction-6-month-permit/

The entire financial and economic system is an elaborate ponzi scheme.

Been to spain wrote:

The entire financial and economic system is an elaborate ponzi scheme.

Yes, but that's the scheme we all believe in.

Teardown expert Sandy Munro: building the Model 3 in China is definitely the correct strategy for the electric car maker. In a recent appearance in YouTube’s Autoline Network channel, Munro remarked that if Tesla optimizes the Model 3’s production in China, the electric vehicle will generate a lot of profit for the company.

“When (Elon Musk) takes (the Model 3) to China, (Tesla’s) gonna make a gazillion bucks. I guarantee it,” Munro remarked.

""the high-end versions of the Model 3 -- the price will still remain the same next year. I don’t want people to hold off on purchasing, or waiting for or expecting a price drop. We need to sell cars today in order to build the factory tomorrow.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-07/musk-urges-chinese-consumers-to-buy-model-3-now-to-fund-factory