Crispin Odey’s Tesla’s “Final Stage of Life” view could be gaining traction.

Failed promises and erratic behavior from the CEO Elon Musk over the last couple of years is fuelling bearish speculation in the stock and supporting Crispin Odey’s Tesla’s “Final Stage of Life” view.

“Crispin Odey’s Tesla’s “Final Stage of Life” view could be gaining traction”

 

Crispin Odey’s see many similarities between the CEO Elon Musk and the sailor Donald Crowhurst

“The amateur sailor set off in the 1960s on a solo voyage around the world and never came back,” according to a Bloomberg article.

Tesla’s electrical vehicle failures highlight the fact that building a modern automobile is a fusion of many skills, disciplines all blending harmoniously together into an engineering work of art. Mechanical, electrical engineering, craftsmanship and lately Artificial Intelligence/ software engineering are all visible in a modern automobile.

Crispin Odey’s Tesla’s “Final Stage of Life” view suggests that Tesla, a Silicon Valley-based company may not have what it takes to compete with the big auto-companies which have been building automobiles for now nearly a century.

 

“Crispin Odey’s see many similarities between the CEO Elon Musk and the sailor Donald Crowhurst”

 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been more concerned about grabbing media attention rather than focusing on building the next generation of great autos. Put another way, Tesla’s all spin and no substance could result in investors dashing for the exit, after all investors patience runs thin when results are not forthcoming.

“Within the first 30 minutes of driving the car back home, the rear bumper cover falls off. That’s, um, not ideal…. the company is looking into the matter here, and that this is not how we build our cars” – Tesla spokesperson

Crispin Odey’s Tesla’s “Final Stage of Life” view is based on Tesla’s many (in some cases too many) failures.

Indeed, Among the more recent ‘failures’: parts of the Tesla Model 3 were being made by hand, contributing to a shortage of vehicles ready for delivery.

Tesla blamed “production bottlenecks” for only meeting a fraction of the promised 1,500 Model 3s, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Bad planning meant that major portion of the production line had not yet been automated. So major portions of the car were being made by hand rather than on the production line. But building by hand to quality standards is a skill that is gained over many years, often passed on from generation to generation through the old style apprenticeships. In the age of automation and keyboards, those skills are not readily available.

So that led to variations in quality standards with an unusual outcome for the automotive production.

For example, there were reports of bumpers falling off brand new Tesla Model three after 30 minutes of driving the new car out of the showroom.

“Within the first 30 minutes of driving the car back home, the rear bumper cover falls off. That’s, um, not ideal. Update: A Tesla spokesperson said the company is looking into the matter here, and that this “is not how we build our cars” reported Jalopnik.

Bumper falling off brand new Tesla Model happen to numerous owners.
It was only a few generations ago (when the US was a manufacturing nation) that Chevrolet chrome bumpers were so sturdy you could use them for towing light loads.

Then a number of Tesla Model S had several problems with spontaneous battery combustion problems.

“Storing energy in the form of lithium batteries capable of powering a vehicle is extremely volatile, maybe it is too dangerous to power mass transport”

So perhaps then Crispin Odey’s Tesla’s “Final Stage of Life” view is also based on Tesla Model S self-combusting.

A Tesla Model S caught fire while in motion.  Moreover, an impact did not appear to be the cause of the fire.

While driving down the road, this Model S became engulfed in flames. Fortunately, the driver was alerted by other motorists, managed to pull over and quickly exit the vehicle in time unharmed.

A man behind the self-combusting Tesla vehicle posted this statement on Twitter.
“@Tesla This is what happened to my husband and his car today. No accident, out of the blue, in traffic on Santa Monica Blvd. Thank you to the kind couple who flagged him down and told him to pull over. And thank god my three little girls weren’t in the car with him”. See the video here

But not everyone driving a Tesla deathtrap have been so lucky. Another Tesla crashed, then burst into flames killing two teenagers. Preliminary investigation revealed that the Tesla car, a gray 2014 model, drove off the roadway and struck a concrete wall while traveling southbound on Seabreeze Boulevard. The vehicle “immediately caught on fire, becoming fully engulfed in flames,” police said. Two teenage victims in the front of the car were killed at the scene, and a third male was injured.

Storing energy in the form of lithium batteries capable of powering a vehicle is extremely volatile, maybe it is too dangerous to power mass transport.

Perhaps Crispin Odey’s Tesla’s “Final Stage of Life” view has got to do with the CEO Elon Musk track record of failures.

In 1995 Musk unsuccessfully applied for a job at Netscape. In 1996 Musk was ousted as CEO of his own company Zip2.

In 1999 Musk the first Paypal product was voted as one of the 10 worse business ideas. The same year Musk crashes his newly bought McLaren F1 worth $1 million.

In 2006 his first rocket launch explodes, his second launch explodes again in 2007.

In December 2008 Both Tesla and SpaceX are on the brink of bankruptcy.

In 2014 his Tesla Model S explodes.

If you are going to fail then fail like CEO Elon Musk.

But let’s be frank, Tesla represents everything that was wrong with capitalism over the last decade. Fake valuations based on the central bank’s massive monetary easing policy. A business model that survives on low-interest rates and crony capitalism government subsidies (corporate welfare).

Perhaps Crispin Odey’s Tesla’s “Final Stage of Life” view is bang on the money. Tesla could be a shorters delight. Crispin Odey is short Gilts too.