Investigation“Elon Musk, an American hero” (6/6). To develop his businesses, he needs cash forever, but he hates Wall Street. So he plays cat and mouse with the world of finance. Its goal ? To establish its power and to remain the only master on board.
The sun has already risen over the Pacific when Elon Musk wakes up in his lavish villa in Bel Air, Los Angeles, alongside his partner, Canadian singer Grimes. Today, he leaves to visit his battery factory in Nevada. At the wheel of his Tesla S, he drives towards the airport, to join a private jet. On the way, alone, without referring it to anyone, he tweets: “I am considering taking Tesla off the $ 420 rating [354 euros] the action. Funding assured. “ This August 7, 2018, in the middle of a stock market session, Wall Street is dumbfounded by this puzzling information, which values Tesla at $ 70 billion and requires finding the capital to buy back the shares. The action takes off suddenly before seeing its listing suspended. Musk persists, specifying in other tweets that “Investor support is confirmed. The only reason it is not certain is that it depends on the vote of the shareholders ”.
Am considering taking Tesla private at $ 420. Funding secured.
The policeman of the US Stock Exchange, the SEC, is furious at these exits, while the board of directors of Tesla is dismayed by its uncontrollable boss. In an interview given a few days later to New York Times, the billionaire explains that he did not suggest the price of 420 dollars by chance: 4:20, either “Four twenty”, is supposed to be the perfect time of day to smoke a joint, according to followers of the North American counterculture. But Musk assures him, he did not act under the influence: “I hadn’t taken weed, let’s be clear, it’s not good for productivity. “ On the other hand, he confides, as if to justify his inflammatory tweet. He explains that he is at the end of his rope: he works 120 hours a week, almost missed his brother Kimbal’s wedding in June, almost two hours away, and spent all day in his life.e birthday at work: ” All night long. No friends, nothing. “
Facing New York Times, Musk alternates laughing and crying. He couldn’t take it any longer: Tesla was unable to produce its Model 3 at the expected rate; its claim to become a large auto maker is threatened; the company devours cash, always more cash. Musk even joked on Twitter a few months earlier, announcing his bankruptcy a 1er April : “Tesla goes bankrupt, Palo Alto, California, 1er April 2018. Despite intense fundraising efforts, including a final massive Easter Egg sale, we are sad to report that Tesla has gone completely and utterly bankrupt. So bankrupt, you can’t believe it. ”
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