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Live Webcast of Tesla-SolarCity shareholder meeting today at 1 PM PST

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Tesla Motors and SolarCity shareholders are scheduled to vote today on whether the two Silicon Valley-based companies should merge to create a single vertically integrated sustainable energy company.

Update: It’s official, Tesla will merge with SolarCity

The two companies have said that SolarCity would add more than $500 million in cash to Tesla’s balance sheet over three years, while contributing over $1 billion to next year’s revenue.

SolarCity investors are on deck to decide on the deal during a shareholder meeting scheduled for 11 a.m. today, followed by a Tesla shareholder vote at 1 p.m. from Fremont, Calif.

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A Live Webcast of the ‘Special Shareholder Meeting Regarding Tesla’s Proposed Acquisition of SolarCity’ will be made available beginning at 1 p.m. PST (9 p.m. UTC). Be sure to follow us on Twitter @Teslarati for behind the scenes coverage.

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It is not an exaggeration to say that today will be critical to Elon Musk achieving his overarching goal of leading the world to a fossil fuel free future. The combination of Tesla Motors and SolarCity will create one company that manufactures, distributes, and markets all the components necessary for a zero emissions society under one common brand.

Musk has said in the past that the two companies probably should have been one entity from the beginning, but even he could not have predicted that either company would have succeeded in the early stages.

Bringing a premium electric car to market was a considerable gamble at first, and indeed it is now known there was at least one period during which Musk toyed with the idea of selling Tesla Motors to Google because its economic future looked bleak. Better to have another company do the heavy lifting than to see the dream wither completely.

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Likewise, SolarCity began with little more than a concept. Rooftop solar was in its infancy. Many predicted the cost of solar panels was going to decline rapidly but no one knew for sure when or by how much. Early pioneers in solar energy were going bankrupt at an alarming rate.

Today, both Tesla and SolarCity have survived the early fires to forge successful businesses that are leaders in their respective fields. Together, the two companies have undertaken several joint ventures, but as Elon said during the Q3 earnings call, he dislikes joint ventures because they are too complicated and complex. The quest for synergy is hampered by the requirement to get approvals from two separate supervisory authorities, one at Tesla and another at SolarCity.

The merger has the endorsement of Institutional Shareholder Services, an independent financial review organization whose advice is highly regarded by mutual fund managers, pension fund officials, and other large investor groups. The endorsement could be what convinces shareholders of both companies to approve the merger.

If you’re considering solar for your home, we encourage you to get a solar cost estimate first, based on your monthly utility bill and location. The service is being provided by an affiliate partner and fan to Teslarati.

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"I write about technology and the coming zero emissions revolution."

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Elon Musk

SpaceX Starship Flight 13 aborted at Zero and Musk just told us what broke

Four Raptor engines failed to ignite at T-zero, forcing SpaceX to scrub Starship Flight 13 Thursday.

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SpaceX scrubbed the Starship Flight 13 launch attempt Thursday evening at the last possible moment, after four of the Super Heavy booster’s 33 Raptor 3 engines failed to ignite during the startup sequence. The 90-minute window had opened at 6:45 p.m. EDT from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, and the countdown had proceeded without issue all day, with more than 11.5 million pounds of liquid methane and liquid oxygen being fully loaded into the rocket before the automated abort triggered. SpaceX’s launch directors posted on X, “Standing down from today’s flight test attempt,” and shut down the livestream shortly after.

Musk confirmed the root cause within hours. “Some of the engines didn’t start, triggering an automatic launch abort,” he wrote on X. “To be confident of a good flight, 2 Raptors will be removed and replaced. Most probable launch timing is early next week.” SpaceX engineers began draining propellant tanks immediately and Booster 20 was rolled back to its hangar for inspection.

SpaceX comes with a slew of changes for Starship Flight 13

 

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The timing adds a layer of significance that did not exist during any of the previous 12 Starship flights. This is the first time SpaceX has attempted to launch Starship since the company made its stock market debut in June, listing under ticker SPCX at $135 per share. Public investors are now watching every Starship outcome in real time, and a last-second abort carries more visibility than it would have six months ago.

Flight 13 was designed to be one of the most consequential tests in the program’s history. It was set to carry 20 Starlink V3 satellites, the first operational payload Starship has ever attempted to deploy. Six of those satellites carried external cameras to photograph Starship’s heat shield from the outside during flight, which would act as a self-inspection approach SpaceX has never attempted before. The mission also needed to complete a Raptor engine relight in space, a step SpaceX skipped on Flight 12 in May after losing an engine during ascent. That Flight 12 booster also flipped 90 degrees off course during its boostback burn when five engines failed to reignite.

SpaceX has not announced an official next launch date. Musk’s “early next week” window points to July 21 or 22 at the earliest, pending the engine swap and a return to the pad.

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Investor's Corner

Lucid CEO dispels any rumors of bankruptcy: ‘So far from the facts’

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Credit: Lucid

Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli responded to rumors of an imminent bankruptcy that was reportedly being mulled after a report stated the automaker was working with the firm AlixPartners to iron out its next steps.

The company felt a massive loss on Wall Street yesterday, as the report essentially pushed the stock down as much as 55 percent on Tuesday.

The report, published initially by Eletric-Vehicles.com, claimed Lucid was essentially in dire straits and was told by AlixPartners, a commonly used restructuring advisor, to either take shares private or file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Lucid denies rumors of bankruptcy after over 40% stock drop

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Lucid’s head of Communications, Nick Twork, immediately challenged the report and stated the company “has sufficient liquidity to carry its operations well into next year.”

Now, the company’s CEO is chiming in as well, stating that the report is “so far from the facts that they require a direct response.”

Napoli said:

“Lucid is not considering bankruptcy or a transaction to take the company private. Those reports are false. The Board did not explore either scenario. Period.

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As disclosed in our most recent quarterly filing, Lucid has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations well into next year.

We work with outside advisors to improve operational performance and execution. They are not advising Lucid on a take-private transaction or bankruptcy, and any suggestion that they have recommended either course of action to management or the Board is false.

My priority is clear: turn this company around. That is where the leadership team and I are focused.

I look forward to providing a full update during our quarterly earnings call on August 4th.”

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It seems pretty clear that Lucid is confident things will be okay, and, to be honest, they should not have much to worry about, especially considering the company has been backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) for years. It has solid financial backing, and its sales, while weak, are pretty much right on par with a company of this age.

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Lucid also sent a Cease & Desist letter to the publication for their report.

Lucid shares have rebounded nicely and are up nearly 21 percent at the time of publication. As soon as the company dispelled the rumors of bankruptcy yesterday, the stock began to climb back toward more reasonable levels.

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Investor's Corner

Lucid denies rumors of bankruptcy after over 40% stock drop

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Credit: Lucid

Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.

Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”

Twork said:

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Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.

Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.

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Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.

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