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Journalist in Twitter scuffle with Tesla’s Elon Musk spills details to CNBC

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A journalist who recently caught the ire of CEO Elon Musk on Twitter defended her coverage in a recent interview. During a segment on CNBC‘s Halftime Report, Business Insider senior finance correspondent Linette Lopez told her side of the story, confirming that former Tesla employee and alleged saboteur Martin Tripp did provide her with information, and denying any financial connections with noted Tesla short-seller Jim Chanos.

“It’s up to shareholders to decide whether or the CEO of a $50 million (sic) company should spend his time yelling at reporters on Twitter. What my reporting indicates is that the mission of Tesla is not really quite in line with the manufacturing of Tesla. Elon Musk has, for years, a high-quality car that is environmentally-friendly and what we’re seeing coming out of both Tesla factories is not exactly that,” Lopez said.

Lopez was joined in her segment in CNBC‘s Halftime Report by Bethany McLean of Vanity Fair and Yale’s Jeffrey Sonnenberg. McLean, who is noted as one of the reporters who was involved in the Enron investigations, stated that Musk’s actions against Lopez on Twitter are uncharacteristic of a CEO that is confident of his company’s numbers. McLean also commended the Business Insider reporter for following her story.

“I think Musk should be ashamed of himself and shareholders should think about running for the hills. Given the ugliness on Twitter where somebody like Elon Musk starts to lead a pack and the pack takes that as an excuse to behave in an extremely ugly manner, and I think that brings out the worst in human nature. Even if you’re right and you’re on to something, it’s pretty hard to sit on the other side of that and not have it get to you. So, I commend Linette for her courage,” McLean said.

Ultimately, the Business Insider correspondent concluded that she would continue covering the electric car maker in her reports. Lopez also noted that she still has sources, and she still has stories to tell.

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“Of course, there’s no question. I will continue to cover Tesla. I will continue to work very hard. I am not out of sourcing, and I am not out of stories,” Lopez said.

Linette Lopez has been covering Tesla for a while now, and a good number of her articles are pointedly negative. Articles such as “Elon Musk doesn’t care about you” and “Internal documents reveal Tesla is blowing through an insane amount of raw material and cash to make Model 3s, and production is still a nightmare,” after all, invoke an air of subjectivity. Her favorable articles featuring Tesla’s most notable short-seller, Jim Chanos, also gives an impression that she already has a clear stance on Tesla.

Nevertheless, McLean’s statements about Twitter bringing out the ugly side of human beings is pretty much on target as well. Some members of the online community, after all, have resorted to below-the-belt attacks on Lopez, and that is not okay. Musk is no stranger to online hate, either, as proven by the criticism he received after his team built a mini-submarine for the stranded Wild Boar soccer team in Thailand. Musk received a lot of flak for allegedly being a “narcissist” and attempting to take credit away from the divers who rescued the children and their coach. Recent Twitter updates by Musk, however, proved that the team conducting the rescue operations were in active communication with the Tesla CEO. Social media posts from Thailand also confirmed that they appreciated Musk and his team’s efforts to help (the minisub is now part of the country’s rescue equipment), but the vitriol is still there.

Ultimately, if there is one thing that Musk could to silence his critics and prove members of the media like Lopez and McClean wrong, it would be through Tesla’s numbers in the quarters and years to come. If the numbers at the end of Q2 2018 and its recent strategies with the Model 3, such as its new test drive program and its 5-minute Sign & Drive delivery process are any indication, it seems like Tesla is now actively fighting critics with its results. With Tesla expecting China’s Gigafactory 3 to begin vehicle production within two years of the facility’s construction, the time might soon come when Elon Musk would just have to sit back and let his company’s numbers do the talking. 

Watch a part of Linette Lopez’s segment in CNBC‘s Halftime Report in the video below.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package hits first adversity from proxy firm

ISS said the size of the pay package will enable Musk to have access to “extraordinarily high pay opportunities over the next ten years,” and it will have an impact on future packages because it will “reduce the board’s ability to meaningfully adjust future pay levels.”

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tesla elon musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package, which was proposed by the company last month, has hit its first bit of adversity from proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS).

Musk has called the firm “ISIS,” a play on its name relating it to the terrorist organization, in the past.

The pay package aims to lock in Musk to the CEO role at Tesla for the next decade, as it will only be paid in full if he is able to unlock each tranche based on company growth, which will reward shareholders.

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However, the sum is incredibly large and would give Musk the ability to become the first trillionaire in history, based on his holdings. This is precisely why ISS is advising shareholders to vote against the pay plan.

The group said that Musk’s pay package will lock him in, which is the goal of the Board, and it is especially important to do this because of his “track record and vision.”

However, it also said the size of the pay package will enable Musk to have access to “extraordinarily high pay opportunities over the next ten years,” and it will have an impact on future packages because it will “reduce the board’s ability to meaningfully adjust future pay levels.”

The release from ISS called the size of Musk’s pay package “astronomical” and said its design could continue to pay the CEO massive amounts of money for even partially achieving the goals. This could end up in potential dilution for existing investors.

If Musk were to reach all of the tranches, Tesla’s market cap could reach up to $8.5 trillion, which would make it the most valuable company in the world.

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Tesla has made its own attempts to woo shareholders into voting for the pay package, which it feels is crucial not only for retaining Musk but also for continuing to create value for shareholders.

Tesla launched an ad for Elon Musk’s pay package on Paramount+

Musk has also said he would like to have more ownership control of Tesla, so he would not have as much of an issue with who he calls “activist shareholders.”

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Investor's Corner

Barclays lifts Tesla price target ahead of Q3 earnings amid AI momentum

Analyst Dan Levy adjusted his price target for TSLA stock from $275 to $350, while maintaining an “Equal Weight” rating for the EV maker.

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Credit: Tesla China

Barclays has raised its price target for Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA), with the firm’s analysts stating that the electric vehicle maker is approaching its Q3 earnings with two contrasting “stories.” 

Analyst Dan Levy adjusted his price target for TSLA stock from $275 to $350, while maintaining an “Equal Weight” rating for the EV maker.

Tesla’s AI and autonomy narrative

Levy told investors that Tesla’s “accelerating autonomous and AI narrative,” amplified by CEO Elon Musk’s proposed compensation package, is energizing market sentiment. The analyst stated that expectations for a Q3 earnings-per-share beat are supported by improved vehicle delivery volumes and stronger-than-expected gross margins, as noted in a TipRanks report.

Tesla has been increasingly positioning itself as an AI-driven company, with Elon Musk frequently emphasizing the long-term potential of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software and products like Optimus, both of which are heavily driven by AI. The company’s AI focus has also drawn the support of key companies like Nvidia, one of the world’s largest companies today.

Still cautious on TSLA

Despite bullish AI sentiments, Barclays maintained its caution on Tesla’s underlying business metrics. Levy described the firm’s stance as “leaning neutral to slightly negative” heading into the Q3 earnings call, citing concerns about near-term fundamentals of the electric vehicle maker.

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Barclays is not the only firm that has expressed its concerns about TSLA stock recently. As per previous reports, BNP Paribas Exane also shared an “Underperform” rating on the company due to its two biggest products, the Robotaxi and Optimus, still generating “zero sales today, yet inform ~75% of our ~$1.02 trillion price target.” BNP Paribas, however, also estimated that Tesla will have an estimated 525,000 active Robotaxis by 2030, 17 million cumulative Optimus robot deliveries by 2040, and more than 11 million FSD subscriptions by 2030.

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Investor's Corner

BNP Paribas Exane initiates Tesla coverage with “Underperform” rating

The firm’s projections for Tesla still include an estimated 525,000 active Robotaxis by 2030.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has received a bearish call from BNP Paribas Exane, which initiated coverage on the stock with an Underperform rating and a $307 price target, about 30% below current levels. 

The firm’s analysts argued that Tesla’s valuation is driven heavily by artificial intelligence ventures such as the Robotaxi and Optimus, which are both still not producing any sales today.

Tesla’s valuation

In its note, BNP Paribas Exane stated that Tesla’s two AI-led programs, the Robotaxi and Optimus robots, generate “zero sales today, yet inform ~75% of our ~$1.02 trillion price target.” The research firm’s model projected a maximum bull-case valuation of $2.7 trillion through 2040, but after discounting milestone probabilities, its base-case valuation remained at $1.02 trillion.

The analysts described their outlook as optimistic toward Tesla’s AI ventures but cautioned that the stock’s “unfavorable risk/reward is clear,” adding that consensus earnings expectations for 2026 remain too high. Tesla’s market cap currently stands around $1.44 trillion with a trailing twelve-month revenue of $92.7 billion, which BNP Paribas argued does not justify Tesla’s P/E ratio of 258.59, as noted in an Investing.com report.

Tesla and its peers

BNP Paribas Exane’s report also included a comparative study of the “Magnificent Seven,” finding Tesla’s current market valuation as rather aggressive. “Our unique comparative analysis of the ‘Mag 7’ reveals the extreme nature of TSLA’s valuation, as the market implicitly says TSLA’s 2035 earnings (~55% of which will be driven by Robotaxi & Optimus, w/ zero sales now) have the same level of risk & value-appropriation as the ‘Mag 6’s’ 2026 earnings,” the firm noted.

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The firm’s projections for Tesla include an estimated 525,000 active Robotaxis by 2030, 17 million cumulative Optimus robot deliveries by 2040 priced above $20,000 each, and more than 11 million Full Self-Driving subscriptions by 2030. Interestingly enough, these seem to be rather optimistic projections for one of the electric vehicle maker’s more bearish estimates today.

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