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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 analyst says Musk stock buy should send this signal to investors

“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish.”

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased roughly $1 billion in Tesla shares on Friday, and analysts are now breaking down the move as the stock is headed upward.

One of them is William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who said in a new note to investors on Monday that Musk’s move should send a signal of confidence to stock buyers, especially considering the company’s numerous catalysts that currently exist.

Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever

Dorsheimer said in the note:

“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish. This purchase is Musk’s first buy since 2020. To us, this sends a strong signal of confidence in the most important part of Tesla’s future business, robotaxi.”

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Musk putting an additional $1 billion back into the company in the form of more stock ownership is obviously a huge vote of confidence.

He knows more than anyone about the progress Tesla has made and is making on the Robotaxi platform, as well as the company’s ongoing efforts to solve vehicle autonomy. If he’s buying stock, it is more than likely a good sign.

Tesla has continued to expand its Robotaxi platform in a number of ways. The project has gotten bigger in terms of service area, vehicle fleet, and testing population. Tesla has also recently received a permit to test in Nevada, unlocking the potential to expand into a brand-new state for the company.

In the note, Dorsheimer also touched on Musk’s recent pay package, revealing that William Blair recently met with Tesla’s Board of Directors, who gave the firm some more color on the situation:

“We recently participated in a meeting with Tesla’s board of directors to discuss the details of Musk’s performance package. The board is confident of its position in the Delaware case and anticipates a verdict by end of year. It does not expect a similar situation to occur under new Texas jurisdiction. Musk has the board’s full support, and we expect he’ll get more than enough shareholder support for this to pass with flying colors.”

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Tesla stock is up over 6 percent so far today, trading at $421.50 at the time of publication.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever

Prior to this latest move, Musk’s most recent purchase was for about 200,000 shares worth $10 million in 2020.

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Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons


Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares rose on Monday after CEO Elon Musk disclosed a rare insider purchase of company stock worth about $1 billion. 

A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that Musk acquired 2.57 million shares last Friday at various prices. The move represents Musk’s largest TSLA purchase ever by value, as per Verity data.

Elon Musk’s TSLA purchase

The disclosure sent Tesla shares up more than 8% in premarket trading Monday, as investors read the purchase as a notable vote of confidence, as stated in a CNBC report. Tesla stock had closed slightly lower Friday but remains more than 25% higher over the past three months. It should be noted that prior to this latest move, Musk’s most recent purchase was for about 200,000 shares worth $10 million in 2020.

Market watchers say the purchase could help shore up investor sentiment amid a volatile year for TSLA stock. Shares have faced pressure from a variety of factors, from year-over-year sales challenges due to the new Model Y changeover, political controversies tied to Musk, and reduced U.S. incentives for EVs under the Trump administration. Nevertheless, analysts such as Wedbush’s Dan Ives stated that Musk’s purchase was a “huge sign of confidence for Tesla bulls and shows Musk is doubling down on his Tesla A.I. bet.”

Tesla and Elon Musk

Musk already owns about 13% of Tesla, and his latest purchase comes as the company prepares for a key shareholder vote in November. Investors will decide whether to approve a compensation package for Musk that could ultimately be worth as much as $975 billion if ambitious market value milestones are achieved. The package has a long-term target of pushing Tesla’s market capitalization to $8.5 trillion, compared with about $1.3 trillion at Friday’s close.

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Wall Street’s current consensus price target still implies a roughly 20% decline from current levels, though some Tesla bulls remain optimistic that the company could shift its focus toward autonomy, AI, and robotics. Musk has also asked shareholders to approve an investment into his latest venture, xAI.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla bear turns bullish for two reasons as stock continues boost

“I think from a trading perspective, it looks very interesting,” Nathan said, citing numerous signs of strength, such as holding its 200-day moving average and holding against its resistance level.

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Credit: Tesla Manufacturing

A Tesla bear is changing his tune, turning bullish for two reasons as the company’s stock has continued to get a boost over the past month.

Dan Nathan, a notorious skeptic of Tesla shares, said he is changing his tune, at least in the short term, on the company’s stock because of “technicals and sentiment,” believing the company is on track for a strong Q3, but also an investment story that will slowly veer away from its automotive business.

“I think from a trading perspective, it looks very interesting,” Nathan said, citing numerous signs of strength, such as holding its 200-day moving average and holding against its resistance level.

He also said he believes a rally for the stock could continue as it heads into the end of the quarter, especially as the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit is coming to an end at the end of the month.

With that being said, he believes the consensus for Q3 deliveries is “probably low,” as he believes Wall Street is likely underestimating what Tesla will bring to the table on October 1 or 2 when it reports numbers for the quarter.

Tesla shares are already up over five percent today, with gains exceeding nine percent over the past five trading days, and more than fourteen percent in the past month.

While some analysts are looking at the performance of other Mag 7 stocks, movement on rates from the Federal Reserve, and other broader market factors as reasoning for Tesla’s strong performance, it appears some movement could be related to the company’s recent developments instead.

Over the past week, Tesla has made some strides in its Robotaxi program, including a new license to test the platform in the State of Nevada, which we reported on.

Tesla lands regulatory green light for Robotaxi testing in new state

Additionally, the company is riding the tails of the end of the EV tax credit, as inventory, both new and used, is running extremely low, generally speaking. Many markets do not have any vehicles to purchase as of right now, making delivery by September 30 extremely difficult.

However, there has been some adjustments to the guidelines by the IRS, which can be read here:

Tesla set to win big after IRS adjusts EV tax credit rules

Tesla is trading at around $389 at 10:56 a.m. on the East Coast.

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