Investor's Corner
Tesla’s online-only sales model defended by used car dealer Carvana CEO
Tesla’s decision to adopt an online-only model to sell its electric cars was recently defended by Carvana CEO Ernie Garcia, who went on CNBC’s Squawk Alley to discuss the electric car maker’s new sales strategy. Garcia noted that while Tesla will face challenges resulting from the shift in its sales model, the company’s return policy will likely be a difference maker for some buyers.
“I think every business has its challenges, but they’ve done a pretty good job overall. I wouldn’t be betting against them. I think when you buy a new car, questions are different, but the return policy is enormously powerful like it is on the used side. A customer knows they can return it,” the CEO said.
Garcia added that he does not see Tesla’s move to an internet-based sales strategy as a threat to his business, since Carvana only deals with used cars. The CEO even pointed out that Tesla’s shift can actually be good for Carvana. “Tesla has an incredible megaphone,” he said.
Garcia’s views on Tesla is coming from a well-established position, as Carvana currently stands as one of the United States’ premier online used car dealers. Carvana sells, finances, and buys back used cars through its website, and its growth has been so impressive that the company ranked as 5th in Forbes‘s list of America’s Most Promising Companies in 2015. The online used car dealer even went public in April 2017.
Garcia’s views on Tesla is coming from a well-established position, as Carvana currently stands as one of the United States’ premier online used car dealers. Carvana sells, finances, and buys back used cars through its website. Its growth has been impressive over the years, with the company ranking as 5th in Forbes‘ list of America’s Most Promising Companies in 2015. The online used car dealer even went public in April 2017.
Tesla’s shift to an online-only sales model has proved to be a polarizing decision for the company. Tesla stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) has remained volatile since the change was announced last week, and some analysts from the Street have expressed their reservations about the new strategy. Among them was Barclays analyst Brian Johnson, who mocked Tesla by stating that the company’s adoption of an online-only model was its “un-iPhone” moment.
Other analysts were more optimistic. Toni Sacconaghi from Bernstein wrote in a research note that Tesla’s sales figures in 2018 seem to validate the company’s online-only sales strategy. “The move to direct sales is bold, though we are comforted that 70%+ of Tesla buyers in 2018 did *not* test drive prior to purchase,” Sacconaghi wrote.
Tesla’s online-only sales model is a way for the company to accelerate the rollout of the $35,000 Model 3, a vehicle that is considered as the company’s first true mass market car. Addressing the press during a call Thursday last week, Musk explained that the shift will result in a reduction of the company’s headcount, but it will be also offer a way to reduce the production costs of its vehicles by 5-6%. “We will be closing some stores, and there will be a reduction in headcount. Unfortunately, there’s no way around it. We’re sort of in a binary choice. Reduce headcount and sell the $35,000 car and have fewer people, or not provide a $35,000 car,” Musk said.
Watch Carvana CEO Ernie Garcia’s segment on CNBC’s Squawk Alley in the video below.
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.
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.
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.
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’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.
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.”
🚨 Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli calls rumors of financial issues “so far from the facts that they require a direct response.”
Read his full remarks here: https://t.co/t3Pg1NHvzy pic.twitter.com/LvHUPhO4Qf
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 15, 2026
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.
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.
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:
$LCID The rumors are completely false. The company has sufficient liquidity to carry its operations well into next year, as recently published in its last quarterly filings, and it has not formed any special Board committee to explore the scenarios reported today. Our focus is…
— Nick Twork (@ntwork) July 14, 2026
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.
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.
Tesla enters two new markets on two different continents in one week
SpaceX announces new Starship 13 test flight target date
