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☆ Head of Saudi investment fund subpoenaed in case over Musk’s ‘funding secured’ tweet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Elon Musk’s team has subpoenaed the head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund as part of litigation over the Tesla CEO’s 2018 tweet that he was considering taking the car company private and had secured funding to do so. Musk has long maintained that he was considering taking Tesla private at the time he made the tweet. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund invests in entities that are important to the country’s economic growth, and says it had $620 billion assets under management as of early 2022. Musk’s team also subpoenaed three other members of the Saudi Public Investment Fund. The Tesla CEO also expressed frustration about several news reports citing unnamed sources that suggested the Saudi fund had shown no interest in funding a take-private deal.

☆ Elon Musk’s Tesla Comes Up Short of 2022 Delivery Target as Growth Slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Rebecca Elliott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Tesla says changes in how the company produces cars and distributes them to customers left more vehicles in transit to their final destination at year-end. Tesla Inc. delivered fewer vehicles in 2022 than it initially targeted, capping a year during which the stock suffer its worst annual performance as demand appeared to soften and Covid-related production disruptions persisted. Elon Musk‘s electric-vehicle maker said Monday that it delivered around 1.31 million vehicles last year, up roughly 40% from 2021. The company would have needed to hand over more than 1.4 million vehicles to meet its initial goal of increasing deliveries by 50% or more. Tesla signaled in October that it likely would come up short of its target, and Wall Street had already moderated its delivery expectations to around 1.34 million for 2022, according to FactSet .

The S&P 500 was 0.7% lower Friday, leaving it down 19.9% for the year. Corporate bonds had a miserable 2022, too: The return on bonds issued by S&P 500 companies was -14.2% this year. The Bloomberg Aggregate US Bond Index had its worst year since the index’s inception in 1977, according to FactSet. Excluding energy, S&P 500 earnings would fall 1.8% this year, Butters predicted. Occidental Petroleum has been the biggest gainer of the year in the S&P 500, up 122% year-to-date.

☆ Premarket stocks: Wall Street's biggest winners and losers in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The S&P 500 is down nearly 20% and with two trading days left in the year, investors’ hopes of a miraculous recovery have been dashed. The energy sector has so far returned more than 60% this year, significantly outperforming every other S&P 500 sector. Occidental Petroleum has been the biggest gainer of the year in the S&P 500, up 122% year-to-date. The energy sector reported the highest year-over-year earnings growth of all 11 sectors, at 137.3%. Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) is also down about 70%, making the auto tech company the third worst performer this year.

☆ Tim Draper Touts Decision to Pull Out of China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Joyu Wang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TAIPEI— Tim Draper , a venture capitalist known for his early bets in Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, is feeling good about his decision to stop investing in China. In an interview in Taiwan, where he is pursuing new investments, Mr. Draper slammed China’s Xi Jinping , whom he called a “weak leader,” saying the country is going backward after more than four decades of former leader Deng Xiaoping’s “reform and opening up” policy.

☆ Elon Musk’s Tesla Compensation Trial Turns to Financial Experts in Closing Days
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Rebecca Elliott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A five-day trial over Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package at Tesla is entering its closing days. WILMINGTON, Del.—The trial over Elon Musk‘s multibillion-dollar pay package at Tesla Inc. enters its closing days with outside financial experts poised to take the stand. Richard Tornetta, a Tesla shareholder, is seeking to nullify Mr. Musk’s 2018 pay package, alleging that the CEO controlled the board’s consideration of his grant and that the board failed to disclose crucial information to shareholders, who signed off on it.

☆ Elon Musk’s Tesla Compensation Trial in Delaware Court Set to Kick Off
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Rebecca Elliott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Elon Musk doesn’t accept a salary from Tesla, instead being compensated in stock options that vest based on Tesla’s valuation and achievement of other milestones. The trial over Elon Musk‘s multibillion-dollar pay package at Tesla Inc. is due to kick off Monday morning in Delaware’s business-law court. A Tesla shareholder, Richard Tornetta , is seeking to nullify Mr. Musk’s 2018 compensation grant, valued at around $52 billion at recent share prices. The plaintiff is alleging that the board at the time failed to disclose crucial information about the package to shareholders, who signed off on it.

☆ Elon Musk’s Tesla Compensation Trial in Delaware Court Kicks Off
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Rebecca Elliott | Meghan Bobrowsky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WILMINGTON, Del.—The trial over Elon Musk‘s multibillion-dollar pay package at Tesla Inc. kicked off Monday morning in Delaware’s business-law court. A Tesla shareholder, Richard Tornetta , is seeking to nullify Mr. Musk’s 2018 compensation grant, valued at around $52 billion at recent share prices. The plaintiff is alleging that the board at the time failed to disclose crucial information about the package to shareholders, who signed off on it.

☆ Elon Musk’s SpaceX is buying an ad package on Elon Musk’s Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —While a number of major brands have announced advertising pauses on Twitter in the wake of Elon Musk’s acquisition, the platform has scored a new ad buy from one notable billion-dollar business: Musk’s SpaceX. Musk confirmed on Twitter Monday that his aerospace company, SpaceX, bought a package to advertise its Starlink internet service on Twitter, though he downplayed the size of the ad buy. The ad buy would be the first for any of Musk’s companies, including Tesla, which does not engage in traditional advertising. “SpaceX Starlink bought a tiny – not large – ad package to test effectiveness of Twitter advertising in Australia & Spain,” Musk wrote in a reply to one Twitter user, adding that he did the same on competitors such as Facebook, Instagram and Google. A number of major brands including General Mills, the North Face and several car companies (which compete with Musk’s Tesla) have announced they are pausing ads on the social network.

☆ Tech stocks have been crushed. What’s next for the FAANGs?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —The great bull run for tech stocks may finally be over. The tech sector has been a market leader for years, but there are growing concerns about the future. Todd Sohn, director and technical strategist at Strategas, noted in a report late last week that when tech stocks imploded in 2000 as the dot-com bubble burst, it wasn’t until after the 2008 financial crisis before tech resumed a role as a market leader. But cybersecurity stocks such as Palo Alto Networks (PANW), as well as semiconductors, are more reasonable. In other words, tech investors should be looking tor more boring parts of the sector, not assets like crypto that are more about hype than substance.

☆ Fact Check-Imposter Twitter account mimicking Arizona’s Kari Lake posts fabricated election concession statement
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A Twitter account impersonating Kari Lake, Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate, tweeted a fabricated statement on Nov. 11 in which she concedes defeat in the election to be governor. The verified account (@KariIakeAZ) tweeted a post on Nov. 11 that reads: “It is with heavy heart that I must concede to my opponent, @katiehobbs. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted but I promise we’ll be back even stronger in next year’s gubernatorial election” (here), archived (archive.ph/wip/7j6rT). On Nov. 11, Lake told Fox News that she had “100% confidence” that she would win the governorship race against her Democrat opponent, Katie Hobbs (here). An imposter profile mimicking Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake was created on Nov. 11 and tweeted a fabricated concession statement.

☆ Elon Musk sold nearly $4 billion worth of Tesla stock since Twitter deal closed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —Elon Musk sold $3.95 billion worth of Tesla stock since completing his purchase of Twitter late last month. Musk’s Tesla stock sales, totaling 19.5 million shares, have been widely anticipated ever since the Tesla CEO reached a deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion. Musk had sold blocks of Tesla shares worth a total of $15.4 billion earlier this year since his deal to buy Twitter was announced. Musk received an average price of $202.52 for the Tesla shares he sold since the Twitter deal closed, which is down 10% just since he closed on his deal to buy Twitter. Before his interest in Twitter, Musk rarely sold shares of Tesla stock, primarily selling shares necessary to pay taxes when exercising stock options.

CNN —Elon Musk said Friday that Twitter has seen a “massive drop in revenue,” as a growing number of advertisers pause spending on the platform in the wake of his $44 billion acquisition. On Friday, organizations including the Anti-Defamation League, Free Press and GLAAD, upped their pressure campaign for more brands to rethink advertising on Twitter. Musk, known as both an innovative entrepreneur and an erratic figure, has promised to rethink Twitter’s content moderation policies and undo permanent bans of controversial figures, including former President Donald Trump. Most marketers bristle at the thought of having their ads run alongside toxic content such as hate speech, pornography or misinformation. Ad buying giant Interpublic Group, which works with consumer brands such as Unilever and Coca Cola, earlier this week also recommended its clients pause advertising on the platform.

☆ After Elon Musk’s wild weekend on Twitter, will advertisers stick with it?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“I think advertisers are bracing to leave,” said Claire Atkin, co-founder of the adtech watchdog Check My Ads. Most marketers bristle at the thought of having their ads run alongside toxic content such as hate speech, pornography or misinformation. Also on Monday, Angelo Carusone, CEO of media watchdog Media Matters for America, tweeted calling on major Twitter advertisers “to be putting pressure on Twitter right now” to better address the increase in hate and other toxic content. “I think advertisers are going to look at this and say, is the weak Twitter advertising product becoming a better or worse investment? After GM announced its Twitter advertising pause, some users on the platform, including some right-leaning political figures, have called for a boycott of the automaker.

☆ GM Pauses Paid Advertising on Twitter After Elon Musk’s Takeover
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Mike Colias | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

GM cars at a Shanghai exhibition in September. The auto maker says it is ‘engaging with Twitter to understand the direction of the platform.’General Motors Co. is pausing its paid advertising on Twitter in the wake of Elon Musk’s acquisition of the social-media site, saying it wants more information about the site’s direction under its new ownership. The Detroit auto maker, which competes against Mr. Musk’s Tesla Inc., characterized the move as a normal step when a media platform undergoes a significant change.

☆ Toyota’s new, new EV plan suggests smarter driving
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MELBOURNE, Oct 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Toyota Motor (7203.T) may be driving towards its third electric-car reboot in just 13 months as it tries to catch up with Tesla (TSLA.O), Reuters exclusively reported on Monday. But the $218 billion Japanese carmaker’s latest overhaul suggests it’s getting serious about addressing missteps with more speed. Electric-vehicle sales, especially in the past two years, have put the lie to that belief; growth has easily outpaced that of Toyota’s hybrids. The plan would involve slowing down the rollout of electric vehicles already in development so that Toyota could devise a more efficient manufacturing process. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEditing by Robyn Mak and Thomas ShumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elon Musk’s Tesla Tweets Trial: What We Learned From His Testimony
▼ + stars: | 2018-08-07 | by ( Rebecca Elliott | Meghan Bobrowsky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Elon Musk, over three days of testimony during the past week, gave his reasoning behind the 2018 tweet in which the Tesla Inc. chief executive said he had secured funding to take the electric-car maker private. The trial centers on the now-famous tweet by Mr. Musk from Aug. 7, 2018, that reads: “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” A class of Tesla investors are suing Tesla, Mr. Musk and other board members at the time, arguing the tweet spurred investment decisions that led them to collectively lose billions of dollars as it became clear a deal wouldn’t take place.

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