Afternoon all,
Elon Musk and Delaware don’t have much of history.
The entrepreneur did pay a visit to the state back in the recession period 2009, giving a lecture at the University of Delaware.
If memory serves, Musk cast doubt on Henrik Fisker’s plans to build a hybrid vehicle in Delaware. After all, the combative Musk had earlier tangled with Fisker.
Musk was on target as Fisker’s hybrid vision failed in a spectacular fashion. Fisker, meanwhile, has emerged from his previous debacle and is now all-in on electrics. In the works are a driverless van and a luxury EV.
Musk, meanwhile, managed to build the all-electric Tesla into a competitive automaker, while also making SpaceX into a profitable hauler of goods into space and building a gigantic battery plant in the Nevada desert.
Of late, however, we are seeing more Teslas on Delaware highways, despite the lack of local dealers. The closest location is about 30 miles away in Devon, PA.
Keeping all the balls in the air has gotten to Elon.
It seems to stem from the arrogance of believing that with the power of his personality Tesla could mass produce cars at the northern California plant without using the same playbook as auto giants that have a century of experience
After production nightmares that drove Musk to the edge of a breakdown, returning to the basics of auto production seems to be working for Tesla.
That news was overshadowed by Musk forgetting he works for shareholders and remains under the microscope from no-nonsense stock market regulators.
Musk earlier tweeted that Tesla might go private and set off a firestorm and civil charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
On Saturday, Musk settled up with the SEC. He will no longer be chairman but will remain CEO. One would hope the board insists that he builds a team with expertise in mass production.
Pushing forward with actions against Musk and Tesla posed many dangers. After all, Musk has created thousands of jobs and awakened the world’s automakers.
With or without Musk and Tesla, we will see a growing percentage of all-electric trucks and cars in the coming years as economies of scale take hold, and other nations place more restrictions on future bans on internal combustion engines.
Enjoy this beautiful afternoon. This newsletter returns tomorrow. – Doug Rainey publisher.