Tesla burnt $ 1 billion in Q1 and Musk finds analysts' questions 'boring'

The earnings report started optimistically enough, with Elon Musk forecasting an end to Tesla Inc.’s cash-burning days after blazing through another $1 billion last quarter.

But by the end of Tesla’s first-quarter conference call, Musk was berating analysts for asking “boring” questions, the shares had plunged and any shred of predictability was out the window.

Musk, 46, has built up a showman’s reputation as the founder and chief executive officer of Tesla, calling on true believers to help him overcome the “haters” who question his company’s ability to usher in an electric-vehicle age on an ambitious timetable. His performance Wednesday revealed his willingness to bite the hand that feeds, ridiculing representatives of Wall Street’s biggest banks who tried to pinpoint how he’d live up to his promises to build more Model 3 sedans and generate cash in the second half of the year.

“The boring questions can also be categorized as the tough ones,” said Dave Sullivan, an analyst at AutoPacific Inc. “I hope the Tesla fans know how to swim, because without the answers to the tough questions, it looks like Musk is leading them straight into the water.”

Tesla Model 3 production delay raises cashflow risks; shares down 3.6%

Tesla Inc shares fell as much as 3.6 per cent on Thursday, setting the company up to lose nearly $1.9 billion in market value after it pushed back a production target for its much-anticipated Model 3 sedan yet again.

Analysts stayed upbeat, saying the electric car maker had finally set an achievable target for their mass-market sedan that is priced at $35,000. Investors, however, are likely to focus on how the delay will impact Tesla's cashflow, a big challenge for many quarters now.

Tesla said on Wednesday it would likely build about 2,500 Model 3s per week by the end of the first quarter, half the number it had earlier promised. The company now expects to reach its goal of 5,000 vehicles per week by the end of the second quarter.

"With absolute Model 3 sales tracking behind expectations and Model 3 gross margin improvement likely to be pushed out until production reaches greater scale, the expected cash tailwind from Model 3 will take longer to manifest itself than was anticipated," Evercore ISI analyst George Galliers said in a note.

Tesla, headed by Elon Musk, has been struggling to overcome production bottlenecks and reported its biggest-ever quarterly loss in the July-September quarter.
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For Elon Musk, Google's 'Clips' camera doesn't 'seem' innocent

Google's artificial intelligence (AI)-based "Clips" camera has not impressed Tesla founder Elon Musk, a famed critic of AI.

"Clips" does image recognition and AI processing on-device, deploying machine learning to automatically click best pictures for you.
Musk, who thinks AI could trigger World War III and poses a far greater threat than North Korea, has now tweeted against "Clips" and its prowess.

Musk took to Twitter with reference to a video of "Clips" posted by The Verge.

"This doesn't even 'seem' innocent," he tweeted.

Google declined to comment specifically on Musk's tweet, CNET reported on Monday.

The $249 "Clips" is a lightweight, hands-free camera that helps people capture spontaneous moments.

"We've put machine learning capabilities directly into 'Clips' so when you turn it on, the camera looks for good moments to capture. Clips looks for stable, clear shots of people you know," Google said.

The camera shoots short-motion photos that last several seconds. The clips sync wirelessly and in seconds from the camera to the Google Clips app for Android or iOS.

"Finally, all the machine learning happens on the device itself. And just like any point-and-shoot, nothing leaves your device until you decide to save it and share it," Google added.
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Wall Street climbs as North Korea tension eases, S&P tops with 1.12% rise

Wall Street opened higher on Monday, with broad gains across sectors, as investor sentiment was lifted by easing tensions in the Korean peninsula after key US officials played down the risk of an imminent war with North Korea.

All the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with S&P financial's 1.12 per cent rise leading the gainers.

Global stocks lost nearly $1 trillion last week after President Donald Trump warned North Korea that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States, leading to a war of words between Pyongyang and Washington.

However, US officials including National Security Adviser H R McMaster and CIA Director Mike Pompeo played down the risk on Sunday, while South Korea's president said resolving Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions must be done peacefully.

"Feels as though the North Korean tension seems to be abating a bit, with commentary coming out of China and the United States. But the situation seems to have de-escalated in the near term", said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a lot more in store than the latest Model 3

After Tesla reported earnings on Wednesday, Elon Musk cracked open the lid on his box of secrets.

While most investors focused on rising costs and execution risk as he prepares for his most important product launch, the CEO dropped a pile of hints about what new adventures may be in store for the darling of America’s electrified future. Here are some noteworthy nuggets.

Model 3 is ‘close to the bullseye’

As Tesla approaches the July launch of its first mass-market car, Musk provided details that may assuage nervous investors (and reservation holders). The newest Schuler press line has been powered on, paint shop prep is complete, the welding and assembly lines are coming together, and there have been no major hiccups with the test cars. “It’s been pretty close to the bullseye,” Musk said. “I don’t know anything that would prevent us from starting production in July and exceeding 5,000 units a week by the end of the year.”

The Model Y is coming in 2019

Tesla plans to launch its follow-on car to the Model 3, a compact SUV called the Model Y, in late 2019 or 2020. Musk said the Y will be built on an entirely new platform from the 3, which surprised a number of analysts and may be partly responsible for the stock falling 5 per cent on Thursday. Building a new vehicle from scratch costs more and takes longer than a more subtle redesign, but Musk said doing so will allow Tesla to dramatically increase the rate of production with a new level of robotic manufacturing.

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