Possibly through no fault of his own, as Tesla (TSLA) shares rocketed post-pandemic, Elon Musk created a retinue of the most gullible fanboys and fangirls ever to post via Twitter accounts.
Well, the worm has turned for Tesla. Wednesday was Tesla's first close with a market valuation under $500 billion in more than two years, an almost unthinkable figure given that TSLA was valued at $1.2 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2021.
"Almost unthinkable," I write, because I did think it, and wrote it, and traded it, usually using TSLA puts. My firm currently owns some Dec. 16 $150 TSLA puts, which are looking pretty tasty here on Thursday, Dec. 15.
But who didn't think it? Well, as my HOAX model portfolio destroys Cathie Wood's ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) (HOAX +52.1% since inception Dec. 23, 2021; ARKK -64.7% over the same time period), I will ease up on her and focus on quotes from other Tesla experts who were featured in the media.
Of course, there has been a chorus of "we were wrong" tweets regarding TSLA stock price from these so-called experts. Hahahaha. Yeah, right.
It's round-the-clock obfuscation from these folks, so I picked a few quotes from recent Reuters stories to hammer home the following point: Listening to the wrong stock advisers is an extremely expensive habit.
So, from Reuters, here goes:
Elon abandoned Tesla and Tesla has no working CEO," KoGuan Leo, the third largest individual shareholder of Tesla, who describes himself of Musk's "fanboy," tweeted on Wednesday.
"Are we merely Elon's foolish bag holders?" he said. "An executioner, Tim Cook-like is needed, not Elon."
This guy made a name for himself by non-stop, fluff-tweeting about Musk and TSLA in the "good old days." Hagiography is no way to invest. Also, I think it is very unlikely that Tim "Executioner" Cook has ever killed anyone, although I would agree that he does an excellent job running Apple (AAPL) .
And this from Musk-phile Gary Black, whose Future Fund Active ETF (FFND) has declined a mere 36.8% since inception on Aug. 27, 2021.
"Elon is a brilliant business leader. He will realize soon (if not already) that his polarizing political views are hurting customer perceptions of $TSLA EVs," Gary Black, a Tesla bull, tweeted on Wednesday.
"Customers don't want their cars to be controversial. They want to be proud as hell to drive them - not embarrassed."
Good Lord, Gary. Are you really "proud as hell'' to drive your Tesla? On behalf of the fellow citizens of planet Earth, we thank you.
That cohort, of course, excludes the 8-year-old kids who mine cobalt in the DRC (to be fair, Tesla has moved to cobalt-free chemistries in newer battery versions; I have no idea when Gary bought his Tesla); the folks who have been injured in accidents caused by Tesla's Autopilot "self-driving" system; and the workers who continue to file lawsuits based on alleged unsafe and unprofessional working conditions (with special emphasis on racial abuse) at Tesla's factory in Fremont, California.
As I shockingly did not listen to Cathie Wood's ARK Invest webinar yesterday and therefore can't update you on her thoughts on TSLA's recent plunge, I will finish with another notable Musk fan, Ross Gerber of Gerber Kawasaki.
Tesla should announce a buyback immediately and stop the dilution from Elons sales. It also allows the company to take advantage to the low share price Elon has created. THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN NOW TESLA BOD - @MartinViecha $tsla
I have no words. OK, two words: shut up.
We are learning an incredibly important lesson as we watch $700 billion in value destroyed via the plunge in TSLA stock in 2022. The Insane Clown Posse that "follow" TSLA on the sell-side have absolutely no clue (Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas yesterday named Tesla a Top Pick for 2023), the folks who "own" TSLA shares and bloviate about it in media articles do not own enough to actually move the stock price with their trades, and last but not least, those who go on FinTv spouting clichés such as "Elon Musk is unassailable" should be completely ignored.
