Tesla’s share price soars in double-digit increase on an apologetic Musk | City A.M.
Buoyed by promises to be cashflow-positive by the end of the year, Tesla’s share price has risen more than 10 per cent on the open this afternoon.
The electric carmaker, spearheaded by its charismatic chief executive Elon Musk, reported quarterly revenue above analyst expectations in a results reveal last night at $4bn (£3.05bn).
Despite its losses rising dramatically thanks to the ramping up of Model 3 production, Musk reaffirmed his claim that Tesla will not need to raise fresh capital this year to achieve his target.
Read more: Tesla shares up as it says it should be profitable this year
In a slightly more unusual turn of events, his well-mannered behaviour on its post-earnings call has convinced investors that Musk may be turning a new leaf. In Tesla’s call for the previous quarter, Musk insulted some analysts and labelled questions “boring” and “boneheaded”, subsequently knocking $2bn of the company’s market capitalisation.
“I would like to apologise for being impolite on the prior call,” Musk told shareholders late last night. “Honestly, I think there is really no excuse for bad manners. I was kind of violating my own rule in that regard.”
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“One must understand that Musk embodies Tesla, and the company will only go as far as he can take it,” said Clement Thibault, a senior analyst at Investing.com.
“This emotional investment and dependence on Musk is what makes Tesla so volatile and vulnerable to controversy.”
“In the end, Tesla’s quarterly results and delivery numbers matter far less than the partisanship and group affiliation surrounding Tesla and its CEO.”