Electric Vehicles

Musk takes a couple of toes off the pedal

10 Sep 2018

The $45 bln electric-car maker's CEO has promoted an insider to run the autos unit, among other changes, after "in-depth" talks with directors. An experienced outsider would have been better. Musk remains free to overpromise and underdeliver.

Volvo’s IPO problems go beyond brewing trade war

10 Sep 2018

The carmaker’s Chinese owner has paused a float worth up to $30 bln. Even without America’s tariff antics, that price tag would have been far too high. Investors are unconvinced old-school auto groups will get a return for their spending on electric and autonomous cars.

Tesla risk is Musk blowing smoke, not inhaling

7 Sep 2018

Model 3 sales may be speeding up. But Tesla’s stock and bonds slumped after another lawsuit, the exit of its top accountant and HR boss, and the CEO’s pot-smoking podcast appearance. It all makes Musk’s goals less convincing, and needed capital more costly to raise.

Foreign carmakers are caught in a China drive-by

7 Sep 2018

Beijing wants to slash excess auto production at a time when Nissan, Toyota and others hope to expand. Draft rules could cut as much as a third of capacity in the world’s largest car market. Official feuding over the issue too could prove a speed bump, even for global giants.

Chinese battery makers can win EV recycling race

30 Aug 2018

Metals recovered from spent car cells could be worth more than $20 bln a year within a decade. Western chemicals groups like Umicore already profit from waste. But with half of the world’s electric cars sold in the People’s Republic, locals like CATL and BYD can pull ahead.

Tesla recharge rests in board’s hands

27 Aug 2018

Elon Musk’s abortive buyout bid dented his credibility and may bring legal and regulatory censure. A narrower focus for the boss, realistic goals and a capital raise would help the company back on the road, even if the stock tanks. But it requires Tesla’s cozy directors step up.

Musk flip-flop makes job harder to do – and keep

25 Aug 2018

Tesla’s CEO has pulled the plug on taking the $55 bln electric-car maker private, capping a record of overpromising and underdelivering. The abysmal handling of the half-baked idea calls Musk’s judgment further into question, just as Tesla needs cool heads to become profitable.

Viewsroom: Amazon’s JEDI rebellion

23 Aug 2018

Amazon looks set to win the Pentagon’s $10 bln JEDI cloud contract, but Oracle is fighting back. Plus: Is it time for Airbnb to sell its China business? And should Elon Musk be worried about a Chinese Tesla lookalike listing in New York?

How could a Tesla buyout pay off for investors?

15 Aug 2018

They might want to double their money in five years after taking the $60 bln electric-car maker private. Run the numbers with Breakingviews' new calculator to see what Elon Musk's company would have to achieve to make that happen.

Global dominance is key to Tesla buyout payoff

15 Aug 2018

Investors taking a company private often aim to double their money in five years. For that, Elon Musk would have to drive a sevenfold rise in vehicle sales, Breakingviews calculates, making Tesla as big as BMW and in command of almost half estimated all-electric car production.

Tesla is risky vehicle for Saudi reform drive

14 Aug 2018

The Gulf state wants to diversify away from oil and might help take the auto group private, reckons CEO Elon Musk. That’d be a mistake. Tesla could flop even if electric cars take off, and Musk’s buyout price is too high. There are cheaper ways to play the energy transition.

China’s Tesla bets on hot-wired dream for IPO

14 Aug 2018

Electric-car maker Nio wants to raise up to $1.8 bln in a New York listing. Chinese drivers are getting greener and richer. But with less than 500 cars delivered and 2017 net losses near 14 times those of Elon Musk’s outfit before a more modest 2010 listing, this is a hard sell.

Musk missive reveals more than he might like

13 Aug 2018

Tesla’s CEO has given extra details about his mooted buyout of the $59 bln electric-car maker, including that the Saudis want to finance it. Yet how he’s handled the disclosures, and his too-free definition of “secured” financing, confirm how ill-suited he is for his public role.

Viewsroom: Tesla’s wild and crazy ride

9 Aug 2018

CEO Elon Musk’s tweet about wanting to take the company private is causing a stir. Unorthodoxy aside, its volatile boss and weak corporate governance means Tesla is better off the public roads. Plus, Pakistan’s likely new leader Imran Khan will have to go hat in hand to the IMF.

Good riddance to a publicly traded Tesla

8 Aug 2018

CEO Elon Musk wants to take the electric-car maker private. That’s where it belongs. Tesla loses money, routinely reneges on promises, engages in execrable corporate governance – and Musk’s outbursts on calls and Twitter are a liability. The market is better off without Tesla.

Tesla buyout would need to go short on leverage

7 Aug 2018

Elon Musk wants to drive the unprofitable electric-car maker off the public market at a $72 bln sticker price. Banks would balk at lending much more than a third of that, so he’d need to persuade shareholders to stay and big investment funds to jump in. That’s eminently doable.

Elon Musk ekes out Tesla breathing space

1 Aug 2018

The electric-car maker burned less cash last quarter, but owed more to suppliers and has debt coming due. The volatile CEO reckons Tesla will avoid having to raise more equity. But investors are already punishing the scourge of “bonehead” analysts for taking on the dare.

Ford’s pain deserves more blame than GM’s

25 Jul 2018

While the largest U.S. automaker’s stock lost almost 5 pct after it said tariffs helped make commodities pricier, Ford has been warning about these costs for a while. But its deeper-seated problems in Europe, China and elsewhere warrant more severe punishment from shareholders.

Tesla sends wrong message to right stakeholders

23 Jul 2018

Elon Musk asked some suppliers to cut prices. He’d be nuts not to. It’s a way for the $53 bln electric-car maker to control costs while dangling the prospect of more business for parts makers if Tesla succeeds. But pitching it as a do-or-die moment undermines Musk’s credibility.

Sergio Marchionne leaves a giant sweater to fill

21 Jul 2018

Ill health has forced FCA’s CEO to leave early. Successor Mike Manley runs Jeep, its most profitable brand and core to Fiat Chrysler’s five-year plan. That provides continuity. But without jumper-wearing Marchionne, Fiat’s independent future may be harder to guarantee.