Summary
Tesla board members and executives have sold over $100 million in stock since early February as the company’s shares decline.
Board member James Murdoch sold $13 million in stock on March 10, coinciding with Tesla’s worst single-day drop in five years.
Kimbal Musk sold $27 million in shares last month, and board chair Robyn Denholm offloaded over $75 million through a predetermined plan.
The sell-offs come as Tesla’s stock has fallen nearly 50% since December.
And all this is without even taking into account the fall of the Earnings side of the P/E.
If Tesla sales keep falling that “correct” P/E or 10 won’t be $19.57, it will be a lower number that keeps on falling along with the fall in sales because less sales means less earnings.
Even better: like all automakers Tesla has a lot of fixed capital costs which can’t be easily shrinked (factories, equipment) so the fall in sales might actually push them below profitability since they will only be able to reduce costs in the short and mid term up to a point (it take time to sell a factory and the equipment in it)
If the company becomes unprofitable, it will need money from outside to keep going, and in an environment of quickly falling share prices that money is not going to come from outside investors and getting it from lenders using Tesla’s own stock as collateral will be very difficult if not impossible.
A fast enough fall in sales right alongside a steep fall in stock price could bankrupt Tesla.
Oh, oh, I know this one! The answer is “a government bailout!”
Correct!
My hypothetical is greatly oversimplified… in a way that is arguably optimistic.
All very good other points to add… I’ve got a slowly healing but fucked up wrist/hand, so I can only type so much.