Long time listener and friend Nick aka @ArtisanLoaf joins me this week. We discussed Elon Musk, his various companies, and his strange and often bad business practices. We started off by talking briefly about Musk’s privileged upbringing in South Africa. We talked about Musk’s first big start with PayPal and his business relationship with Peter Thiel. We then moved onto Tesla and the way the company has been run. We discussed the poor business model that the company has employed under the leadership of Musk. Nick talked about the major financial problems that Tesla has had since Musk took over. We also touched on the problems with Musk’s vision for electric cars and the limitations that Tesla has imposed on themselves as a company.
In the second hour we talked about Musk’s shady acquisition of Solar City. We talked about the possible use of fraud when Solar City rolled out their non-existent solar roof panels. We also touched on the conflict of interest involved in Musk acquiring Solar City, and his pattern of similar behavior over the years. Later Nick talked about the recent SEC suit against Musk. He explained the serious problems that Musk has again created for Tesla. We finished off by touching on the concept of Musk as a cut-rate Howard Hughes, and the cult like devotion to Elon Musk and his vision for humanity. Nick will be returning to the show in a few weeks to expand on these ideas.
Show Notes:
Inside “Steel Pulse,” The Project That Became Elon Musk’s Solar Roof
SolarCity co-founder Peter Rive will leave Tesla, following his brother
Tesla, Elon Musk Cannot Dismiss Shareholder Claims Over SolarCity Acquisition
Tesla to cut nearly 20 percent of its SolarCity installation locations
Elon Musk Charged With Securities Fraud for Misleading Tweets
Tesla’s Board Backs Musk as SEC Sues, Seeks Ouster Over Tweets
Porkins Policy Review 