Read Elizabeth Warren’s Letter To Tesla’s Board
On Monday morning, while documenting the latest and most dramatic twist in the ongoing soap opera that is Elon Musk's conquest of Twitter, I noted that when a CEO is voted out, we typically think of formal proceedings, corporate boards and so on.
But Twitter isn't a normal company. It's "a privately-run basket case," as I put it, and consistent with that characterization, the decision to oust Musk came from millions of people who aren't shareholders voting in a poll conducted by Musk himself.
Senator Warren is dead on right in her observations. I hope she turns her skills and insight into the conflicts of interest of the Democratic and Republican parties. She is a talented lady. We all see what we see….. and we all have blind spots.
Holy shit that was brutal. She’s also right. This is a bit of “argument by anecdote,” but I know I’m not alone in this:
When the Cybertruck was announced, I jumped on the waiting list. I know the truck looks weird, and it’s definitely a polarizing design, but to me, it looks like how 80’s movies depicted vehicles of the future looking. It was love at first sight. Ultimately though, Musk’s behavior pushed me to the point where I felt compelled to cancel my reservation. While the interminable delays don’t help (announced in 2019, it was originally slated for late 2021 delivery), I had anticipated that would happen.
To paraphrase a friend, I’m not in the habit of interrogating my server about the restaurant owners’ opinions on a series of hot-button political topics before ordering a chicken sandwich. That said, at a certain point I have to face the fact that, if Tesla makes $1,000 profit off of selling me a truck, I’m putting $200 in the pocket of a person who chose to re-platform literal Nazis. I just can’t do that, and I’m not alone. Tesla’s backlog of orders is the lowest it has been in years. (See, e.g. https://insideevs.com/news/627076/estimated-tesla-order-backlog-november2022/
).
Simple and easy to read. Should be simple and easy for the board to answer. Now it isn’t just the engineers who have to spend their spare time working for Twitter. The boards have to spend their spare time answering for Twitter.
And it’s over Christmas + New Years. And she only gave them 2 weeks to respond. Absolutely brutal. This line in particular had my eyebrows up:
“Conflicts of interest emerge in other ways as well. For example, under Mr. Musk’s leadership, Twitter has welcomed hate speech and sharply increased use of racist language, while advancing a broader platform for Nazis, virulent sexism, and climate misinformation. That association between Tesla’s CEO and the actions of Twitter could have an impact on the Tesla brand and its ability to market its vehicles to its target audience.”
She basically straight up asks the board, “What are you going to do about the fact that your CEO is embracing Nazis? Please put your answer in writing.”
One has to think Musk and his comms team at TSLA knew Sen. Warren’s letter was coming. Hence the Twitter poll re Musk continuing as CEO — a farcical attempt to extricate Musk from his disastrous tenure as Twitter CEO with a minimum of egg on his face.
Sell Tesla.
I did not want to like the letter before reading it but I fully admit to liking it and thinking it is really effective. I have not been a TSLA shareholder in a long time but If I were one today I would be pleased Warren sent the letter and looking forward to the board’s response.
If I were a member of TSLA’s board, I would resign immediately and hope none of the blowback from his actions sticks to me. His antics are downright dangerous.