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Why is Tesla stock dropping so much?

Oh, Elon. The Internet’s favourite topic – anything to do with Elon Musk – continues to dominate column space. The enigmatic billionaire’s Twitter…

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5 months ago

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Oh, Elon.

The Internet’s favourite topic – anything to do with Elon Musk – continues to dominate column space. The enigmatic billionaire’s Twitter antics are the current subject of choice, and given some of the lunacy going on behind the scenes (or, more realistically, in plain sight), I suppose that is not surprising.

But I want to have a look at another one of Musk’s many ventures, Tesla. The car company took the market by the scruff of the neck over the last few years, battling its much-publicised short-selling doubters to print meteoric gains.

The halcyon days are over, however, its stock having tumbled from those dizzying heights.

Zooming in on 2022 shows quite how much of a plunge the stock has been on.

Macro environment is dire

First things first. The market is a bloodbath across the board. Few stocks have been spared, and in that sense, it is nothing to do with Tesla specifically. We have transitioned into a new interest rate paradigm following one of the longest and most explosive bull runs in history – which just so happened to coincidence with Tesla going public 2010.

Tech has been hammered especially hard as profits get discounted back at higher rates and investors realise that things got just a little bit overexuberant during the stimmy-season bonanza.

I have plotted Tesla’s stock against the market to show this. It is trading like a highly-leveraged bet on the S&P 500, which is not that surprising. Nonetheless, it does seem to plunge even further south than would be expected in this final quarter. So, did something happen in October?

Elon Musk is focused elsewhere

That would be Musk’s latest hobby – incensing the world over every little decision about Twitter. Casually taking over another company for $44 billion and instilling himself as CEO is not exactly how Tesla investors want to see their number one man spend his time.

The stock was trading at $230 on October 27th , when Musk appointed himself as “Chief Twit” – or as we normies like to say, CEO. It is now trading at $146, a plunge of 37%.

The immense – and highly public – responsibility that is the role of Twitter CEO may be coming to a close, however. Musk had previously intimated to investors that he would reduce his time at the company, and last week launched a poll asking whether he would step down. 57% voted yes.

He followed it up with “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software 7 serves teams”

Musk contends macro is the only reason

Musk contends that it is merely the macroeconomic climate that is causing Tesla to sink.

As bank savings account interest rates, which are guaranteed, start to approach stock market returns, which are not guaranteed, people will increasingly move their money out of stocks into cash, thus causing stocks to drop

Elon Musk

But it seems increasingly evident that Tesla is fighting more than macro. Ross Gerber, a longtime Tesla backer, tweeted recently that “Tesla stock price now reflects the value of having no CEO. Great job tesla BOD (board of directors) – time for a shake up”.

Comparing to other automakers, including American electric truck maker Rivian and Chinese company BYD, which makes electric vehicles and batteries, further betrays Tesla’s lagging performance.

Final thoughts

The numbers show that Tesla has clearly underperformed, with Twitter spooking the market – as it should. But the other factor in all this is the fact that Tesla nearly took on a mythical quality during the pandemic, a symbol of the stimulus-cheque-wielding Robinhood trader, a quasi-meme stock.

Its valuation was pushing unfathomable levels to begin with, and 2022 has brought all sorts of challenges. The time of the meteoric tech stock is over, the memes are no more, interest rates long gone from 0%.

Tesla is fighting many battles, and they’re not easy.

The post Why is Tesla stock dropping so much? appeared first on Invezz.

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“What’s More Tragic Is Capitalism”: BLM Faces Bankruptcy As Founder Cullors Is Cut By Warner Bros

"What’s More Tragic Is Capitalism": BLM Faces Bankruptcy As Founder Cullors Is Cut By Warner Bros

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

Two years…

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2 hours ago

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May 28, 2023

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"What's More Tragic Is Capitalism": BLM Faces Bankruptcy As Founder Cullors Is Cut By Warner Bros

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

Two years ago, I wrote columns about companies pouring money into Black Lives Matter to establish their bona fides as “antiracist” corporations. The money continued to flow despite serious questions raised about BLM’s management and accounting. Democratic prosecutors like New York Attorney General Letitia James showed little interest in these allegations even as James sought to disband the National Rifle Association (NRA) over similar allegations. At the same time, Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors cashed in with companies like Warner Bros. eager to give her massive contracts to signal their own reformed status. It now appears that BLM is facing bankruptcy after burning through tens of millions and Warner Bros. cut ties with Cullors after the contract produced no — zero — new programming.

Some states belatedly investigated BLM as founders like Cullors seemed to scatter to the winds.

Gone are tens of millions of dollars, including millions spent on luxury mansions and windfalls for close associates of BLM leaders.

The usual suspects gathered around the activists like former Clinton campaign general counsel Marc Elias, who later removed himself from his “key role” as the scandals grew.

When questions were raised about the lack of accounting and questionable spending, BLM attacked critics as “white supremacists.”

Warner Bros. was one of the companies eager to grab its own piece of Cullors to signal its own anti-racist virtues.  It gave Cullors a lucrative contract to guide the company in the creation of both scripted and non-scripted content, focusing on reparations and other forms of social justice. It launched a publicity campaign for everyone to know that it established a “wide-ranging content partnership” with Cullors who would now help guide the massive corporation’s new programming. Calling Cullors “one of the most influential thought leaders in American public life,” Warner Bros. announced that she was going to create a wide array of new programming, including “but not limited to live-action scripted drama and comedy series; longform/event series; unscripted docuseries; animated programming for co-viewing among kids, young adults and families; and original digital content.”

Some are now wondering if Warner Bros. ever intended for this contract to produce anything other than a public relations pitch or whether Cullors took the money and ran without producing even a trailer for an actual product. Indeed, both explanations may be true.

Paying money to Cullors was likely viewed as a type of insurance to protect the company from accusations of racial insensitive. After all, the company was giving creative powers to a person who had no prior experience or demonstrated talent in the area. Yet, Cullors would be developing programming for one of the largest media and entertainment companies in the world.

One can hardly blame Cullors despite criticizism by some on the left for going on a buying spree of luxury properties.

After all, Cullors was previously open about her lack of interest in working with “capitalist” elements. Nevertheless, BLM was run like a Trotskyite study group as the media and corporations poured in support and revenue.

It was glaringly ironic to see companies like Warner Bros. falling over each other to grab their own front person as the group continued boycotts of white-owned businesses. Indeed, if you did not want to be on the wrong end of one of those boycotts, you needed to get Cullors on your payroll.

Much has now changed as companies like Bud Light have been rocked by boycotts over what some view as heavy handed virtue signaling campaigns.

It was quite a change for Cullors and her BLM co-founder, who previously proclaimed “[we] are trained Marxists. We are super versed on, sort of, ideological theories.” She denounced capitalism as worse than COVID-19. Yet, companies like Lululemon rushed to find their own “social justice warrior” while selling leggings for $120 apiece.

When some began to raise questions about Cullors buying luxury homes, Facebook and Twitter censored them.

With increasing concerns over the loss of millions, Cullors eventually stepped down as executive director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, as others resigned.  At the same time, the New York Post was revealing that BLM Global Network transferred $6.3 million to Cullors’ spouse, Janaya Khan, and other Canadian activists to purchase a mansion in Toronto in 2021.

According to The Washington Examiner, BLM PAC and a Los Angeles-based jail reform group paid Cullors $20,000 a month. It also spent nearly $26,000 on meetings at a luxury Malibu beach resort in 2019. Reform LA Jails, chaired by Cullors, received $1.4 million, of which $205,000 went to the consulting firm owned by Cullors and her spouse, according to New York magazine.

Once again, while figures like James have spent huge amounts of money and effort to disband the NRA over such accounting and spending controversies, there has been only limited efforts directed against BLM in New York and most states.

Cullors once declared that “while the COVID-19 illness is tragic, what’s more tragic is capitalism.” These companies seem to be trying to prove her point. Yet, at least for Cullors, Warner Bros. fulfilled its slogan that this is all “The stuff that dreams are made of.”

Tyler Durden Sun, 05/28/2023 - 16:00

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Biden reaches ‘tentative’ US debt ceiling deal: Report

United States President Joe Biden has urged the United States Congress to “pass the agreement right away.“
Amid growing concerns…

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13 hours ago

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May 28, 2023

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United States President Joe Biden has urged the United States Congress to “pass the agreement right away.“

Amid growing concerns of a potential default by early June, United States President Joe Biden and House majority leader Representative Kevin McCarthy have reportedly reached an “agreement in principle” to raise the federal government’s multitrillion-dollar debt ceiling.

According to a May 28 report from Reuters citing two sources familiar with the negotiations, the “tentative” agreement to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling was reached after a 90-minute phone call between Biden and McCarthy on May 27.

Since publication time, Biden has confirmed via Twitter the existence of an “agreement in principle," explaining that it will prevent the U.S. from facing a “catastrophic default.“

Biden noted that “over the next day,” the agreement would go to the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. He urged both chambers to “pass the agreement right away.“

Meanwhile, McCarthy also took to Twitter to confirm the agreement in principle, alleging that Biden “wasted time and refused to negotiate for months.“

Reuters reported that while “the exact details of the deal were not immediately available,” an agreement has been made to limit the U.S. government’s spending for the next two years, excluding expenses related to national security.

“Negotiators have agreed to cap non-defense discretionary spending at 2023 levels for one year and increase it by 1% in 2025,” a source familiar with the deal said.

Related: Debt ceiling crisis: Best practices to navigate this market

This comes only weeks after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned of a default risk as soon as June 1 if the debt limit isn’t suspended or raised, urging Congress to “act as soon as possible.“

Additionally, The U.S. Congressional Budget Office published a report on May 12, emphasizing that if the debt limit remains unchanged, there is a significant risk “that at some point in the first two weeks of June, the government will no longer be able to pay all of its obligations.“

In recent times, several analysts have shared a similar view that raising the debt ceiling could see more capital inflow into Bitcoin (BTC).

On May 17, MacroJack, a former Wall Street trader, warned his followers in a tweet that the U.S. debt ceiling talks are “all show.“

He emphasized how important it is to own hard assets as the dollar will be “printed into oblivion,” while stating that Bitcoin is the “fastest horse in the race.“

Meanwhile, Jesse Myers, chief operating officer of investment firm Onramp, reminded his 50,100 Twitter followers of what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that “Bitcoin was the winner during the last round of stimulus.“

He proposed the idea that history might repeat itself if the debt ceiling were to be raised, as it would prompt the Federal Reserve to print more money.

Update on May 28, 2023, at 03:15: This article has been updated to include United States President Joe Biden's tweet.

Magazine: Visa stablecoin plan, debt ceiling’s effect on Bitcoin price: Hodler’s Digest, April 23-29

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Biden reaches ‘tentative’ US debt ceiling deal: Report

United States President Joe Biden has urged both the United States House and Senate to "pass the agreement right away."
Amid growing…

Published

17 hours ago

on

May 28, 2023

By

United States President Joe Biden has urged both the United States House and Senate to "pass the agreement right away."

Amid growing concerns of a potential default by early June, the United States President Joe Biden and Republican Kevin McCarthy have reportedly reached an "agreement in principle" to raise the federal government's multi-trillion dollar debt ceiling.

According to a May 28 report from Reuters, citing two sources familiar with the negotiations, the "tentative" agreement to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling was reached after a 90-minute phone call between Biden and McCarthy on May 27.

Following the publication of this article, Biden has since confirmed via Twitter the existence of an "agreement in principle," explaining that it will prevent the U.S. facing a "catostrophic default."

Biden noted that "over the next day," the agreement will go the U.S. House and Senate. He urged both chambers to "pass the agreement right away."

Meanwhile, McCarthy also took to Twitter to confirm the agreement in principle, alleging that Biden "wasted time and refused to negiotate for months."

Reuters reported that while "the exact details of the deal were not immediately available," an agreement has been made to limit the U.S. government's spending for the next two years, excluding expenses related to national security. 

"Negotiators have agreed to cap non-defense discretionary spending at 2023 levels for one year and increase it by 1% in 2025" a source familiar with the deal said.

Related: Debt ceiling crisis: Best practices to navigate this market

This comes only weeks after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned of a default risk as soon as June 1 if the debt limit isn't suspended or raised, urging Congress to "act as soon as possible."

Additionally, The U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published a report on May 12, emphasizing that if the debt limit remains unchanged, there is a significant risk "that at some point in the first two weeks of June, the government will no longer be able to pay all of its obligations."

In recent times, several analysts have shared a similiar view that raising the debt ceiling could see more capital inflow into Bitcoin (BTC)

MacroJack, a former Wall Street trader, warned his followers in a tweet on May 17 that the U.S. debt ceiling talks are "all show."

He emphasized how important it is to own hard assets as the dollar will be "printed into oblivion," while stating that Bitcoin is the "fastest horse in the race."

Meanwhile, Jesse Myers, chief operating officer of investment firm Onramp reminded his 50,100 Twitter followers of what happened during the Covid-19 Pandemic, stating that "Bitcoin was the winner during the last round of stimulus."

He proposed the idea that history might repeat itself if the debt ceiling were to be raised, as it would prompt the Federal Reserve to print more money.

Update on May 28, 2023, at 03:15: This article has been updated to include United States President Joe Biden's tweet.

Magazine: Visa stablecoin plan, debt ceiling’s effect on Bitcoin price: Hodler’s Digest, April 23-29

Read More

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