Category: Automotive

The 7 most eyebrow-raising details in the Elon Musk fraud complaint

The securities fraud complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against Tesla CEO Elon Musk contains an eye-opening view into the events leading up to the “funding secured” tweet heard round the internet. And luckily, TechCrunch has read through the document and highlighted the most compelling details, including new insights from the SEC’s… Continue reading The 7 most eyebrow-raising details in the Elon Musk fraud complaint

BMW’s independent German dealers agree to sign new contracts

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – BMW’s (BMWG.DE) association of independent German car dealerships advised its members to sign new long-term contracts with the carmaker before a deadline at the end of the month to avoid disruptions to the sale of cars and spare parts. The logo of BMW is pictured on a car during the 88th Geneva… Continue reading BMW’s independent German dealers agree to sign new contracts

Mapfit plots route for autonomous car development

Self-driving cars will likely be among the largest disrupting forces to affect every industry. Experts believe we are only few years away from the widespread adoption of self-driving cars – a view backed up by the myriad of high-profile companies working on the industry’s embryonic stage. One of the biggest hurdles to bringing autonomous cars… Continue reading Mapfit plots route for autonomous car development

Tesla shares sink on fraud investigation

Media playback is unsupported on your device Tesla shares have sunk after US regulators took legal action against founder Elon Musk for alleged securities fraud. On Thursday the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit over a claim made last month by Mr Musk that he had funding to take the company private. The billionaire… Continue reading Tesla shares sink on fraud investigation

Tesla shares plunge as Wall Street throws in towel, saying Musk departure could cost stock $130

Bobby Yip | Reuters
Elon Musk

Wall Street is buzzing over SEC's civil action against Tesla CEO Elon Musk, predicting significant negative ramifications for the electric car market due to the action.

Shares of the automaker were down 12 percent in Friday's premarket session.

The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Musk on Thursday, alleging for fraud. The complaint says Musk issued “false and misleading” statements and failed to properly notify regulators of material company events. Musk called the SEC's allegations “unjustified” and said he “never compromised” his integrity.

Barclays believes if Musk is forced to leave because of the SEC action, it will be weigh on Tesla's stock.

“The SEC civil action may lead to Musk's exit from Tesla (either permanently or temporarily) and the Musk premium in the shares dissipating,” analyst Brian Johnson said in a note to clients Friday. “Tesla shares have ~$130 of Musk premium for future success that might dissipate.”

Tesla's stock closed at $307.52 Thursday.

Johnson reiterated his underweight rating and $210 price target for Tesla shares.

One Wall Street firm is concerned the controversy about the lawsuit will hurt demand for Tesla's cars.

“We see the potential for negative sentiment to impact demand and employee morale,” Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in an investor note. “In our view, this is particularly a risk if the situation is not resolved relatively quickly.”

Jonas reiterated his equal-weight rating and $291 price target for Tesla shares.

J.P. Morgan also thinks the news will affect the company's ability to raise financing.

“We are concerned that decreased confidence in Tesla on the part of investors may impact the company's ability to raise capital on amenable terms,” analyst Ryan Brinkman said in a note to clients Friday.

Brinkman reaffirmed his underweight rating and $195 Dec. 2018 price target for the company's shares.

Citigroup also downgraded the stock to a sell rating from neutral.

“There's little question that Mr. Musk's departure would likely cause harm to Tesla's brand, stakeholder confidence and fundraising,” the note said. “If Mr. Musk ends up staying on, the reputational harm from this might still prevent the stock from immediately returning to 'normal.'”

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eMotorWerks JuiceNet Used As 30 MW “Virtual Battery”

Electric cars are going to crash the grid, right? If everybody gets an EV we’ll have to build 100 more powerplants and it will cause our electric rates to triple, right? Not so fast. More Charger Info Over 6,000 eMotorWerks residential JuiceBox and other JuiceNet-enabled chargers installed in California now make up a 30MW “virtual… Continue reading eMotorWerks JuiceNet Used As 30 MW “Virtual Battery”

Lyft unveils second annual diversity report

Lyft has released its second annual diversity report outlining the gender and racial breakdown of its 4,000-person workforce. At a glance, little has changed from last year’s report, which was the first time the $15 billion ride-hailing company disclosed its diversity stats. Forty percent of Lyft’s workforce is female, a slight decrease from last year’s 42 percent,… Continue reading Lyft unveils second annual diversity report