The Tesla boss has said goodbye to his Twitter takeover plans.
(Photo: dpa)
Do you know the little story by Christian Morgenstern “Luck and Unhappiness”? When a horse runs away from a farmer, the neighbors feel sorry for him: What a misfortune. But the horse comes back with a wild horse. It says: What luck.
The text by the German poet comes to mind when you think of Elon Musk. For a long time, the Tesla he led was considered almost immune to the chip crisis and supply chain problems. But the electric car manufacturer was hit hard in the second quarter: production collapsed.
Competitors like VW boss Herbert Diess are already rubbing their hands, they want to exploit Tesla’s weakness. But the crisis seems to be having a beneficial effect on Musk. In May he described new factories as “money incinerators”, the worry probably pulled him out of his daydreams.
Realpolitik is now the order of the day. At the analyst conference for the most recent quarter, the 51-year-old announced the sale of Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings worth almost a billion dollars. The reason is concern about factory shutdowns in China. Musk said: There should be enough “liquidity” available.
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The entry into Bitcoin a year ago was the beginning of a soap opera starring Musk. Suddenly it was about cryptocurrencies instead of models or production. Sideshows took center stage, culminating in Musk’s attempt to buy Twitter and bring ex-President Donald Trump back to short messaging.
Tesla has enough problems
Musk is now withdrawing from the deal, concentrating on Tesla, as he hinted at the analyst conference. This brings calm to the company and confidence among investors. The stock responded positively.
>> Read here: Tesla increases profits with higher prices – Grünheide produces 1000 cars per week
Finally, Musk will take care of pressing issues such as ramping up the new factories, mass production of innovative battery cells and the launch of new models. The first successes were already evident in June, when production increased significantly, according to Tesla.
But beware: the story of Morgenstern continues. The farmer’s son breaks in the new horse and breaks his leg. But this proves to be beneficial when the king’s soldiers come to the village and young men are drafted into military service. The son stays at home. In other words, Musk will keep making capers, whatever the outcome.
More: Tesla increases profits with higher prices – Grünheide produces 1000 cars per week