4 ms·

Elon Musk: Tesla Goes Bankrupt (April 1)

18 points by alva 9y ago

alva 9y ago
Would be interested to know if this is illegal for a CEO to state even as a joke on April Fools. Would have been funny during market open, I bet some algos would have picked up on this.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
kermittd 9y ago
The obvious question given it's Elon Musk...is this for real?
- rdruxn 9y ago
  No
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
gamblor956 9y ago
This tweet violates so many securities laws in the US and Europe... I get that it's a joke but not everyone understands the concept of April Fool's Day, and in the case of these tweets, there is no indication that the tweets, by a CEO of a publicly traded company with known financial issues, is not a factual statement. The Easter Egg sale would match actual past activities (like the "flamethrower" sale a few months ago) and the last, Trumpian statement would likely only be understood by those familiar with Trumpisms. The fact that he says several tweets later that they are not forward looking statements does not change the contents of this tweet. Maybe instead of tweeting stupid jokes he should spend more time not running Tesla into the ground? Because on Tesla's current track, this joke's going to be a reality by the end of the year.
- horsecaptin 9y ago
  Got it. CEOs are not allowed to make jokes or have fun in public because my God what will the investors think?!
  - alva 9y ago
    It is an interesting question. If the CEO of JPMorgan said publicly "We are bankrupt" as a joke, the impact on the entire economy would (temporarily) be ginormous. I presume it is illegal for a CEO of a public company to make such statements, but I am not sure. Anyone know?
    - horsecaptin 9y ago
      Context matters though, doesn't it? - Is the CEO known to make jokes / have fun? - Is it April 1st? - Is it an official company statement? - Is it April 1st?
      - gamblor956 9y ago
        No, context doesn't matter. The CEO of a publicly traded company is treated by law as knowing that putatively material statements they make about their company in a public forum will be taken at face value. If they want to make a joke, they can make it in private, or they can make it about something non-material, or they can make it in a large press release which also includes a disclaimer that the whole thing is a joke.
        mkempe 9y ago
        Ok. Maybe then we should abolish such asinine laws. If there is one thing the Romans got right it was caveat emptor.
    - gamblor956 9y ago
      The consequence isn't criminal, it's civil. Literally any person who traded on the basis of this tweet can potentially sue Musk for damages (depending on which side of the trade they were on), and courts have upheld liability in such circumstances.
bilal4hmed 9y ago
be careful what you wish for, you might just get it and the rate they are going rather soonish
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
throwbacktictac 9y ago
This is quite dumb of Elon. First, it's not that funny. Most off all it can be used against him and Tesla.
- dwaltrip 9y ago
  I smiled.
urmish 9y ago
This is unprofessional and inappropriate on so many levels. The only reason I would expect someone to behave like this is if they have a trump card or they have made some observation in their favor that they aren't revealing.
bassman9000 9y ago
I wonder how many trading bots scanning twitter missed the joke
dekhn 9y ago
That's not even remotely funny. If I worked for Tesla I'd hate him. Well, I'd already hate him, but I'd hate him more.

18 points by alva 9y ago

alva 9y ago

Would be interested to know if this is illegal for a CEO to state even as a joke on April Fools. Would have been funny during market open, I bet some algos would have picked up on this.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

kermittd 9y ago

The obvious question given it's Elon Musk...is this for real?

rdruxn 9y ago
No

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

gamblor956 9y ago

This tweet violates so many securities laws in the US and Europe... I get that it's a joke but not everyone understands the concept of April Fool's Day, and in the case of these tweets, there is no indication that the tweets, by a CEO of a publicly traded company with known financial issues, is not a factual statement. The Easter Egg sale would match actual past activities (like the "flamethrower" sale a few months ago) and the last, Trumpian statement would likely only be understood by those familiar with Trumpisms. The fact that he says several tweets later that they are not forward looking statements does not change the contents of this tweet. Maybe instead of tweeting stupid jokes he should spend more time not running Tesla into the ground? Because on Tesla's current track, this joke's going to be a reality by the end of the year.

horsecaptin 9y ago
Got it. CEOs are not allowed to make jokes or have fun in public because my God what will the investors think?!
- alva 9y ago
  It is an interesting question. If the CEO of JPMorgan said publicly "We are bankrupt" as a joke, the impact on the entire economy would (temporarily) be ginormous. I presume it is illegal for a CEO of a public company to make such statements, but I am not sure. Anyone know?
  - horsecaptin 9y ago
    Context matters though, doesn't it? - Is the CEO known to make jokes / have fun? - Is it April 1st? - Is it an official company statement? - Is it April 1st?
    - gamblor956 9y ago
      No, context doesn't matter. The CEO of a publicly traded company is treated by law as knowing that putatively material statements they make about their company in a public forum will be taken at face value. If they want to make a joke, they can make it in private, or they can make it about something non-material, or they can make it in a large press release which also includes a disclaimer that the whole thing is a joke.
      - mkempe 9y ago
        Ok. Maybe then we should abolish such asinine laws. If there is one thing the Romans got right it was caveat emptor.
  - gamblor956 9y ago
    The consequence isn't criminal, it's civil. Literally any person who traded on the basis of this tweet can potentially sue Musk for damages (depending on which side of the trade they were on), and courts have upheld liability in such circumstances.

bilal4hmed 9y ago

be careful what you wish for, you might just get it and the rate they are going rather soonish

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

throwbacktictac 9y ago

This is quite dumb of Elon. First, it's not that funny. Most off all it can be used against him and Tesla.

dwaltrip 9y ago
I smiled.

urmish 9y ago

This is unprofessional and inappropriate on so many levels. The only reason I would expect someone to behave like this is if they have a trump card or they have made some observation in their favor that they aren't revealing.

bassman9000 9y ago

I wonder how many trading bots scanning twitter missed the joke

dekhn 9y ago

That's not even remotely funny. If I worked for Tesla I'd hate him. Well, I'd already hate him, but I'd hate him more.