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Same question. I feel either I'm incredibly naive and/or don't get investing at all. By the former I mean that I believe there are institutional mechanism that

Same question. I feel either I'm incredibly naive and/or don't get investing at all. By the former I mean that I believe there are institutional mechanism that stops a company going public and getting serious investments just based on grandiose idea with no backing in what is technically feasible in a specified amount of time. By the latter I point to the fact that institutional investors have splashed serious cash without doing apparently any checks(?) Also, does anyone remember he promised a new battery with 50% more capacity than current lithium ones? https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2019/11/24/nikola-motors-bombshell-battery-claim-irks-experts-who-think-its-secret-may-lie-in-sulfur/#b8e0fd87d896 https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2019/11/24/nikola-m... I see FT has covered also this side of story: https://www.ft.com/content/dc4b3e05-bf7c-482c-9241-5296dfb1d7b5 https://www.ft.com/content/dc4b3e05-bf7c-482c-9241-5296dfb1d... Just for this promises the owner deserves a "good thrashing".

NotSammyHagar 6y ago
Anyone apparently can merge with a SPAC (an existing company that is already a listed stock) by basically buying a very weak company. After the merger now you are on the stock market! There's no mechanism of testing the company before the merge, it just happens if they have the money to buy the weaker company.
- marvin 6y ago
  To be fair, getting listed on the stock exchange before being a billion dollar behemoth should be legal/possible in the first place.
  - mrpopo 6y ago
    So that more multi-million dollars scams can pop up?
    - bhupy 6y ago
      No, so that public investors can participate in growth just like private institutional investors (and rich accredited investors). Preventing million dollar corporations from going public is an extremely ham-fisted way of policing/preventing scams.
    - marvin 6y ago
      The fact that this attitude is an easier political sell than the more complex but more fair alternative, is exactly the reason why the rules were changed so you had to already be rich to e.g. be allowed to invest in Facebook before they went public at a $100 billion valuation in 2012. Imagine, Facebook's valuation was less than $100 million at one point, and people considered it exuberant back then. Factor of 1000 difference even with the IPO valuation. The mind boggles.

NotSammyHagar 6y ago

Anyone apparently can merge with a SPAC (an existing company that is already a listed stock) by basically buying a very weak company. After the merger now you are on the stock market! There's no mechanism of testing the company before the merge, it just happens if they have the money to buy the weaker company.

marvin 6y ago
To be fair, getting listed on the stock exchange before being a billion dollar behemoth should be legal/possible in the first place.
- mrpopo 6y ago
  So that more multi-million dollars scams can pop up?
  - bhupy 6y ago
    No, so that public investors can participate in growth just like private institutional investors (and rich accredited investors). Preventing million dollar corporations from going public is an extremely ham-fisted way of policing/preventing scams.
  - marvin 6y ago
    The fact that this attitude is an easier political sell than the more complex but more fair alternative, is exactly the reason why the rules were changed so you had to already be rich to e.g. be allowed to invest in Facebook before they went public at a $100 billion valuation in 2012. Imagine, Facebook's valuation was less than $100 million at one point, and people considered it exuberant back then. Factor of 1000 difference even with the IPO valuation. The mind boggles.