4 ms·
> In a Ponzi-scheme, there is no real product (or it is irrelevant) This part is the smell. "It's not a car company, it's a AI/Robot/whatever company." The va
by majormajor 10mo ago
> In a Ponzi-scheme, there is no real product (or it is irrelevant)
This part is the smell.
"It's not a car company, it's a AI/Robot/whatever company." The valuation is supposedly justified by a future product that perpetually fails to materialize.
It's obviously not a classical Ponzi scheme in the mechanical sense where payouts are controlled by a central party. It has major Ponzi vibes though, with new money continuing to reward old money even though the fundamentals and products haven't done anything to justify that continued influx - only the hype has.
- stingraycharles 10mo agoYeah, the target keeps moving. Earlier it was “it’s not a car company, it’s a battery company”. Then it was all about FSD and robotaxis. Now that that is not working out, it’s going to be a robot company. The actual underlying product, the cars, don’t match the crazy valuation.
- andsoitis 10mo agoPonzi schemes don’t make $100B revenue, traded on the stock exchange, or make profit.
- grim_io 10mo agothe clever ones at least avoid the stock exchange. Generating revenue and profit at the expense of the participants is literally the ponzi scheme.
- lanstin 10mo agoIt also has the characteristics that most of the dupes are not pleased that the fraud was discovered to be a fraud. People swindled by Madoff swore that it was all legit. It's not easy to give up a belief one has held fervently for years.