WEBVTT - Tesla Gains as Carmaker to Accelerate Affordable Models 0:00:02.920 --> 0:00:08.119 Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:12.920 This is Bloomberg Business Wait inside from the reporters and 0:00:13.080 --> 0:00:16.640 editors who bring you America's most trusted business magazine, plus 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:20.840 global business, finance and tech news. The Bloomberg Business Week 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:25.800 Podcast with Carol Messer and Tim Stenebeck from Bloomberg Radio. 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:29.680 All right, Well, Shares a Tesla our higher in the 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:33.440 after hours right now as investors continue to digest those 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:37.160 first quarter earnings numbers. Global vehicle inventory rose to twenty 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:39.520 eight days. It's a huge jump from the fifteen days 0:00:40.080 --> 0:00:42.080 at the end of last quarter. Shares high right now 0:00:42.120 --> 0:00:45.159 by just about five percent. First quarter revenue coming in 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:48.560 at twenty one point three billion dollars that was below 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:51.440 estimates of twenty two point three billion dollars. That also 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:55.000 a missed when it comes to EPs adjusted EPs, I 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:57.640 should say that coming in at forty five cents versus 0:00:57.800 --> 0:00:59.040 estimates of fifty two cents. 0:00:59.080 --> 0:01:00.880 Shares A Tesla up about five and a half percent 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:03.560 in the aftermarket. But also Tesla to accelerate the launch 0:01:03.560 --> 0:01:05.920 of more affordable models at getting a red sticky by 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:08.000 our team here at Bloomberg. All right, so let's get 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:10.320 to it with us Ross Gerber, president and CEO at 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:14.240 Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, and also Bloomberg BusinessWeek 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:18.440 columnist Max Chafkin Ross out there in Santa Monica, California. 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:21.560 Max here in our Bloomberg Interactive Broker studio getting ready 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:23.680 for another round of Tesla. Bingo will get into in 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:27.520 just a moment. Ross investors like it. What do you 0:01:27.560 --> 0:01:31.119 make of this report looking backwards looking forwards? 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:34.600 Well, I think the good part of the report, because 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:36.679 this is really the only good part of the report, 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:39.440 is them saying that they're going to accelerate the production 0:01:39.520 --> 0:01:42.720 of this next gen vehicle platform. And they were pretty 0:01:42.800 --> 0:01:47.319 vague about what their calling this or what Robotaxi is 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:49.880 or is a model to coming, and I think that'll 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:51.920 be clarified on the conference call. So you know, once again, 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:55.080 we don't really watch after hours trading because he really 0:01:55.120 --> 0:01:57.920 doesn't represent all the participants and so, and we haven't 0:01:57.920 --> 0:01:59.680 seen the conference call yet, so we'll see how this 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:02.280 docras over the next several months. But there really isn't 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:06.200 any other good news in that report other than them 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:08.680 saying they're going to accelerate production, even though they just 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:11.280 fire all the people that are in charge of accelerating production. 0:02:11.560 --> 0:02:14.200 Hey Russ, remind everybody take a step back here, because 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:16.560 Carol and I were looking at the terminal a little earlier. 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:20.560 You've you know, you are a longtime Tesla bull until 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:22.640 you weren't, and you were a longtime believer and have 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:25.600 been a longtime believer in the company. You guys still 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:28.280 own a substantial number of shares over at kerber Kawasaki. 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:31.440 But what is your position right now in Tesla moving forward? 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:36.040 So my position is that Tesla is a wonderful company 0:02:36.080 --> 0:02:39.760 that has enormous potential with the CEO who has become 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:42.240 so divisive that people won't buy the cars. And that's 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:44.960 why saying is just going to produce more cars doesn't 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:48.000 address the real issue is why they're not selling cars today, 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:50.680 and that's the issue that needs to be addressed that 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:53.880 isn't being addressed. So as a shareholder, we have to 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:57.040 assess what the future earnings potential of a company is 0:02:57.080 --> 0:03:00.440 based off what their business model is. And when we 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:02.760 you know, we start investing in Tesla over ten years ago, 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:05.600 and we've had a great run up until the purchase 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:08.560 of Twitter, and so we've been lowering our position because 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:11.640 what we feel is that Elon's behavior has hurt the 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:14.280 brand in such a way that consumers actually don't want 0:03:14.320 --> 0:03:16.240 to buy a Tesla. It's just the best car on 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:18.680 the road at the best price, so people buy the 0:03:18.720 --> 0:03:20.960 car reluctantly at this point. 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:24.120 So I think, you know, we've got. 0:03:23.919 --> 0:03:26.080 These problems to solve, and I'm not sure if that 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:28.440 will be addressed on the conference call today. And that's 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:30.720 you know, And I don't like being called a Tesla 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:32.919 bear because I actually think they could turn the company 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:36.280 around pretty quickly if Elon changed his behavior and stopped 0:03:36.280 --> 0:03:37.320 attacking everybody. 0:03:37.600 --> 0:03:39.480 But I just don't think that's going to happen. And 0:03:39.560 --> 0:03:40.760 so so I. 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:44.120 Think the bigger issue that isn't being addressed is doesn't 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:46.920 matter how many cars Tesla makes if nobody will buy them. 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:49.160 All right, So Max chaff can come on in. You 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:53.080 guys do the Elon Inc. Podcast. You're constantly looking at 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:54.920 what he says, what he does. You're looking at his 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:58.480 kind of his assets, his portfolio, your initial thoughts on 0:03:58.560 --> 0:03:59.480 kind of the headlines. 0:03:59.160 --> 0:04:01.240 We got to yeah to kind of under Ross is 0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:04.320 saying something like this, but like the note about the 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:07.560 new products is very vague. It doesn't say we're going 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:09.600 to have a model too, and it's going to come 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:12.040 out on this date, which is what investors, many investors 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:14.720 have been hoping for. It says it sounds like it's 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:16.960 saying I'm reading it correctly. They're going to try to 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:20.640 essentially make the current models more affordable. Now that obviously 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:23.560 could allow them to sell more cars. But it's a 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:27.800 slightly different spin on things than what many people have 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:30.640 been inspecting. The other thing is, as Ross is saying, 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:34.200 you know, on a Tesla earning's day, what Elon says, 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:36.400 and more importantly, how he says it is just as 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:39.680 important as as what's in these numbers, because he is 0:04:39.720 --> 0:04:42.280 going to hopefully anyway clarify some of this. We also 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:46.800 hopefully get a sense of like where things stand with robotaxi, 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:52.200 where things stand with potential affordable cars, and investors seemed 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:54.919 to react to based on his optimism, you know, a 0:04:54.920 --> 0:04:56.719 couple quarters ago, when he was in this kind of 0:04:56.800 --> 0:05:00.159 dowur mood, we saw the stock go down. So so 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:02.839 it's like, do we get an optimistic version of Elon 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:06.400 or the kind of very dour, pessimistic Elon. 0:05:06.760 --> 0:05:08.880 Well, I wonder if you have a question for Ross Max. 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:13.120 Yeah, Ross, what is your reading on this, on this product, 0:05:13.200 --> 0:05:14.880 on this paragraph about the product? 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:17.960 Well, I think you're dead right about the two things 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:21.000 you just said. Number One, they're of course vague because 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:22.279 of the legality of it. 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:24.320 If they put this down and they don't do it right. 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:26.800 And since nobody seems to know what Elon's going to do, 0:05:26.920 --> 0:05:30.479 and I'm sure that everybody understands that nobody within Tesla 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:33.240 knows what the business plan is either, because they just 0:05:33.320 --> 0:05:36.719 don't at this point. But I think secondly, a lot 0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:39.600 of it will be how does Elon answer these questions 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:41.720 from investors during the conference call? 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:43.000 And what you said is right. 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:45.720 If we have sort of a very positive Elon and 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:49.839 he's refocused and he's going to be working at Tesla more, 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:53.360 and you know, he can play the room right, maybe 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:54.919 we get a little rally in the stock, but it 0:05:54.960 --> 0:05:58.520 doesn't change the fundamentals. If he doesn't play the room right, 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:02.359 this becomes a blood bath. So you know, I'm just 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:06.120 hoping that he understands the damage that he's done and 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:09.159 starts to mitigate this versus diving in and sort of 0:06:09.160 --> 0:06:09.800 doubling down. 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:13.080 It will be interesting to see if if Twitter comes 0:06:13.120 --> 0:06:15.240 up or sorry X comes up, you know, because there 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:17.960 is this question in this sense that he's spent ge 0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:21.680 Whiz a lot of time talking about X, tweeting about X, 0:06:21.800 --> 0:06:24.560 doing X related things. There's even a potential or they're 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:27.760 going to have a Grock integration inside of the Tesla's 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:30.400 And I think that to people who are really bought 0:06:30.400 --> 0:06:33.039 into the ev story rather than the you know, Elon 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:36.520 Musk genius story, which those are two important constituencies here, 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:40.200 I think for Tesla Stock, you know, they would like 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:42.960 to see him spend less time on his social media network. 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:46.440 Yeah, well, it's not just less time, it's what he's saying, 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:49.839 you know. It's like it's not the time, it's that 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:54.480 what he's saying oftentimes is super divisive and basically racist. 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:57.599 So it's like, it's really hard to sell products to 0:06:57.640 --> 0:07:00.880 people when the CEO says things that are really hurtful 0:07:00.880 --> 0:07:02.919 to people, including me for that matter. 0:07:03.320 --> 0:07:07.040 Now and we've talked with you about that absolutely ross. 0:07:07.080 --> 0:07:11.480 What could Elon say on the call, or Elon and 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:15.600 Company say on the call that would make you more 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:18.320 excited about the company, or once again say you know 0:07:18.400 --> 0:07:21.320 kind of owe Elon really well. 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:22.440 If I had my dream come true. 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:24.400 He'd say, I'm coming back to work at Tesla, because 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:27.200 he basically doesn't work at Tesla, and he would say, 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:30.480 I'm done tweeting all this garbage and politics. I'm going 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:34.360 to really focus on advancing sustainable transportation and energy and 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:37.600 that we're going to release this lower you know, priced 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:38.920 car and. 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:41.960 The strategy that we all bought into three years ago. 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:44.800 You know, and the stop was at all time highs, 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:47.160 and earnings were going up, you know, fifty hundred percent 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:47.480 a year. 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:49.800 You know, it was like it was like a different 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:50.640 world than today. 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:53.640 And it's amazing to me he doesn't understand this difference 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:57.760 that that really is his responsibility. And so as a shareholder, 0:07:58.040 --> 0:08:00.920 I have to say it's extremely just stressing time because 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:04.840 the valuation of Tesla is premised off all these great 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:08.640 technological innovations, none of which have come to fruition yet. 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:11.480 So his focus is one hundred percent what needs to 0:08:11.520 --> 0:08:12.360 be happening right now. 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:14.880 Hey, Ross, I do want to just end with one 0:08:14.960 --> 0:08:17.400 last question about the cost of producing these vehicles. It 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:19.600 seems like Tesla is doing everything I can to bring 0:08:19.640 --> 0:08:22.040 down the cost of producing these cars, the cost of 0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:25.880 goods sold to Are they what numbers do you want 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:26.320 to see there? 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:30.160 Well, they are, but their margins continue to go lower. 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:31.640 If you look at the report, which I've only had 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:33.920 a minute to look at, you know, their vehicle margins 0:08:33.960 --> 0:08:36.920 continue to go lower, their operating margins go lower, their 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:40.079 net margins go lower. So they're able to lower the 0:08:40.080 --> 0:08:41.800 price of the car. But what they're not able to 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:45.200 do is keep that going as fast as they're they're 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:48.839 lowering the price of the vehicles, so it's still hurting 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:50.640 them even though they're lowering the cost of the car, 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:54.120 and it doesn't bring in a bigger market. But you're 0:08:54.240 --> 0:08:57.560 not creating any demand. And this is I have said 0:08:57.559 --> 0:09:00.520 it a hundred times. Every company in America average for 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:03.800 a reason. People need to know why your products are superior. 0:09:04.000 --> 0:09:06.960 And all the Tesla people bought in Teslas, you know, 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:09.679 So all these YouTubers can tweet all they want, but 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:11.840 everybody wanted to Tesla bought a Tesla. So you've got 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:14.280 to get new customers. And the new customers are being 0:09:14.360 --> 0:09:17.200 told that charging sucks and evs are bad and this 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:20.240 and that, and Donald Trump says they're bad, and this 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:22.760 is all they see all day and then It's like, 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:24.680 why would they go buy a Tesla because there's not 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:27.760 one ad anywhere that tells you how great the cars are? 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:29.200 Because they are great. 0:09:29.640 --> 0:09:31.439 Right and you still own them right real quickly? 0:09:31.520 --> 0:09:32.040 Yes or no? 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:33.280 Yeah, I do. 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:35.640 I just don't understand why they don't tell people how 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:36.679 great their vehicles are. 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:39.920 All right, Ross Gerbert so appreciated. We know you've got 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:41.800 to I think run over to our TV guys, President 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:45.640 Ceot Germer Kawasak, so appreciate you joining us. Max Chafkin 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:47.520 is staying with us a Bloomberg Business Week and we 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:48.680 want to roll into the conversation. 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:51.720 Ed Ludlow, Yeah, he's co host of Bloomberg Technology on 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:53.880 Bloomberg TV. He joins us from the San Francisco Beer. 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:55.680 I do want to note, Carroll, the Tesla first quarter 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:59.240 automotive gross margin excluding regulatory credits is at sixteen point 0:09:59.280 --> 0:09:59.880 four percent. 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:01.240 Yeah, for the quarter, stack. 0:10:01.120 --> 0:10:02.840 Up six point three percent in the aftermarket. 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:04.679 Hey, I'd come on in here and explain why you 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:06.760 think the stock is moving higher given that a lot 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:08.320 of these numbers came in below estimates. 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:09.320 Yeah. 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:11.880 I think that the print and the numbers in after 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:14.360 has had nothing to do with the quarter gone, everyone's 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:19.240 looked past it. Frankly, what the shareholder deck outlines is 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:22.160 almost line for line exactly what Danna and I outlined 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:24.680 in the Big Take on Sunday, which is on the 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:27.679 affordable ev A big body of work had already been 0:10:27.720 --> 0:10:31.959 done at the component and production process level, and Tesla 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:35.079 is moving forward with a more affordable lineup of evs 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:38.400 based on that technology. It was really misunderstood. It's like 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:41.120 the world was banking on the Honda Civic of evs 0:10:41.440 --> 0:10:43.440 and Tesla to be the one to bring it. But 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:45.480 my understanding from sources that was never the case. And 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:47.920 if you read the shareholder deck, they spell it out 0:10:48.120 --> 0:10:51.079 pretty clearly. They've looked at this kind of more holistically 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:53.840 and there will be more affordable evs coming late twenty 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:58.560 twenty five. Caution caveat Musk has often miss his own deadlines. 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:00.360 You know that. I always say that, But it's like 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:03.480 a sumthing for everyone. Yeah, you know that, And and 0:11:04.320 --> 0:11:07.040 that was me protecting myself from all the people who 0:11:07.080 --> 0:11:10.199 may go after me on social media. But explicitly it 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:13.559 states that they are working on a purpose built robotaxi. 0:11:14.000 --> 0:11:16.600 And so we went into this saying if you're a 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:19.200 Wall Street institutional giant who really wanted to see an 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:22.560 affordable EV. Or you're the technology investor or the retail 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:25.640 investor that's kind of all in on the Tesla thesis 0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:28.480 around autonomy. You got that as well, and really I 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:31.320 think the market adjoining in hands to play that in 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:32.040 after hours. 0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:36.440 You know, the question is like what is an affordable 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:38.839 EV And I think one of the things one of 0:11:38.880 --> 0:11:41.280 the ways that Elon Musk could clarify is to is 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:44.120 to sort of say that, you know, he over the weekend, 0:11:44.720 --> 0:11:48.680 amid all this speculation, he tweeted a screenshot showing the model. 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:52.640 Why priced at twenty nine thousand dollars sounds pretty affordable. 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:56.480 Course that includes tax credit, which you know not everybody gets, 0:11:56.800 --> 0:12:00.640 and a and like a five thousand dollars of assumption 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:03.880 of gas savings. So so like you could imagine a 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:06.839 situation where he tries to argue, like, look, we're going 0:12:06.880 --> 0:12:09.320 to cut a bunch of costs out of this thing, 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:12.240 and we're going to make it affordable as is, like 0:12:12.280 --> 0:12:14.600 we don't need an additional model, which is a really 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:18.839 intriguing proposal. That is a huge, would you know, pretty 0:12:18.840 --> 0:12:22.440 big departure from how the car industry normally does things 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:24.880 and in certain ways, like it is saying, maybe not 0:12:24.920 --> 0:12:27.200 that surprising, right, that's kind of you know, Elon Musk 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:30.600 has long model this company after Apple. You know, Apple 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:33.559 sells a very you know, modest product line. All the 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:35.680 products kind of look the same, They're all kind of expensive. 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:38.199 You know, you could have sort of imagine his effort 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:40.320 to do this and and you know, who knows if 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:43.199 it's going to work, but it definitely is outside of 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:45.840 what you know, a normal sort of car company, nor 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:48.719 normal car company analyst would expect to see, would want 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:49.000 to see. 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:51.200 You know, guys, I'm looking at a live blog Creik 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:55.200 Canter weighing in our BNF Electric Vehicle Analysts and saying, 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:58.920 you know where he talks about these new models and 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:01.760 talks about I don't know, new models ahead of our 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:04.280 previously communicated startup production in the second half of twenty 0:13:04.320 --> 0:13:08.360 twenty five, accelerating that launch, he writes by including these 0:13:08.360 --> 0:13:10.720 statements in the investor deck, it shays Tesla has identified 0:13:10.720 --> 0:13:12.640 that a lack of new models is a problem, but 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:15.760 are there actually actions being taken or just a continued 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:18.480 lack of clarity? And I guess you know, I'm going 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:19.920 to go back to you Max for a second. It 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:23.079 feels like, right, we want a little bit more specifics, right, 0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:24.120 and what this means? 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:27.600 Yeah, again, it almost it does have the feel of 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:31.439 a deck that's being written for maximum optionality. 0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:34.800 And you know, this is all happening very very quickly. 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:38.479 You know, we saw we've seen Elon Musk get re engaged. 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:41.439 It appears in any case, you know, connected this layoff 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:44.080 in a way that has seemed, at least according to 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:45.959 you know, the reports that the Bloomberg has published that 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:49.800 Ed has has written very hasty, and so you do 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:52.439 wonder like maybe they are trying to figure this out 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:55.800 as we speak, and who knows if we're definitely going 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:58.319 to get that level of clarity on the call from 0:13:58.320 --> 0:14:01.800 Elon Musk, although given Elon m he cannot help himself 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:04.800 but sort of say controversial things. You know, he's got 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:08.560 that sort of trump characteristic of being sort of really 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:11.840 really honest sometimes to a fault, he may, you know, 0:14:11.840 --> 0:14:14.160 spout something off that could send the stock in any 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:15.079 number of directions. 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:17.720 And to that point, you know, what's what are you 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:20.400 looking for on the call at if you're when you're 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:21.240 tuning in the call. 0:14:21.960 --> 0:14:23.720 So so I don't want to be inconsistent. You know, 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:26.560 I posted in the blog before we kick things off clarity. 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:30.280 But actually, to be fair, I think that Tesla has 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:32.600 given us one single line of clarity. So I'm just 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:35.400 going to read it. This update may resolve in a 0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:41.440 result in achieving less cost reductions than previously expected. So 0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:44.200 Carol read out the section in which they outline the explanation. 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:47.520 There will be multiple affordable models, but I think that 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:50.200 the market, and indeed because Elon Musk kind of guided 0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:53.320 us there, was thinking this will be a brand new model, 0:14:53.560 --> 0:14:56.040 maybe it will be called M two, maybe it will 0:14:56.080 --> 0:15:00.240 specifically cost twenty five thousand US dollars. I think in 0:15:00.240 --> 0:15:03.200 that single line of the shareholder deck on page ten, 0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:06.800 they're saying it will be less expensive than the average 0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:08.840 cost of a while or three. Now it will not 0:15:08.960 --> 0:15:11.600 be twenty five thousand dollars. And so now we go 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:14.720 to the big picture clarity, how many of these things 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:18.160 we build and what is the strategy with that visa 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:22.880 v ROBOTAXI because they all occupy the same physical production 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:26.800 space in Austin. Based on our understanding, I also would 0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:30.440 think maybe the tone of Elon Musk Tim to answer 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:33.960 your question. I thought he'd be a bit combative and frazzled. Yeah, 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:35.040 now I just don't know. 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:42.360 Wait, wait surprised? All right, Edlerler, We're gonna let you 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:44.520 go because we know you've got a full play to continue. 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:47.280 But of course Bloomberg Technology co host ed Ludlow. But 0:15:47.320 --> 0:15:50.720 we got to talk about with Max final minute here 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:53.000 or so Elon bingo. 0:15:52.920 --> 0:15:56.920 Right, you know again, I've talked about this three months ago. 0:15:57.280 --> 0:16:00.400 This is a thing that many Tesla watchers, balls bears, 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:03.960 everybody in between Elon Musk, super fans, Elon Musk's haters 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:06.440 tend to do, which is to kind of create a 0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:09.800 bingo card and look for some of his catchphrases. So 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:12.360 we at the Elon Inc. Podcast, we've got a new 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:15.400 episode out right now and we have this bingo card. 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:18.320 Just want to flag a few items. A horse that 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:19.360 would be one. 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:19.720 Now. 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:23.080 Elon Musk has said that anyone who's driving a non 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:25.840 autonomous card, not a ROBOTAXI, it'll be like driving a 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:28.120 horse compared to a car. So see if he tries 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:32.480 that line on us, a few others and to Grock 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:38.200 and for reasonably optimistic, he's often reasonably optimistic about lots 0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:40.800 of things. So so yeah, lots of fun to be 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:42.560 had here and we'll see if anyone gets bingo. 0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:46.520 It's a fun card hopefully to get you. 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:49.720 Back in three months and also earlier than three months. 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:51.840 I'll be sure to check out the Elon Inc. Podcast 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:55.000 wherever you get your podcast. That's Max Chafkin, a columnist 0:16:55.040 --> 0:16:56.520 for Bloomberg business Week. 0:16:57.320 --> 0:17:00.880 You're listening to the Bloomberg Business Week podcast. Catch us 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:04.160 live weekday afternoons from two to five pm Eastern Listen 0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:06.320 on Apple car Play and then brout Auto with a 0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:10.560 Bloomberg Business app, or want us live on YouTube. 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:13.399 Yeah, there's a lot going on today right and as 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:15.280 we try to keep you certainly up to date on 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:17.000 what's going on in DC, and it all has to 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:20.119 do with the ninety five billion dollars in emergency supplemental 0:17:20.160 --> 0:17:22.560 funding that would be provided as we've been talking about 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:25.920 for Ukraine, Israel and also the Indo Pacific region under 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:28.720 that measure working its way right now on the Senate floor. 0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:31.760 The measure would also require TikTok's Chinese owner to divest 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:35.680 the video sharing app impost sanctions on Iran and sees 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:37.520 Russian assets. So there's a lot of pieces, but the 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:41.359 big one really has to do with military aid, in 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:44.240 particular almost sixty one billion for Ukraine team. 0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:46.240 Well, let's get to the interview. Angelas Stan is a 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:50.160 Russia and foreign policy expert. She's senior Fellow at Brookings Institution, 0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:53.840 also a former National Intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:56.680 at the National Intelligence Council, and you also served in 0:17:56.720 --> 0:17:59.200 the Office of Policy Planning at the US Department of State. 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:01.960 She's the author of the twenty nineteen book Putin's World, 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.960 Russia Against the West and With the Rest. She's also 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:08.720 Professor Emerita of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown. She 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:10.280 joins US from Washington, DC. 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:12.399 Yeah, and she's been a go to throughout the Ukraine 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:15.000 Russian War. So Angela, good to have you here with US. 0:18:15.119 --> 0:18:18.080 Ukraine President Zelenski telling NBC's Meet the Press over the 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:22.000 weekend that this US support quote will really strengthen the 0:18:22.119 --> 0:18:24.800 armed forces of Ukraine and that now we would have 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:28.360 all the chance to stabilize the situation. From your perspective, 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:31.520 how important is this US measure from a financial perspective, 0:18:31.560 --> 0:18:35.920 military perspective, and also from a show of support perspective. 0:18:36.359 --> 0:18:40.000 So I think it's crucially important on all of those campts. 0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:43.760 This vote has been six months in the making, and 0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:47.360 in those six months, the Russians have made gains, particularly 0:18:47.359 --> 0:18:50.280 in the last few months, and the Ukrainians have literally 0:18:50.520 --> 0:18:53.840 been running out of ammunition and also air defenses. So 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:56.000 what they really need is the artillery and they need 0:18:56.040 --> 0:18:59.119 the air defenses. And frankly, if this vote had not 0:18:59.240 --> 0:19:03.080 taken place, and if Ukraine doesn't get the assistance, then 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:05.960 I think their prospects would look pretty dim by the 0:19:06.080 --> 0:19:08.480 end of the year. If this all goes through, they 0:19:08.520 --> 0:19:11.879 have a fighting chance, if you like, to continue pushing 0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:15.600 back against the Russians and to do better in this 0:19:15.680 --> 0:19:18.359