And to think I was just lamenting the fact that the end of Elon Musk‘s quixotic bid to take Tesla private meant we wouldn’t have anything fun to say about the company‘s intrepid leader. Ah, how very wrong I was!
Tesla’s stock has plunged from $379.59 on the day Musk tweeted his plan to take Tesla private to $280.95 at the close of trading yesterday. Questions continue to swirl about Musk’s leadership and whether Tesla can continue to meet production goals on its Model 3 and avoid a big cash crunch.
What to do? Naturally, Musk turned to the classic crisis management strategy they teach at Harvard Business School: Do a 2.5 hour podcast with comedian Joe Rogan.
During the podcast, Musk notes that he has been thinking a lot about designs for an electric plane and how the battery system could work. Though he notes that he’s unlikely to pursue the idea for now because, he’s like, totally running three other companies: Tesla, Space X, and the Boring Company (which he describes a “hobby”).
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Apparently, the word “focus” is not in the man’s vocabulary.
The interview comes after one of the stranger chapters in Silicon Valley lore. After Musk tweeted about his plans to take Tesla private, it quickly became clear that he did not necessarily have the money in hand, as he had claimed. It was unclear whether the board was in the loop, and the announcement triggered an investigation by securities regulators.
As part of the effort to untangle the mess, Musk granted an interview to the New York Times in which he complained about being exhausted, stressed, and sad. Being a genius billionaire is not as easy as it looks, dammit!
In keeping with his well-honed media strategy, toward the end of his interview with Rogan Musk also takes a little puff of weed, as all CEOs of publicly traded companies must do from time to time. Not that we’re judging, of course.
As of yet, there have been no reports of cardiac arrest on Tesla’s PR team. But then, it’s early on the West Coast.
Meanwhile, here is the interview in all of its glory. Did we mention it’s 2.5 hours?
Thank you, Elon, for once again rescuing the world from the boredom that threatens our daily existence.
