Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The performance report of electric car manufacturer Tesla did not meet expectations. Founder and CEO Elon Musk appeared ‘frustrated’ when he announced the company’s revenue fell sharply from US$ 21.3 billion in Q2 to US$ 19.6 billion in Q3 2023.
Musk said soaring US interest rates were a factor in the decline in Tesla car sales. He is also pessimistic about Tesla’s performance in the next quarter, following the current uncertain economic climate.
After announcing the company’s performance through an investor meeting (earnings call), Tesla’s share price fell almost 9% on Thursday (19/10). The lowest was on Monday (23/10) yesterday, then started to creep up on Tuesday (24/10) today.
When shares first fell sharply, Musk’s assets suddenly decreased by US$ 24 billion or around Rp. 380 trillion.
Musk’s remarks during the earnings call were criticized by financial analysts. One of them is Kevin Paffrath who is also a YouTuber.
“CEO Elon Musk acted like a child. He even looked like he was almost crying [di depan investor],” said Paffrath, quoted from Yahoo Finance, Tuesday (24/10/2023).
“As a leader, crying because of economic conditions instead of making careful plans is something embarrassing,” he added.
Paffrath also highlighted Musk’s comments regarding the delay in building Tesla’s super-large factory in Mexico last March. The investment value is estimated at US$ 10 billion.
Musk said the reason for the delay was because interest rates were high, so borrowing capital would be more expensive.
However, Paffrath believes that Musk’s reasons show that he is not a good negotiator. Supposedly, Paffrath said, Musk could have negotiated with the Mexican government or tried to promote Tesla products to markets with higher incomes.
“We need to hear a clear strategy, rather than just being presented with complaints from CEOs who don’t have a vision,” he said.
Not only Paffrath, analyst from Wedbush Securities, Dan Ives, also criticized Musk’s approach in a recent earnings call. According to him, the investor meeting was like a ‘small disaster’.
Musk can only escape by ‘blaming’ high interest rates. Apart from that, the solution offered by Musk is also considered not strategic, namely pushing the ‘Cybertruck’ product.
Tesla did not immediately comment on this matter.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
(fab/fab)