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The excitement at Tesla has reached its peak, with news that two top executives are leaving Elon Musk's electric car manufacturer hours after smoking marijuana in a live webcast interview.
Chief Accounting Officer Dave Morton announced Tuesday that he was resigning less than a month after his departure, according to a ranking Friday. Tesla's shares plummeted, then retreated after Gabrielle Toledano, head of human resources leave, told Bloomberg News that she would not join the company.
Morton, a former chief financial officer of hard drive manufacturer Seagate Technology, joined Tesla the day before Musk's tweet that he was considering buying back investors at $ 420 per share and privatizing the company. The CEO abandoned this effort 17 days later and still drew a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission and a series of market manipulation suits.
"Since joining Tesla on August 6, the level of public attention on the company, as well as the pace within the company, have exceeded my expectations," Morton said in the filing. . "It has led me to reconsider my future. I want to make it clear that I believe strongly in Tesla, its mission and its future prospects, and I do not disagree with Tesla's leadership and financial reporting.
Tesla shares fell 6.3% to $ 263.24, their lowest closing in five months. According to Trace bond price data, the company's bonds at 5.3% fell from 4 to 81.75 cents against the dollar, a new low.
Tesla has long been faced with a high turnover rate involving its senior executives, and its financial team in particular has gone through a period of great turmoil. In the first quarter of this year, the company lost its predecessor, Eric Branderiz, and Susan Repo, treasurer and vice president of finance. Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja retired in 2015, before returning last year when his successor, Jason Wheeler, resigned after just 15 months.
Upon leaving the position of Chief Accounting Officer, Mr. Morton waived a $ 10 million equity grant, which would have been acquired in four years. Friday was also the last day of Sarah O'Brien, vice president of communications for Tesla, whose departure was announced last month.
In smoke
Musk, 47, sipped a whiskey in a podcast interview of over 2 1/2 hours with comedian Joe Rogan last Thursday. While Musk stated that he did not "regularly smoke weed," he lamented what Rogan said was a cigarette containing tobacco mixed with marijuana, which is legal in California.
"It's pretty difficult to run businesses. Especially the car manufacturers, "said Musk. "It's very difficult to keep a car business alive."
Philippe Houchois, a Jefferies Group analyst with a holding note on Tesla shares, said that Musk "seems to be on a slightly self-destructive trend." In an interview with Bloomberg Television, he called the company to split CEO Jobs. Musk has played both roles since October 2008, and shareholders rejected a proposal for an independent chairman earlier this year.
"The team, the skills that have been phenomenal to create Tesla are not the ones we need for the next step," said Houchois, who has a target price of $ 360 on the stock. "There is a skill set that needs to be added to the top that Musk does not have."
Tesla's board is looking for senior executives, but is not actively seeking an operations manager, a person familiar with board thinking told Bloomberg News in August.
The departures of Morton and Toledano – and Musk's performance on the podcast – have also alarmed James Albertine, who estimates that Tesla has a goal of $ 300.
"It's becoming clear that Tesla needs a major change in the software suite," Albertine wrote in a report. "The current public relations crisis, actually self-inflicted, now affects key personnel within the organization" and distracted the market from the fundamentals that were improving, he said.
© 2018 Bloomberg L.P
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