Latest news with #CamelthornInvestments
BreakingNews.ie
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- BreakingNews.ie
Tesla slides as Musk's 'America Party' heightens investor worries
Tesla shares fell nearly 8 per cent on Monday after chief executive Elon Musk's plans to launch a new US political party reignited concerns about his commitment to the company's future as it struggles with declining sales. Mr Musk unveiled the 'America Party' over the weekend after a public dispute with president Donald Trump on the tax-cut and spending bill. Mr Trump, once an ally of Mr Musk, called the latest idea "ridiculous". Advertisement Mr Trump had threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Mr Musk's companies receive after their feud erupted into an all-out social media brawl in early June, wiping off $150 billion (€127 billion) in Tesla's market value in a single day. Mr Musk's political move comes days after Tesla posted a second straight drop in quarterly deliveries, pressuring its stock which has lost 35 per cent since hitting a record high in December and is the worst performing among the 'Magnificent Seven' this year. 'Distraction' "I and every other Tesla investor would prefer to be out of the business of politics. The sooner this distraction can be removed and Tesla gets back to actual business, the better," said Camelthorn Investments adviser Shawn Campbell, who owns Tesla shares. Tesla needs to deliver more than one million vehicles in the second half to avoid another decline in annual sales — a tall task due to tariff-driven economic uncertainty and backlash over Mr Musk's political stance. Advertisement The company is set to lose more than $80 billion in market valuation if current losses hold, while traders are set to make about $1.4 billion in paper profits from their short positions in Tesla shares on Monday. Tesla board in spotlight Mr Musk's latest move raises questions around Tesla board's course of action. Its chair, Robyn Denholm, in May denied a Wall Street Journal report that said board members were looking to replace the CEO. Investment firm Azoria Partners has delayed the listing of a Tesla exchange-traded fund, with chief executive James Fishback calling for the board to evaluate if Mr Musk's political involvement is compatible with his obligations to Tesla as CEO. "We pulled the Azoria Tesla Convexity ETF because we have real concerns about Elon's ability to be a full-time CEO for Tesla with his new full-time job running 'America Party'," Mr Fishback told Reuters on Monday. Advertisement Tesla's board, which has been criticised for failing to provide oversight of its combative CEO, faces a dilemma managing him as he oversees five other companies and his political ambitions. "This is exactly the kind of thing a board of directors would curtail - removing the CEO if he refused to curtail these kinds of activities," said Ann Lipton, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School and an expert in business law. The company's shares and its future are seen as inextricably tied to Mr Musk. He is Tesla's single largest shareholder, according to LSEG data. His stake should ideally not impact the board's ability to look for potential replacements as it can choose to remove and appoint CEOs without putting in a shareholder vote, said Xu Jiang, a professor of business administration at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. Advertisement But such a move is highly unlikely considering the board has often defended Musk. Chair Denholm, handpicked by Mr Musk, supported his record-breaking $56 billion compensation that was set in 2018, but it was rejected by a Delaware judge in January last year. "The Tesla board has been fairly supine; they have not, at least not in any demonstrable way, taken any action to force Musk to limit his outside ventures, and it's difficult to imagine they would begin now," Ms Lipton said.
SowetanLIVE
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- SowetanLIVE
Tesla stares down a second year of dwindling sales
Tesla is headed for another year of shrinking sales after it posted a second straight drop in quarterly deliveries, dragged down by CEO Elon Musk's right-wing political stances and an ageing vehicle line-up that has turned off some buyers. The carmaker now needs to deliver more than one million vehicles in the typically strong second half to avoid another annual sales decline — a task that some analysts say could prove difficult due to tariff-driven economic uncertainty and threats to phase out key EV incentives under the Trump administration's sweeping tax bill, including the $7,500 (R131,620) credit on new sales and leases. It reported on Wednesday that deliveries fell 13.5% in the second quarter, missing analysts' expectations, despite Musk saying in April that sales had turned a corner. Shares, down about a quarter this year, rose 4.5% as the drop was less severe than the bleakest analysts views, partly helped by a modest demand recovery in the competitive Chinese market, where its refreshed Model Y has gained some traction. Some investors welcomed the numbers, though with caution. 'You need two dots to draw a line. I don't think you can get too excited yet until you have some confirmation (of a demand recovery),' said Camelthorn Investments adviser Shawn Campbell, who personally holds Tesla shares. 'We've had so much bad news — almost any good news is going to help at this point.'
TimesLIVE
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Tesla stares down a second year of dwindling sales
Tesla is headed for another year of shrinking sales after it posted a second straight drop in quarterly deliveries, dragged down by CEO Elon Musk's right-wing political stances and an ageing vehicle line-up that has turned off some buyers. The carmaker now needs to deliver more than one million vehicles in the typically strong second half to avoid another annual sales decline — a task that some analysts say could prove difficult due to tariff-driven economic uncertainty and threats to phase out key EV incentives under the Trump administration's sweeping tax bill, including the $7,500 (R131,620) credit on new sales and leases. It reported on Wednesday that deliveries fell 13.5% in the second quarter, missing analysts' expectations, despite Musk saying in April that sales had turned a corner. Shares, down about a quarter this year, rose 4.5% as the drop was less severe than the bleakest analysts views, partly helped by a modest demand recovery in the competitive Chinese market, where its refreshed Model Y has gained some traction. Some investors welcomed the numbers, though with caution. 'You need two dots to draw a line. I don't think you can get too excited yet until you have some confirmation (of a demand recovery),' said Camelthorn Investments adviser Shawn Campbell, who personally holds Tesla shares. 'We've had so much bad news — almost any good news is going to help at this point.' While Tesla has leaned on offers such as low-cost financing to boost demand, it is yet to roll out long-promised cheaper models in a market where snazzy and feature-packed EVs from its Chinese rivals have been winning over buyers. Tesla had said it would start producing a cheaper vehicle — expected to be a pared-down Model Y — by the end of June, but Reuters reported in April it was delayed by at least a few months. An escalating feud between Musk and US President Donald Trump over the tax bill has also worried investors as it could potentially alienate more buyers after Musk's embrace of right-wing politics eroded demand in Europe and the US and increase regulatory scrutiny of the robotaxis that are central to its nearly trillion-dollar valuation.
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Tesla deliveries slump, Musk's EV maker stares at second year of falling sales
Tesla is headed for another year of shrinking sales after it posted a second straight drop in quarterly deliveries, dragged down by CEO Elon Musk 's right-wing political stances and an aging vehicle line-up that has turned off some buyers. The automaker now needs to deliver over one million vehicles in the typically strong second half to avoid another annual sales decline - a task that some analysts say could prove difficult due to tariff-driven economic uncertainty and threats to phase out key EV incentives under the Trump administration's sweeping tax bill, including the $7,500 credit on new sales and leases. It reported on Wednesday that deliveries fell 13.5% in the second quarter, missing analysts' expectations even after Musk said in April that sales had turned a corner. Still, shares, down about a quarter this year, rose 4.5% as the drop was less severe than the bleakest analysts views, partly helped by a modest demand recovery in the competitive Chinese market, where its refreshed Model Y has gained some traction. Some investors welcomed the numbers, though with caution. "You need two dots to draw a line. I don't think you can get too excited yet until you have some confirmation (of a demand recovery)," said Camelthorn Investments adviser Shawn Campbell, who personally holds Tesla shares. "We've had so much bad news - almost any good news is going to help at this point." While Tesla has leaned on offers such as low-cost financing to boost demand, it has yet to roll out long-promised cheaper models in a market where snazzy and feature-packed EVs from its Chinese rivals have been winning over buyers. Tesla had said it would start producing a cheaper vehicle - expected to be a pared-down Model Y - by the end of June, but Reuters reported in April it was delayed by at least a few months. An escalating feud between Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump over the tax bill has also worried investors as it could potentially alienate more buyers after Musk's embrace of right-wing politics eroded demand in Europe and the U.S. and increase regulatory scrutiny of the robotaxis that are central to its nearly trillion-dollar valuation. Model Y optimism In the second quarter to June 30, Tesla handed over 384,122 vehicles, down from 443,956 units a year ago. Still, the number marked an increase of 14% from the January-March period. Analysts expected the company to deliver 394,378 vehicles, according to an average of 23 estimates from Visible Alpha, although projections dropped as low as 360,080 units based on estimates from 10 analysts over the past month. "While overall deliveries are still down year-over-year, the rate of decline has slowed significantly - indicating a possible bottoming out and even the potential for growth in the second half of the year," said Sandeep Rao, a senior researcher at Leverage Shares, which also holds Tesla shares. Tesla in June snapped eight straight months of sales decline in China, a sign that its refreshed Model Y crossover SUV was attracting some buyers despite tough competition from more affordable Chinese rivals such as BYD. Some analysts said Tesla has benefited from its premium, reliable brand image in China, where local buyers are growing wary of domestic automakers reselling lightly used vehicles as new - a practice known as "zero-mileage used cars." Sales also rose in Norway and Spain last month as some buyers turned to the new Model Y in a region where Musk's politics had sent Tesla sales into a free fall.
Zawya
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- Zawya
Musk says some of his posts about Trump 'went too far'
Billionaire businessman Elon Musk said on Wednesday he regretted some of the posts he made last week about U.S. President Donald Trump as they had gone "too far". Trump said on Saturday his relationship with Musk was over after they exchanged insults on social media, with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO describing the president's sweeping tax and spending bill as a "disgusting abomination." Musk has since deleted some posts critical of Trump, including one signaling support for impeaching the president, and sources close to the world's richest man say his anger has started to subside and he may want to repair the relationship. "I regret some of my posts about President Donald Trump last week. They went too far," Musk wrote in a post on his social media platform X on Wednesday, without saying which specific posts he was talking about. Tesla shares rose 2.3% in pre-market trading after Musk's post, with some market analysts seeing signs that the relationship between Musk and Trump can improve again. Shawn Campbell, adviser and investor at Camelthorn Investments, said Trump's administration included people who had in the past said "some pretty nasty things" about him. "So clearly this relationship can be restored, just likely not to where it once was," said Campbell, who personally holds Tesla shares. "The stakes between the richest man in the world and leader of the most powerful nation in the world are just so big, with billions of dollars of government contracts at stake, not to mention the power to investigate and regulate and tax." BIG DONOR Musk bankrolled a large part of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, spending nearly $300 million in last year's U.S. elections and taking credit for Republicans retaining a majority of seats in the House and retaking a majority in the Senate. Trump then named him to head an effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending. Musk left the role late last month after criticizing Trump's marquee tax bill, calling it too expensive and a measure that would undermine his work at the Department of Government Efficiency. Declaring their relationship over on Saturday, Trump said there would be "serious consequences" if Musk decided to fund U.S. Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the tax and spending bill. Trump also said he had no intention of repairing ties with Musk. On Monday, Trump said he would not have a problem if Musk called and that he had no plans to discontinue the Starlink satellite internet provided to the White House by Musk's SpaceX but might move his Tesla off-site. "We had a good relationship, and I just wish him well," Trump said. Musk responded with a heart emoji to a video on X showing Trump's remarks. Tesla shares have recouped all the losses they suffered during the public feuding between Trump and Musk last Thursday, when more than $150 billion was wiped off the company's market value. (Reporting Arpan Daniel Varghese, Akash Sriram, Sruthi Shankar and Gursimran Kaur; Writing by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru and Timothy Heritage, Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
