Musk on sabotage

The latest update, and lawsuits galore... What a mess...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-01/tesla-s-phantom-shooter-the-strange-story-of-a-debunked-threat

 

Some excerpts from "TESLA AND THE SMEAR" by Roger Pressman

In recent months, all of us who follow Tesla have noticed a dramatic increase in what Elon Musk characterized as “relentlessly negative” news, rumors, and innuendo concerning Tesla and its vehicle lineup. You’ll find damaging Tesla stories and commentary on obscure blogs and twitter feeds, across mainstream news sites and aggregators, and in national web sources and publications.

A few years ago Tesla and Elon were the darlings of the media—eco-friendly, tech-savvy, hyper-innovative—the wave of the future. Now, if you were to believe the conventional wisdom as reported by the media, things have changed. Sure, there are still staunch defenders of the company, but the tsunami of news presented with a distinctly negative spin often drowns them out.

The big question is why, and the answers I’ve seen are a little naïve and often overly-simplistic.

Defenders of the company—and there are many—blame “the shorts” (investors who bet large sums on shorting TSLA in the hope that stock prices will fall) or “big oil” or “big auto”, recognizing that Tesla’s success represents a significant long-term threat to all of those constituencies.

But they almost never talk about the mechanism that I believe is responsible for the negative news tsunami we’re seeing—a mechanism that CBS journalist, Sharyl Attkisson calls, “The Smear.” In her book, Attkisson describes a smear this way: “In simple terms, it’s an effort to manipulate opinion by promulgating an overblown, scandalous and damaging narrative … Paid forces devise clever, covert ways to shape the information landscape in ways you can’t imagine.”

...I suspect that the smear we’re witnessing is a disinformation campaign conducted by professional smear shops who are experts at manipulating friendly members of the media and through them, the general public. And behind the smear shops, hidden from view, are paying clients who desire anonymity.

But what are the explicit characteristics of a “smear,” and how can you learn to recognize them? As important, how do the shadowy figures who operate professional smear shops do their work?

...Professional smear shops hire enthusiastic young college grads and plenty of unpaid interns who follow the target of the smear—Tesla—24/7. Every news story, every social media post, every rumor no matter how insignificant or untrue, is logged. Every tweet and every public comment made by Elon Musk is dissected to find a way to spin it negatively, preferably questioning Musk’s mental stability, his character, and his honesty.* This stream of information goes to copywriters who formulate releases that are passed on to “friendly journalists” who, as Attkisson notes, gain something for promoting them.

Much of this can be accomplished using social media as a driver. In fact, professional smear shops increasingly use a combination of bots and boiler rooms of paid employees to troll social media in ways that amplify the smear.

...As ugly and dishonest as it is, the smear works … and whether we like it or not, it’s now working against Tesla.​

Full article: "Tesla and the Smear"

*Emphasis added. Note how often that propaganda tactic is used in anti-Tesla posts here. --Pushy

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I was thinking of this too, from yesterday, and it seems like more actions are in the works...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45031982

 

Yeah, I think Wall Street is feeling more comfortable that Tesla is not going to go out of business, and most likely some shorts covering.

I thought the earnings call was all over the place, I am really shocked at how scatterbrained all of those guys seem. I posted a few takes I had from the call in the other post...

 

The Martin Tripp story is back in the news. Regarding Tripp's so-called "whistleblower" suit against Tesla, it seems Tripp fired his lawyer and is now representing himself. Not a good sign for those who would like to believe there might be some truth to Tripp's accusations! (Note there are two separate lawsuits, as Tesla is also suing Tripp. Perhaps Tripp hasn't fired his lawyer(s) for that case.)

From CNBC: "Tesla is seeking $167 million in damages from the former employee Elon Musk accused of sabotage"

A couple of excerpts:

An interim case management report published on Nov. 27 reveals that Tripp's attorneys aim to depose Tesla CEO Elon Musk and more than 10 people involved with the company. Tesla has refused to make Musk available and sought to limit the number of people deposed by Tripp's defense team at the law firm Tiffany & Bosco.

Tripp's lawyers wrote in that report: "Tesla has objected to Mr. Tripp's desire to take more than ten depositions...In this case, where Mr. Tripp is being sued for more than $167,000,000 and has asserted counterclaims against Tesla, more than ten depositions is certainly reasonable and appropriate."​

...

Tripp was represented by Meissner Associates in the whistleblower matter earlier, but is now representing himself, attorney Stuart Meissner told CNBC. Meissner declined to comment further. Tripp also declined requests for comment.​

 

Ouch!