Tesla Has Talent But Needs Stability: Westly (Correct)

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So, should we expect more departures, Steve? >> Well, I I think we may. Look, it was another tough quarter for Tesla. Unit sales down 14% year-over-year. Q2 revenues coming in, we think, at about 23.5 billion. That's down 8% year-over-year. On track for 97 billion in total revenues. So, what you have here is flat growth. And when Tesla is hyping itself as a hot tech company, which I think it is, it's hard to sell the flat growth story. So they need to keep talk top executives in place. They need to get new product to market. That's the challenge for Tesla. We'll see if they can do it. >> They need to get new product to market and it's not happening certainly when it comes to the auto business, which very much still drives its top line. Um, do they have the talent in place to do that right now, Steve? Well, I think they have the talent, but they do need more stability. You just can't have this many of the top executives going out the door. And I think to the extent Tesla can play down the drama and focus more on executing a win, I they need to do four relatively simple things. First, they need the new $25,000 model that could compete with the lowerc cost Chinese and also legacy makers like Volkswagen and Hyundai. They've got to get regulatory approval for the robo taxi in uh Austin and San Francisco. They need that ASAP. They need to rebrand it. You know, less drama, less politics, more new products, lower prices. And then, and this is an important part of it that sometimes gets lost. They need geographic expansion. You know, they've got to launch in emerging markets. They finally launched in India. But to do well there, you need to do what BYD and Volkswagen and others have learned to do, is to show up with that 20 to $25,000 vehicle that people in Vietnam, India, South America can buy. If they can execute on any of those four things, their prospects are going to look a lot brighter. But now they need less drama, more execution, >> right? Instead, we get a lot of focus on the robo taxi and the humanoid robot as well. Um there's also a new focus on the Bitcoin holdings of the company too. Uh in the second quarter, Bitcoin actually rose in price. So that should be a net positive for the company. How much credit will investors give to Tesla on on that Bitcoin angle? >> You know, that is such a new one. Who's to say Bitcoin's real? It's the future, but it's still Are you investing in an auto company or a speculator? And I think that's going to be a hard one for people to get their arms around. At the end of the day, I think investors are going to be looking at is this auto company providing growth for the future. Are they providing increased profitability or lower profitability? And are they at the front of the pack for bringing new models to market, cutting costs, providing better features, longer ranges? They were at the top of every category in 2021, 22, and 23 with the Model 3 and the Model Y. They need the next generation of new product with a wow factor to get back to where they were. We'll see if they can do it. >> Steve, what makes you think there's any kind of premium on stability, whether it be at the board level or in, you know, the executive seuite? I mean, we've had, you know, people like Kimble Musk on the board for decades. James Murdoch is on the board, for example. You know, it's essentially a board that's kind of locked in. The only new board member is John Hartung. And as for executives, I mean, does it really matter? It's Elon Musk who calls the shots at the end of the day. >> Well, look, big companies like Tesla are more than one person, but it just doesn't help that they've had so many of the top people, especially highly uh respected folks like Drew Bagino leaving. That shakes up investors and that's part of why Tesla has lost 20%. They would benefit by having stability in the top ranks. I don't know anybody that disagrees with that, but they have a lot of talented people. They own a lot of things that many people don't understand. They essentially own the North American charging network. That's a coup that's going to give them a profitability buffer. They were a leader of auto companies any place in the world to develop a robust energy division that's not only selling power walls for car users, but is selling $1.5 million gigabs that they're selling to utilities around the world by the thousands. That's sort of the hidden hero in their revenue story. So, had a few misses, but they've got a lot of uh uh insurance policies, including their bets on Bitcoin. But at the end of the day, the whole world is going electric. Tesla and every legacy automaker needs a $20,000 vehicle in the developing world, a $25,000 vehicle in European and North American markets to win. And everybody's waiting to see whether Tesla's going to roll one out or