Musk Tweets Video Parody of Hitler `Shorting Tesla Stock'
Elon Musk sent a tweet linking a parodied version of Downfall, a movie on Hitler’s last days, talking about shorting Tesla stock.
(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk is struggling with his own pledge to get a better handle on his use of Twitter, posting a version of an Adolf Hitler clip that lampoons fund managers who are betting against his company.
The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer on Sunday tweeted an often-parodied clip from the film “Downfall.” In Musk’s version of the movie about Hitler’s last days, the dictator is a short seller haranguing his aides about losing money at every turn because Tesla’s shares are rising with the growing success of the mass-market Model 3 sedan.
Tesla last week reported better margins on the Model 3 in the second quarter, as well as a lower cash-burn rate. That and the promise the company would be able to turn a profit in the remaining quarters of the year sent the stock soaring. Musk also apologized for his disparaging comments to analysts on a previous earnings call, easing concerns among investors.
Musk is well known for his use of Twitter, both for amusing comments as well as outbursts that have weighed on the electric-car maker’s stock. In a recent interview, he pledged to try and limit how he engages with people criticizing him or his company on the social media network.
In Musk’s most recent post that’s attracted wider attention, Hitler learns that Model 3 production has increased and Tesla shares are gaining. He orders “Chanos, Einhorn, Spiegel” to stay and everybody else to leave the room, referring to vocal Tesla short-seller fund managers Jim Chanos and David Einhorn. He then rants about the money he’s losing on his Tesla short position.
His aides break the news to him that, contrary to short sellers’ assertions, Tesla’s cars aren’t fire prone, and Hitler laments that so-called Tesla fighters -- new models from the likes of Porsche and BMW AG -- “keep getting delayed.”
The YouTube video is a popular movie clip of Hitler yelling in his bunker that’s often parodied on the Internet with captions on different subjects. In the original movie, Hitler is seen discussing war tactics with his generals before realizing that the end is near.
Tesla fell 1.5 percent to $343 in trading before U.S. exchanges opened.
To contact the reporters on this story: Nour Al Ali in Dubai at nalali1@bloomberg.net;Elisabeth Behrmann in Munich at ebehrmann1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Kingdon at ckingdon@bloomberg.net, Phil Serafino, John Bowker
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.