TSLAQ

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TSLAQ
TslaQ-no-tag.png
Nickname$TSLAQ, TESLAQ
Named afterTesla ticker symbol + "Q" which is NASDAQ notation for bankruptcy
FormationJuly 24, 2018; 3 years ago (July 24, 2018)
TypeAnti-Tesla, networked advocacy, fraud deterrence, pro-shorting
OriginsTwitter
Region
International
Key people
Lawrence Fossi, Randeep Hothi, Martin Tripp, @Paul91701736, @TESLAcharts
Websitehttps://www.tslaq.org

TSLAQ is a loose, international[1] collective of largely anonymous short-sellers,[2] skeptics, and researchers who openly criticize Tesla, Inc. and its CEO, Elon Musk.[3] The group primarily organizes on Twitter, often using the $TSLAQ cashtag, and Reddit to coordinate efforts and share news, opinions, and analysis about the company and its stock.[4] Edward Niedermeyer, in his book Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors (2019), establishes the catalyst for the formation of TSLAQ in July 2018 to be the doxxing by a Twitter user of Lawrence Fossi, a Seeking Alpha writer and Tesla short seller who uses the pseudonym Montana Skeptic.

TSLAQ highlights what it claims to be a variety of dangerous, deceptive, unlawful and fraudulent business practices by Tesla. On occasion, TSLAQ has exchanged hostilities with Tesla fans over social media. An online group, TSLAQ's activities at times include taking aerial photography and visiting parking lots used by Tesla for storage.

Motivations[]

See also: List of lawsuits involving Tesla, Inc. and Criticism of Tesla, Inc.

According to the Los Angeles Times in 2019, TSLAQ members believe Tesla is a fraudulent company and its stock would eventually crash, while also specifically claiming that Tesla was experiencing a "demand cliff" for its products and has had to regularly distort its sales numbers.[5] Their self-reported main goal as of 2019 was to "change the mind of Tesla stock bulls and the media."[5] Tesla was the most shorted stock in the U.S. in December 2020, with over $34.5 billion in shorted share value at its peak.[6] Business Insider described TSLAQ member activity in 2019 as consisting of "exchang[ing] research, news articles, and sometimes outlandish conspiracy theories about the company" and that members were "betting on the company’s death and have found much success in irritating the billionaire executive."[7] TSLAQ has been profiled by RealVision in an episode that included interviews with prominent members such as TESLACharts,[8] a TrueAnon miniseries,[9] and the podcast Hidden Forces.[10]

Criticizing Tesla's practices[]

Tesla under Musk's leadership has been involved in a number of lawsuits and controversies,[11] including investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice.[12] News of such investigations and subsequent litigation, the alleged fraud and insider-dealing in connection with Tesla's acquisition of SolarCity in 2016, are major organizing points for TSLAQ members.[13] Notably, Elon Musk revealed a "solar roof" shingle in October 2016 that later turned out to be fake, as originally speculated by TESLAcharts.[13][14] The group has also raised questions about accounting irregularities related to warranty reserves, accounts receivables, and regulatory credits.[15] Perhaps most infamously, Musk settled fraud charges with the SEC after falsely tweeting that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private at $420 a share;[16] the incident raised questions regarding Tesla's accounting practices from TSLAQ and beyond.[17][18]

In terms of environmental safety concerns, Tesla has also been cited for numerous Occupational Safety and Health Agency violations at its factory in Fremont, California – far more than any other major U.S. auto plant,[19] and allegedly fired an employee for raising the issue, an act that Montana Skeptic described as "nauseating."[20] Tesla has been fined for numerous air pollution and hazardous waste violations,[21][22] while also allegedly attempting to salvage damaged battery cells to later be installed in cars, according to Martin Tripp.[23] Tripp's leaks highlighted how Tesla sold Model S cars in 2012 with a known battery design flaw that could cause fires.[24]

In terms of less life-threatening alleged wrongdoing or deception, Tesla has been repeatedly accused by TSLAQ and others of reselling defective "lemon" cars outside the US.[25][26] TSLAQ also highlighted a California judge's ruling in 2019 that Tesla had violated labor laws by unfairly disciplining employees who engaged in pro-union activity.[27][28][29] According to TSLAQ member Paul91701736, Tesla has frequently failed to achieve overly optimistic production projections.[5] Following Musk's statement that "Tesla does not need to ever raise another funding round" in 2012,[30] TSLAQ and others argue Tesla has had a total negative cash flow of over $8 billion and subsequently raised over $18 billion in additional debt and equity via subsidies and other means.[31][32] Musk also planned to build a fully automated factory for mass production of the Tesla Model 3,[33] describing the factory as an "unstoppable alien dreadnought ... [the] machine that builds the machine."[34] However, footage produced by a TSLAQ member of activity at the Fremont factory revealed that cars were largely being built by hand.[35]

Hothi defamation lawsuit[]

In April 2019, Tesla filed a lawsuit and a request for a restraining order against TSLAQ member Randeep Hothi, also known as skabooshka.[36] The allegations spanned two episodes:

  1. In February 2019, Mr. Hothi was found sitting in his car in the Tesla Fremont Factory parking lot. Security ordered him to leave at which point Tesla alleged he exited at high speed and nearly struck an employee.[37]
  2. In a separate instance in April 2019, Mr. Hothi spotted a Tesla on the highway fitted with numerous camera systems and personnel in the car and he proceeded to film the vehicle believing it to be demonstrating and filming Tesla's Autopilot capabilities. Tesla alleged that he drove erratically and dangerously.[37]

In response to the allegations, TSLAQ members led by Fossi ran a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $100,000 for Hothi's defense fund. Tesla eventually dropped the lawsuit and the request for a temporary restraining order against Hothi after they refused to produce footage from within the test car on the grounds it "risked the safety and privacy of the employees involved in the case." After reviewing the surveillance camera footage of Tesla parking lot from the February date in question, Fremont police declined to press charges.[38]

In August 2020, Hothi sued Elon Musk for defamation over his accusations, in an email exchange with PlainSite's owner Aaron Greenspan, that Hothi had almost killed Tesla employees.[39] The presiding judge rejected Musk's motion to strike the lawsuit in January 2021, therefore allowing for the trial to move forward[40] and Musk's later attempt on appeal at an anti-SLAPP judgment were repudiated.[41]

Tripp whistleblower case[]

In August 2018, Martin Tripp, a former employee at Tesla's Giga Nevada, tweeted photos using the TSLAQ hashtag claiming to show scrapped Tesla car batteries that had broken and defective cells. The photos were part of a larger leak from Tesla's internal manufacturing defects database where all production problems are logged, and were provided to support Tripp's allegations about "the safety and quality of Tesla's parts."[42] Tripp was fired from Tesla after confessing to leaking Tesla internal data to Business Insider, and was reported to the local police by Tesla's security department after they said they received an anonymous tip about Tripp planning a mass shooting at the facility. However, Tripp was unarmed when police confronted him; they determined the threat was bogus and Tripp was not dangerous.[43]

After Tesla filed a lawsuit against Martin Tripp for trade secrets and computer crimes violations, Tripp engaged in a countersuit with Tesla over the whistleblowing incident as a whole.[44] In August 2020, Tripp leaked confidential documents from Tesla v. Tripp on Twitter and in response Tesla "urged the Nevada court to sanction him."[45] In addition, Tripp's legal defense was discovered to be financed by short-seller firm Cable Car Capital with a short position on Tesla's stock.[46][47] Tripp has previously said under oath that he had no financing or connection to Tesla short sellers.[47] In court, Tripp acknowledged intentionally violating the protective order after his lawyers withdrew counsel and he was ordered to pay Tesla $25,000 in attorney fees.[48] On December 1, 2020, the case was finally settled when Martin Tripp agreed to pay $400,000 in damages to Tesla.[44]

References[]

  1. ^ Niedermeyer, Edward (August 20, 2019). Ludicrous : the unvarnished story of Tesla Motors. Dallas, TX. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-948836-32-6. OCLC 1089841254.
  2. ^ Kolodny, Lora (February 1, 2019). "Anonymous Tesla short sellers who fly over its parking lots taking pictures of cars have a new web site". CNBC. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
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  46. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  47. ^ a b "Archived copy". finance.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  48. ^ News, Bloomberg (August 14, 2020). "Ex-Tesla worker agrees to sanctions over document dump - BNN Bloomberg". BNN. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.

Further reading[]

External links[]

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