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Reuters Exclusive - Tesla To Unopen A Dozen Solar Facilities Inwards Nine States: Documents (Tsla)

Jim Chanos weeps at what mightiness have got been.*
From Reuters:
Electric automobile maker Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) motion final calendar week to cutting ix percent of its workforce volition sharply downsize the residential solar occupation concern it bought 2 years agone inwards a controversial $2.6 billion deal, according to 3 internal companionship documents in addition to vii electrical flow in addition to one-time Tesla solar employees.
The latest cuts to the segmentation that was in 1 lawsuit SolarCity - a sales in addition to installation companionship founded yesteryear 2 cousins of Tesla CEO Elon Musk - include closing nearly a dozen installation facilities, according to internal companionship documents, in addition to ending a retail partnership amongst Home Depot Inc (HD.N) that the electrical flow in addition to one-time employees said generated nearly one-half of its sales.

About threescore installation facilities stay open, according to an internal companionship listing reviewed yesteryear Reuters. An internal companionship electronic mail named xiv facilities slated for closure, but the other listing included exclusively thirteen of those locations.
Tesla declined to comment on which sites it planned to unopen down, how many employees would lose their jobs or what percent of the solar workforce they represent.
The companionship said that cuts to its overall liberate energy squad - including batteries to shop powerfulness - were inwards trace amongst the broader ix percent staff cut.
"We proceed to expression that Tesla's solar in addition to battery occupation concern volition live the same size equally automotive over the long term," the companionship said inwards a tilt to Reuters.
The operational closures, which have got non been previously reported, heighten novel questions nearly the viability of cash-strapped Tesla's solar occupation concern in addition to Musk's rationale for a merger he in 1 lawsuit called a "no brainer" - but around investors have got panned equally a bailout of an affiliated theatre at the expense of Tesla shareholders. Before the merger, Musk had served equally chairman of SolarCity's board of directors.
The installation offices that the internal electronic mail said were targeted for closure were located inwards California, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Arizona in addition to Delaware.
The companionship also fired dozens of solar client service staffers at telephone yell upwards centres inwards Nevada in addition to Utah, according to the one-time Tesla employees, around of whom were terminated inwards final week's cuts. Those employees spoke on status of anonymity because making populace comments could violate the price of their severance packages....
...MUCH MORE

*See also:

Dec. 2017
So, How Was Tesla's Purchase Of SolarCity Not a Fraud? (TSLA; SCTY) 
We've been posting on this nasty fighting of alchemy for years, around links below.
Today FT Alphaville's editor commends to our attending a Reuters article from Friday:
Tesla largely responsible for slide inwards U.S. domicile solar sales...
That was Izabella Kaminska amongst the heads-up. Her confrère, David Keohane (now FT-Paris) was also on SCTY amongst quite a few Further Reading posts linking to it—as good equally SunEdison, around other fighting o'financial technology scientific discipline gone wrong. Fond memories of SUNE; who tin lavatory forget the fourth dimension its decease throes led to 1 of my favorite headlines:


in addition to another, to which Mr. Keohane kindly linked:
It appears nosotros have got entered the realm of 1 of Zeno's Paradoxes, namely the Paradox of the Tortoise in addition to Achilles, that no affair how many days SUNE drops 50% it never reaches zero. 21 cents, downward 22 cents last....

The stock had traded higher upwards $32 inwards July 2015. The bankruptcy wiped out $16 billion inwards debt amongst the equity having declined yesteryear an additional $10 billion.
Good times.

Anyhoo, dorsum to around of our prior Solar City posts:

The Short Argument Against Tesla
Mr. Chanos was taken to the cleaners yesteryear Mr. Musk on SolarCity: had Tesla non bought it, SCTY was on its agency to bankruptcy court. We have got quite a few posts on the bad blood betwixt the two, piece of work the 'Search Blog' box search term SCTY if interested.... 

"Tesla cites performance reviews equally it fires SolarCity employees, though workers country reviews never took place" (TSLA)
The query that comes to heed is: Was the acquisition of SCTY a fraudulent altruistic stupid bright bailout of the Rive boys in addition to perhaps fifty-fifty Elon himself? 

Whitney Tilson on Shorting Tesla (and other stuff) TSLA
April 1, 2013 
Why We Don't Short Tesla: The stock is upwards 16% On The Day (TSLA)
August 2016
...For the longest fourth dimension nosotros had a Don't Short Tesla policy because it showed signs of beingness a cult stock in addition to cult stocks tin lavatory kill shorts. Plus it tin lavatory live real difficult to locate stock in addition to real expensive to borrow when you lot do,
However, after the SolarCity bargain in addition to Elon's purchase of SCTY debt (on tiptop of his SpaceX buying SCTY debt) I'm to a greater extent than opened upwards to betting against the company, at to the lowest degree tactically if non to zero.
Remember, your mileage may vary, unopen encompass earlier striking etc.

June 2017
"Einhorn Compares GM to Apple in addition to Explains Why He’s Short Tesla" (TSLA; GM)

..It is simply thus unsafe to position valuation (as compared to fraud) shorts on inwards a bull market.
We have got had a full general rule, "Don't curt Tesla" virtually since the IPO, that we've violated on 3 occasions, fortunately profitable but it is tough to enjoin if it was worth the risk. 


Why SolarCity Has Become a Shell of Its Former Self Since Tesla Buyout (TSLA)
This is a $3,000,000,000 scandal in addition to no 1 seems to care.... 

SolarCity/Tesla: Analysts React (SCTY; TSLA)
Not exclusively is Tesla taking on almost $3 billion inwards SolarCity debt, it is also buying into the employment of fifty-fifty to a greater extent than negative cash flows, both Operating in addition to FreeCashFlow.

Which of course, along amongst the corp. governance nastiness, explains why Tesla has lost almost 11% of its marketplace seat cap, amounting to $3.14 billion on the 133 1000000 shares out in addition to more than the entire marketplace seat cap for SCTY (98,296,422 shares at $22.30, upwards 5.2%).

The marketplace seat is proverb SCTY is worth less than nada to Tesla.

We'll have got a lot to a greater extent than to country nearly this inwards the coming days....
Tesla-Solar City: Cousins Shouldn't Get Married (to each other) TSLA; SCTY--UPDATED

So, Who Will Write Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Fairness Opinion On The Tesla/SolarCity Deal? (TSLA; SCTY)

 
More On SolarCity/Tesla in addition to Fairness Opinions (SCTY; TSLA)
 
"Elon Musk Faces Cash Squeeze at Tesla, SolarCity" (TSLA; SCTY)

"Short-Seller Chanos Calls Tesla-SolarCity Merger 'Crazy': CNBC Conference" (TSLA; SCTY)   

Today In Depreciation: Does Tesla Really Understand What It’s Buying inwards SolarCity? (TSLA; SCTY)

Tesla, SolarCity Tumble Ahead Of New Merger Financials (TSLA; SCTY)
Attentive reader may have got noticed nosotros didn't encompass Mr. Musk's press conference on the roof tile solar panels final Friday. We've been at the marketplace seat long plenty to recognize a master copy magician's "hey, expression at this" misdirection. The tiles aren't going to affair to anyone for at to the lowest degree a year, belike two, in addition to yesteryear in addition to thus I would expression the marketplace seat to have got changed to the  betoken that they volition live recognized equally a niche at best.

The oohing in addition to ahing from the assembled journos was kinda funny though; inwards a naïve, never had to bet existent coin sort of way.... 
"Wait, Tesla Motors Might Need to Raise $12 Billion?!?!" (TSLA; SCTY)
We've been thinking $6 billion to encompass the build-out of the factories inwards Fremont, CA in addition to Nevada in addition to the New York SolarCity flora along amongst funding the higher cash burn downward after the SCTY merger.

And nosotros were at the high end....
How Do We Know James Chanos Got Under Elon Musk's Skin? (TSLA SCTY)
Chanos has been living rent-free inwards Elon's caput for over a year.
The deviation this calendar week of the instant of Mr. Musk's 2 cousins, the Rive boys who had been running SolarCity reminded me I had promised around other event of the toll the stress of keeping all the plates spinning may live taking on Elon.
In Monday's "Being Told Tesla Exists Because of Tax Breaks in addition to Subsidies Drives Elon Musk Crazy (TSLA)" I said:
Regarding Mr. Musk, it is starting to look he's a fighting thin-skinned, we'll have got around other event later on today or tomorrow....
went into a coming together in addition to forgot until today.

Here's the set-up for this example. Back inwards the autumn of 2015 Chanos was pretty song nearly SolarCity beingness the quintessential short-it-to-zero-stock. The companionship was burning enormous amounts of cash, had no path to profitability, in addition to couldn't teach anyone but SpaceX to purchase their debt.
On Oct 21 SCTY shared their financials in addition to nosotros posted "Pray For Elon Musk: SolarCity Drops 21% (SCTY)".

The populace relations people earned their maintain amongst "SolarCity's CEO When Told Jim Chanos Is Shorting His Stock: "First I've always heard of the guy" (SCTY)".
Oh dear.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
SolarCity's CEO is an ahistorical idot.
I hateful we're all idots from fourth dimension to fourth dimension but most of us at to the lowest degree endeavor to conceal our idot-hood from the freakin' media!
Well, Mr. Chanos evidently took annotation of Rive's comment in addition to the side yesteryear side day, spell beingness interviewed on CNBC started out amongst "One of our large curt positions inwards the renewable infinite is SolarCity".
The interviewer says "Elon Musk's company" in addition to Chanos replied "Who?"
Here's the video if you lot attention to consider it, it's pretty funny: "SolarCity: Jim Chanos On Elon Who? (SCTY)".
Fast-forward to the calendar week earlier final and, via Sujeet Indap, the FT's Lex States of America editor:
The Journal does a flush on Tesla's remove for cash,
One of the fanbois tells Elon non to elbow grease it,
Mr. Musk uses a variant of the 2015 trash talk: ...["never heard of them"]...

...The upshot? Elon got to piece of work the line, the Rive boys got to country "thanks cuz" for turning their going-to-be-worthless SCTY stock into TSLA, I teach to exercise this post in addition to Chanos got screwed yesteryear the self-dealing bail-out but hey, 3 out of iv ain't bad.
Plus, the TSLA the cousins received may or may non live worth the electrical flow cost after the model 3 roll-out.
We shall see. 
And many more.

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