Daily quote:
“It is a part of the practice to fall off balance. That is how you learn where centre is.”
—Said last night by my yoga instructor
People got confused if Musk was confused.
Apparently Elon Musk filed the number of Twitter shares he owned wrong on his first filing on Monday, so when the Tuesday filing was made public, people thought he had made a sale of some of his Twitter stock. But all filings need to report transactions in the last 60 days, so even if he did sell some stock, the number of shares reported would have had to be same.
Elon tweeted to resolve the confusion. All this filing shenanigans seems just like the kind of drama he’d love to stir-up. Musk is too smart to “accidentally” list the wrong number of shares.
Also, I don’t think Musk would make as big a decision as joining Twitter’s board in one night, especially as he notably resigned from another company’s (Endeavor) board a few weeks ago.
The timing of the disclosure is also convenient for Elon Musk. He bought the stock at $39 per share and once the disclosure happened, the stock went up to $50. But he filed late, and basically earned $156 million. It remains to be seen what the SEC might do about that. Twitter shareholders can’t do anything about the issue, as the law is only a regulatory requirement.
(But aren’t regulatory requirements made to protect people like shareholders? And like people in general? Isn’t that the whole point of having regulations in the first place? It can’t just be some fucking formality… or maybe it is and Musk just profited off of this bullshit bureaucracy.)
Musk purposefully files late, writes the wrong number of shares, and uses the wrong form. I’m sure his lawyers and his brokers are all in on this shit too. But they are all too smart for there to be any real consequences for towing around with these narrow legal lines.
I 100% agree with Matt Levine’s conclusion that “it is possible to explain events in the financial world in logical and intuitive ways,” especially those that are triggered by Elon.
Elon almost definitely does plays around with laws and regulations just for funsies and maybe to show that he can. Is this just some weird flexing of his muscles? Like the man does not want or need to do this shit for money.
People are also joking about an Elon Musk division at the SEC. ahaha it’d be the most fun division to work in. Elon would ensure them a good time on some interesting and nuanced issues. I’d love to debate Musk on regulatory loopholes and justifications.
2018 Deal.
Also, on the whole 2018 Musk/SEC deal over him “moving the market” with his tweet about a possible Tesla buyout was weird to me. I think on a technical level, I’m with Elon on this one.
Like everything is “market-moving,” and isn’t that the whole point? The market moves because people react to certain things that happen around them. Shouldn’t it be an investor’s own responsibility to decide on the validity of information they come into contact with and assess whether to use the information to buy or sell stock?
Like now that Musk has proven to say unreliable shit on Twitter, investors are warned not to make decisions based on them. I don’t think it is the SEC’s job to ensure the quality of investors’ own trades… Especially over things that cannot be fact-checked. Who the fuck knows how probable something is in Elon Musk’s own head?
So yea, go you on that one Elon, I hope your bid to terminate that contract succeeds.
CEOs joining multiple boards.
Will Musk’s new board seat at Twitter benefit Tesla as well? Apparently research indicates that companies benefit when their leaders sit on outside boards.
I guess this makes sense. It gives them influence and strategic connections, and also allows them to gain perspective on different industries and how those industries might interact with their own companies’. I think it probably just gives them better exposure in general.
Knowing how to limit your commitments and not over-stretch yourself seems important as well. Even though sitting on outside boards is beneficial, it is important not to sit on too many. Musk tactfully resigned one of his other board positions (at Endeavor) before taking up the one at Twitter.
Startup resources.
I’ve realised today that The New York Time’s DealBook newsletter is quite good. I’ll be reading it more often. Wish I had found this sooner! Great resource for founders! Also seems to be a good alternative on days I want something lighter than Matt’s newsletter.
Resources consulted:
Albergotti, Reed. “Elon Musk delayed filing a form and made $156 million.” The Washington Post, April 6, 2022.
Levine, Matt. “Distressed-Debt Deal Makes People Made.” Money Stuff, Bloomberg, April 7, 2022.
Levine, Matt. “Elon Musk Is Active Now.” Money Stuff, Bloomberg, April 6, 2022.
Sorkin, Andrew Ross & Karaian, Jason & Giang, Vivian & Gandel, Stephen & Hirsch, Lauren & Livni, Ephrat & Schaverien, Anna & Gallagher, David F. “Koch Industries’ Bet on Batteries.” DealBook, The New York Times, April 6, 2022.