It’s yet another reason Unelected President Elon Musk should send his DOGE Bags to work on efficiency at his own businesses and keep them from meddling in ours.
As Mashable and Financial Times reported, Tesla reported spending $6.3 billion on purchases of property and equipment (i.e. capital expenditures) but only reported an increase of $4.9 billion in the value of its capital assets.
It’s quite possible there are some good explanations, Mashable notes. “For example, asset sales or foreign exchange-related issues could account for the $1.4 billion gap.” But, Mashable adds, “according to the report, Tesla didn't report any of these issues. The company just left the $1.4 billion unaccounted for.”
Financial Times raises more red flags, including this one (my emphases added):
Last year the group generated $15bn of operating cashflow. It invested $11bn into its businesses, and didn’t pay a dividend or buy back shares with its large cash pile (putting Tesla in a very select club of large companies that do not, along with mysterious Temu owner PDD).
Yet Tesla also raised a net $3.9bn in new finance, on top of the $2.6bn raised in 2023.
A combination of excess cash flow and ongoing capital raising is another red flag that can signal accounting misstatements.
It would be no surprise if Musk and his minions were manipulating the financial reports of his tanking company. They have already been caught cooking the DOGE books. Also, while Musk wrecks Tesla’s brand with his White House shenanigans, keeping its stock prices high remains crucial to Musk’s personal finances.
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