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0 pointsafavour3y ago0 comments

I think you need to avoid taking Musk’s word at face value and instead look at his actions. Avoiding paying rent and severance is not what a financially healthy company does.

The only logical reason I can think of to not pay something you know you’re legally obligated to pay is if you’re intending to declare bankruptcy to avoid paying. Otherwise you’re going to end up paying and pay a load of legal fees on top.

I guess one alternative is effectively taking a risky loan: you are running low on cash but you have a large cash flow coming in the future. Stop paying rent, eventually after a protracted court battle pay your debts with that future cash flow and the legal fees are “interest”.

Neither feels like the actions of a financially healthy company.

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devnullbrain3y ago

I don't agree with this. IMHO his career has almost been defined by an extraordinary ability to 'temporarily get away with shit'. For example, the current FSD story: I expect this will be a long, drawn-out, forgone conclusion where Tesla will eventually lose the battle by having to pay back owners but will win the war in having a cheap, easy loan from the most financially unstable years until now.

Other examples:

- Illegal firings of non-US Twitter staff

- Pushing back the Twitter acquisition

- Roadster/Truck deposits

- Radar will-they/won't-they

The ability to stop paying bills without seeing the inside of a cell or having to sleep in the cold is a powerful negotiation tool. Some won't even have the means to sue him. Despite being painted as failures, none of these will have a materially adverse affect on his life. Consequences are different for a person like him.

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