Tesla CEO Elon Musk joined a twitter space today to speak about the recent moves in TSLA stock and defends his recent actions from Tesla investors who have called for him to stop wasting time on Twitter, which he recently purchased.
Today he finally went into a public twitter space to talk about these issues, including with Ross Gerber, the aforementioned investor he has been feuding with.
The main point of contention with Gerber has been regarding the source of TSLA’s recent price drop. Musk contends that Fed interest rates are the primary contributor, both because it drives capital flight from equities and into safer bonds as bond yields go up, and because it suppresses demand for consumer products that are often bought with debt, such as autos (or, perhaps, twitter itself, which Musk took on tens of billions in loans to buy).
Part of the difference could be related to Musk’s recent large sales of Tesla stock, having sold tens of billions over the course of the last year to fund his twitter acquisition (aka disaster, aka dumpster fire). Generally, insider stock sales send a signal to the market that insiders, particularly the CEO, may not have full confidence in the company’s performance, and add negative pressure to a stock price.
Musk’s sales have happened in a high-profile way and for inopportune reasons, as well. Tesla investors don’t seem to see the upside of these stock sales for the future of Tesla, even though Musk says it will help the EV company in the long term.
Today, Musk stated that he wouldn’t sell any more stock:
“I’m not selling any stock for, I dunno, a minimum of 18-24 months. You can count on me, no stock sales until 2025 or something. I need to sell some stock just to make sure there’s still some powder dry to account for a worst-case scenario… I won’t sell stock until probably two years from now. Definitely not next year under any circumstances. Probably not the year after either.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Dec 22, twitter space
However, Musk has said this many times before, and has still sold Tesla stock. Despite routinely saying he would be the last person to sell TSLA stock for the last decade, Musk has sold large chunks of stock several times over the last year. So investors may be glad to hear that he is done selling, but they’ve heard that before.
Musk also stated “I’m somewhat paranoid having gone through two really intense recessions,” suggesting that his companies might want cash on hand to weather what he sees as an upcoming recession, or at least some sort of “macro drama.” Musk said, “if we do have another 2009 situation, the stock price of everything is gonna be lower.”
Given that Twitter is a private company wholly owned by him, and Musk’s wealth is largely concentrated in TSLA stock, we’re not sure what other major methods of fundraising are available to Musk to free up more “dry powder” other than selling more Tesla stock or taking on more debt.
On the contrary, Musk even talked about the possibility of a stock buyback. Despite his concern about a recession, he also stated that the stock price is currently low, and said his vote would be for a buyback. Though this statement was couched in the eventuality that we aren’t in another 2008-2009 recession situation, which Musk believes we might be going into.
While many have made note of Musk’s distractions with twitter, he stated that “there’s not an important Tesla meeting I’ve missed the entire time. I’m not totally missing in action” and asked “is there anything I could have done in the last two months that would have helped with Tesla execution? I literally cant think of anything.” But he also referred to twitter colorfully by stating “if you cross catnip with crack, that’s what twitter is” – which is not exactly the sort of statement a person would make about something they aren’t addicted to.
Another question was asked by Earl Banning, known as 28delayslater on twitter, a longtime investor and fan who referred to how Musk’s recent political statements have taken the shine off of Tesla for him and his family (including his children, one of whom is trans, a group that Musk’s tweets have recently negatively targeted). This is something we’ve seen in data, with Tesla losing popular support due to these divisive statements.
Musk said that he doesn’t hate trans people, and “doesn’t want to be a hater of anyone.” Banning attempted to ask a follow-up, but was cut off.
Electrek’s Take
Well, this was quite the spectacle. It was nice to see Musk back to focusing on Tesla for once, after so much nonsense related to twitter for so long.
But it sort of sounded like he was saying whatever anyone wanted to hear. On the one hand, he thinks there will be a recession, and on the other hand, he thinks Tesla could do buybacks. On the one hand, he wants companies to have dry powder ready, but on the other hand, he absolutely will not sell stock in order to free up cash (as he has stated before, and then still sold stock).
So with this recent history of conflicting statements, it’s hard to take any of them seriously. However, the market seems to have been comforted by Musk’s words, as the stock went up about two and a half percent in after hours trading, mostly after his statement that he won’t sell anymore stock.
But as for our answer to one pointed question he asked on the call: “is there anything I could have done in the last two months that would have helped with Tesla execution?”
Yes, there is something. As Gerber said, Tesla has been flagging lately because it has been running without the focus of its CEO. For Tesla to function correctly, it either needs a focused CEO who can aid it in execution (perhaps by stepping down from Twitter, as Musk promised, then reversed that promise), or at the very least a COO who can take the place of the CEO while the CEO is busy with their “catnip crossed with crack.”
SpaceX has this in COO Gwynne Shotwell, who has executed well for that company. Perhaps Tesla needs someone similar (potentially Tom Zhu, head of Tesla China?).
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
The first 2022 GMC HUMMER EV Pickup Edition 1 rolls off the assembly line at Factory ZERO (Source: GM)
Donald Trump signed two executive orders today that walked back parts of tariffs he previously imposed on US automakers ahead of a rally in Michigan to mark his first 100 days in office.
The Wall Street Journal first reported today in an exclusive that Trump was “expected to soften the impact of his automotive tariffs, preventing duties on foreign-made cars from stacking on top of other tariffs and easing some levies on car parts.”
Trump signed an executive order making sure the 25% tariffs on vehicles and certain auto parts won’t stack on top of existing aluminum, steel, or Canada and Mexico tariffs. He also gave automakers a credit to help blunt the impact of the 25% duties on imported parts that go into US-built cars.
Trump’s backpedal comes after weeks of meeting with automaker executives, and a week after a coalition that included GM, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Hyundai sent a letter urging him to drop tariffs on foreign auto parts due to land in May.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC) president Matt Blunt today said in response to the executive orders, “American Automakers Ford, GM, and Stellantis appreciate the administration’s clarification that tariffs will not be layered on top of the existing Section 232 tariffs on autos and auto parts. Applying multiple tariffs to the same product or part was a significant concern for American automakers, and we are glad to see this addressed. We will review the details of the executive order closely to assess how effectively it will mitigate the impact of tariffs on American automakers, our domestic supply chains and ultimately American consumers.” The AAPC represents Ford, GM, and Stellantis.
Electrek’s Take
The 25% auto tariffs implemented under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act aren’t going anywhere, and most economists say that tariffs will raise car prices and slow auto sales. This White House Fact Sheet is titled, “President Donald J. Trump Incentivizes Domestic Automobile Production.” Where’s the incentive? US automakers are just getting hit with the stick once instead of twice, and they’re thanking Trump for it.
The carrot that worked as an incentive was Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, along with the stability that came with it. All this whiplash is terrible for the US and global economy.
Now is a great time to begin your solar journey so your system is installed in time for those longer sunny days. If you want to make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20 to 30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate partner
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
New data suggests that the Tesla Powerwall 3 is significantly disrupting the US solar inverter market.
The home battery pack’s integrated inverter is changing the game.
Tesla acquired its solar business when it bought SolarCity in a controversial deal due to Musk being a large shareholder of both Tesla and SolarCity, and Musk’s cousin led the latter.
The automaker kept the SolarCity operations going for a few years. In fact, it continued until after Tesla shareholders sued Musk over the acquisition, and Musk defended himself by claiming that SolarCity had become an integral part of Tesla.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
Shortly after he won the lawsuit, Tesla virtually stopped all operations that came from its SolarCity acquisition, which primarily consisted of residential solar financing and installations.
Tesla even stopped reporting solar deployment. The company’s energy business now consists almost entirely of Powerwall and Megapack deployments.
However, the launch of the Powerwall 3 has indirectly brought Tesla back into the solar business, as the home battery pack features an inverter that works for both solar and storage applications.
EnergySage is a company that matches solar installers with potential buyers, and as a result, it has a wealth of interesting data about the solar industry in the US. Today, it released its Spring 2025 Marketplace report.
In the report, EnergySage revealed that Tesla became the second-most quoted inverter brand in the second half of last year:
Tesla became the most quoted battery brand in H2 2024, occupying 63% of Marketplace share nationwide. Because the Powerwall 3 includes an integrated inverter, Tesla also became the second-most quoted inverter brand. With batteries increasingly being added to solar systems—the national battery attachment rate jumped to 45% in H2 2024, an all-time high—Tesla’s growth was a key driver of the low storage and solar prices seen on EnergySage. In 2025, we are examining whether brand backlash and equipment shortages will affect Tesla’s Marketplace share.
This is also a byproduct of the increased popularity of energy storage systems when deploying new solar systems.
In big solar markets like California and Texas, the majority of residential solar quotes are attached to batteries, and Tesla is not the top quoted brand, thanks to Powerwall 3:
Powerwall was already the preferred home battery pack for many homeowners, and the fact that it now includes a solar inverter has made it even more attractive, as most home energy storage systems in the US are being deployed along with rooftop solar.
The Powerwall 3’s solar inverter integration is pushing solar plus storage costs down quite a bit.
The popularity of the Powerwall 3 has particularly hurt Enphase, a leader in solar inverter. It had 73% of the US market in 2022, and now it is down to 53%.
Despite Tesla driving prices down, Powerwall 3 is not the cheapest battery pack available. Panasonic and EG4 batteries were both priced lower on a per kWh basis than Tesla’s in the second half of 2024, but Tesla won on cost when also replacing the solar inverter.
If you’re interested in installing solar panels and/or batteries for your home, we recommend using EnergySage. You will be able to get quotes without any hassle and only talk to someone when you are ready to move forward. Within minutes, you can get on the path to producing your own power with solar and battery storage, including with Powerwall.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Here’s something most people don’t know: In the US, switching to solar and battery-based energy can actually save you money on taxes. And it’s not a future promise – it’s happening right now. Under the US Residential Clean Energy Credit, BLUETTI’s eligible solar systems and home batteries qualify for a 30% federal tax credit through 2032. That means with the right model, like the AC500 Home Battery Backup, you’re not only saving on electricity, you could also get a portion of your purchase back during tax season.
Meanwhile, gas generators are quietly costing more
There’s a reason so many people have relied on gas generators: they’re familiar, accessible, and have served us well for years. But as fuel prices continue to rise and usage becomes more frequent, the hidden costs of gas generators are quietly piling up:
Ongoing fuel expenses, especially during summer or storm seasons
Routine maintenance and part replacements
Stricter regulations in certain areas limiting usage times
Noise complaints and environmental concerns
It’s not about shaming these tools—it’s about recognizing when the cost-to-benefit ratio starts to shift.
Not ready to give up your generator? Start small with the BLUETTI AC60
The move to clean energy doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Sometimes, the right first step is simply trying a lightweight alternative, like the AC60 Portable Power Station (Pioneer 50).
Advertisement – scroll for more content
Compact and powerful: 600W output (1000W surge) covers most outdoor needs
Historically affordable: Only $269 after subsidy
Fast charging: 80% charge within an hour
IP65-rated for water and dust resistance – ideal for outdoor life
Backed by a 6-year warranty, cutting down on waste and replacement costs
Expandable to 2,015Wh capacity for powering phones, laptops, and more
Whether you’re into camping, road trips, or just want something for light backup at home, portable power stations like AC60 are an easy way to test the waters – no big commitment needed.
Need something stronger? Apex 300 is built to last
For those looking to level up their home battery backup or long-term savings, the Apex 300 offers a durable, future-forward alternative. With second-gen EV-grade batteries rated for 6,000+ cycles, this power station can last up to 17 years – nearly twice as long as typical models.
More reasons why Apex 300 stands out:
Ultra-efficient 20W AC idle drain extends fridge runtime by up to 24 hours and boosts CPAP usage by 2.5x compared to typical units
Built-in 120V/240V dual output with 12,000W bypass that powers 99% of home appliances, even a Tesla EV
2-year savings sprint when paired with one Solar X 4K Charge Controller for a massive 6400W solar input
Whisper-quiet at 40dB, no fumes, no fuel
Time-of-use savings made easy: Easily schedule and monitor energy usage with a user-friendly app and a clear, intuitive LED screen
Expandable ecosystem: Add extra B300K batteries or a smart 700W Hub D1 to grow your setup as your needs evolve, from whole-home backup to off-grid RV power
This isn’t about replacing your gas generator overnight. It’s about introducing a better Plan B that’s cleaner, quieter, and built for the long haul.
Thinking about a cleaner future? BLUETTI is offering a little help
In honor of Earth Day, BLUETTI has launched a newClean Energy Incentive Program. Gas generator owners around the world can submit basic info about their devices and select a clean power product to receive an exclusive subsidy.
The compact AC60 and other select models are already available at subsidized prices through BLUETTI’s Clean Energy Incentive Program – a practical step designed to support a smoother, more affordable transition to greener living.
Meanwhile, early access to the all-new Apex 300 Portable Power Station is now open through May 19, ahead of its official launch on May 20 on Indiegogo.
Going green isn’t about rushing
It’s about small, thoughtful choices that build toward something better – for your home, your wallet, and the planet. BLUETTI believes real change happens step by step, just like the LAFF (Light An African Family) Initiative. By walking the same path as those in need, the team can better understand and manage which solutions will most effectively help families who need affordable, sustainable energy.
So even if your gas generator still works just fine, it might be worth looking at a smarter backup. The future doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. It can start with one quiet step with BLUETTI’s solutions, and this simple step could lead to a brighter, more sustainable future for everyone.
About BLUETTI
BLUETTI is a dedicated advocate for sustainability, integrating ESG principles throughout product design and corporate initiatives. Through impactful projects like LAAF (Light An African Family), BLUETTI provides affordable, sustainable energy solutions to communities across Africa. By partnering with Leave No Trace, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, BLUETTI supports responsible outdoor recreation through clean energy solutions that minimize environmental footprints. This blend of craftsmanship, reliability, and a focus on real-world needs is what makes BLUETTI trusted in over 110 countries and regions.