Elon Musk slams analysts for asking 'boring, bonehead questions' in bizarre Tesla earnings call
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk confused and frustrated analysts during the company's unusual first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.
- During the Q&A segment, Musk rejected questions about the company's finances and the Model 3.
- Tesla's stock dropped 8% in after-hours trading on Wednesday and opened down 7% on Thursday. It was down almost 6% when markets closed.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confused and frustrated analysts during the company's unusual first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.
Analysts wanted details about the company's finances and the Model 3, the mass-market sedan the company introduced in July and has failed to build at the rate it predicted. Musk, it seemed, wanted to talk about the future, not the present.
During the Q&A segment of the call, Musk rejected a question from Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Antonio Sacconaghi, who asked about the company's future capital requirements.
"Excuse me. Next. Boring bonehead questions are not cool," Musk replied.
The next question came from RBC Capital Markets analyst Joseph Spak, who asked about Model 3 reservations.
"These questions are so dry. They're killing me," Musk said, before turning to Galileo Russell, a retail investor who runs a YouTube channel about Tesla. Russell was allowed to ask several questions about a range of subjects, none of which concerned Tesla's financial health.
The call surprised analysts like Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas, who told CNBC it was "arguably the most unusual" earnings call he had heard in 20 years.
Business Insider's Matthew DeBord wrote that the call was "easily the most bizarre Muskian performance yet."
Tesla's stock dropped 8% in after-hours trading on Wednesday and opened down 7% on Thursday. When the markets closed on Thursday, its stock was down almost 6%.
The company beat analyst projections on its first-quarter earnings report, posting an adjusted loss of $3.35 per share on revenue of $3.41 billion during the first quarter, compared to an expected adjusted loss of $3.42 per share on revenue of $3.32 billion, according to Bloomberg. But Tesla also posted the largest quarterly deficit in the company's 15-year history at $710 million.
Musk has said the company will become profitable in the second half of the year and won't need to raise money before 2019, despite skepticism from some investors and analysts. Tesla has been known to spend cash quickly and post consistent losses.