Big Green
- Kimbal Musk said in an interview with CNBC that his brother Elon is doing a "great job" as CEO of Tesla.
- Kimbal, a Tesla board member, backed his brother after a series of scandals, including being sued by a Thai cave rescue diver, whom Elon called a "pedo."
- Kimbal focused on the Model 3 in the interview and dodged more personal questions about his brother's leadership.
Elon Musk's brother Kimbal told interviewers on CNBC's "Closing Bell" that his brother is doing a "great job" at Tesla, despite a recent spate of bad press.
Kimbal was asked about his brother's recent tweet that Tesla has gone "from production hell to delivery logistics hell," and whether Elon may need any help at the top on an operational level.
"My brother's doing great, and he just brought on Jerome [Guillen] as president of automotive operations. He's doing a great job structuring the company, because mostly right now the focus is deliveries."
The interviewers asked if, as a board member, Kimbal wished Elon hadn't sent his now infamous "funding secured" tweet over taking Telsa private. The tweet is being investigated by the SEC.
"I think my brother is working hard to do the right thing for the shareholders and... that would be up to my brother."
CNBC's journalists also brought up more personal elements of Elon's behaviour, including when he smoked weed in his interview with Joe Rogan. Specifically, they asked if Kimbal - who is two years younger than Elon - gives his brother any guidance in these matters.
"My guidance is focussed on deliveries and getting as many Model 3's into customers hands as possible," he replied.
On Monday, British diver Vernon Unsworth, whom Elon accused of being a paedophile, filed a lawsuit against Musk for defamation. The lawsuit alleges that Unsworth's reputation was damaged as a result of "false and defamatory" statements made by Musk.
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Sorry, we've gone from production hell to delivery logistics hell, but this problem is far more tractable. We're making rapid progress. Should be solved shortly.
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 17, 2018