Elon Musk lashed out at analyst and longtime Tesla bull Dan Ives on Tuesday, telling him to “shut up” after Ives offered recommendations to the EV giants board including a proposal that the company have “oversight” on Musk’s “political endeavors.”
CNBC reports that in a heated exchange on X, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives to “shut up” following Ives’ suggestions for the company’s board. Ives, one of the most bullish Tesla observers on Wall Street with a $500 price target on the stock, took to X with critical remarks about Musk’s political activity after the billionaire announced the creation of a new political party called the America Party.
Ives’ post came on the heels of a nearly seven percent slide in Tesla’s stock on Monday, which wiped out $68 billion in market cap. In his recommendations, Ives called for Tesla’s board to create a new pay package for Musk that would grant him 25 percent voting control and clear a path to merge with his AI startup xAI, establish “guardrails” for the amount of time Musk spends at Tesla, and provide “oversight on political endeavors.” The first recommendation is not a criticism of Musk, it is exactly the ownership position Musk himself has been advocating for.
Wedbush analysts, including Ives, published a lengthier note titled “The Tesla board MUST Act and Create Ground Rules For Musk; Soap Opera Must End,” asserting that Musk’s launching of a new political party created a “tipping point in the Tesla story,” necessitating action by the company’s board to rein in the CEO. Despite the criticism, Wedbush maintained its price target and buy recommendation on the stock.
In response to Ives’ suggestions, Musk simply wrote, “Shut up, Dan,” even though the first suggestion would hand the CEO the voting control he has long sought at Tesla. Ives later told CNBC, “Elon has his opinion and I get it, but we stand by what the right course of action is for the Board.”
Musk’s historic 2018 CEO pay package, which had been worth around $56 billion and has since gone up in value, was voided last year by the Delaware Court of Chancery. Judge Kathaleen McCormick ruled that Tesla’s board members had lacked independence from Musk and failed to properly negotiate at arm’s length with the CEO. Tesla has appealed that case to the Delaware state Supreme Court and is trying to determine what Musk’s next pay package should entail.
Ives isn’t the only Tesla bull to criticize Musk’s continued political activism. Analysts at William Blair downgraded the stock to the equivalent of a hold from a buy on Monday, citing Musk’s political plans and rhetoric as well as the negative impacts that the spending bill passed by Congress could have on Tesla’s margins and EV sales.
Trump supporter James Fishback, CEO of hedge fund Azoria Partners, also expressed concern over Musk’s political ambitions, postponing the listing of an exchange-traded fund that would invest in Tesla’s shares and options. Fishback encouraged Tesla’s board to meet immediately and evaluate whether Musk’s political aspirations are compatible with his full-time obligations as CEO.
Read more at CNBC here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
