Al Root
Tesla CEO E lon Musk talked with Joe Rogan for two and a half hours on the eve of the presidential election.
Investors might have expected the discussion to lean political. It did. There were still tidbits for automotive and space investors.
Here are a few of the highlights from the conversation with some added context.
First, the Politics
Musk has campaigned hard for former President Donald Trump. He continued to campaign during the discussion, positioning Trump as the one who will protect free speech and get government spending under control.
Musk remains willing to help with government spending efficiency in any second Trump administration.
Trade, Tariffs, and Manufacturing
There wasn't a lot of new detail about Tesla -- no hints about a new lower-priced Tesla model due in early 2025. There was some meaningful discussion about tariffs, trade, and manufacturing.
Musk isn't in favor of shocking the global supply chain with large tariffs and believes in the benefits of specialization and trade. He also believes in U.S. manufacturing and would like to see America making more stuff.
That's a positive for U.S. manufacturers -- to the extent that Trump will listen to Musk on trade-related issues. Smaller, more targeted tariffs have the potential to help U.S. manufacturing more than larger levies that also run the risk of retaliation from trade partners.
The U.S. is the world's second-largest manufacturer. China is the first.
SpaceX Surprise
The trade and tariff talk should interest investors. The biggest news, however, was related to SpaceX.
Its space-based Starlink Wi-Fi service will have direct-to-cell phone connectivity soon, said Musk. That's connectivity without the need for a Starlink terminal and antenna. The bandwidth would be lower, but the ability to connect to a single Wi-Fi network essentially anywhere on Earth is something.
Current details are hard to come by -- SpaceX doesn't provide regular investor updates because it's not on a public market -- but it's a safe assumption that Starlink is profitable and has millions of paying subscribers.
Investors looking for Tesla details might not naturally gravitate to Rogan's podcast. Tesla investors, however, know they have to pay attention to Musk's appearances wherever they pop up.
Paying attention helps investors stay current on what Musk is thinking while gauging the risk of management distraction. Sometimes paying attention yields additional investing tidbits too.
Coming into Tuesday's trading, Tesla stock was down about 2% year to date, trailing the S&P 500 by almost 30 percentage points. Slowing EV sales growth has weighed on investor sentiment.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 05, 2024 05:01 ET (10:01 GMT)
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