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1/ Interesting story today in @nytimes about how $TSLA plans to slash costs by putting its solar business on-line only. My take? The liquidation of the solar business, which began immediately after the SolarCity bailout, continues apace. nytimes.com/2019/04/30/bus…
2/ One obvious error: "As part of a pact with New York State that included significant subsidies, Tesla has to comply with certain hiring and investment requirements."
3/ Hey, @ivanlpenn & @uwsgeezer, the Riverbend Agreement was never signed by Tesla. It was signed by a now-broke subsidiary of SolarCity, Silevo, Inc. which is now called Silevo LLC.
4/ Go read the agreement, fellows. It's been amended 10 times, but the obligations of Silevo have never been assumed by Tesla. Here's a link: sec.gov/Archives/edgar…
5/ Has NYS Development Czar Howard Zemsky or NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo ever asked Tesla to assume Silevo's obligations? I doubt it, but go ahead, commit some more journalism, @ivanlpenn & @uwsgeezer, and ask them.
6/ Hey, you know what else would be fun? Ask Elon Musk the same question. Has $TSLA assumed the obligations of Silevo under the deal and, if not, will it do so now? In writing?
7/ It's fun asking Elon Musk questions. Ask @nealboudette. You can immediately be placed on his long and growing enemies list.
8/ Btw, Neal, give these two guys a nudge & encourage them to read the Riverbend agreement plus amendments. They'll discover some interesting things. Just for starters, NYS had spent $750MM by the end of 2017, but maximum penalty for failure is only $412MM, payable over 10 years.
9/ Another curious thing they might discover: NYS agreed to drastically shrink Silevo's obligations in the Eighth & Ninth Amendments. And got nothing back in return. It would be really fun if a journalist would ask Czar Zemsky or the Guv who agreed to that, and why.
10/ Fun fact about those amendments: Neither NYS or SolarCity (or Silevo, or Tesla) announced them at the time they were signed. They were published many months later as obscure exhibits to SolarCity SEC filings. Nobody noticed.
11/ Oh, yes, and the entire Riverbend deal is littered with quite the trail of corruption, with Alain Kalyeros tried, convicted, and imprisoned over his dirty doings. Joseph Percoco, too. democratandchronicle.com/story/news/pol…
12/ If the journalists @nytimes want to learn more, and take a walk down memory lane with $TSLA and SolarCity, they could do worse than start with the thread that is my pinned tweet.
13/ Happy journalism, guys. Welcome to the world of $TSLAQ. We offer lots of facts and analysis Elon Musk would prefer you ignored, so don't expect any love from him if you report on these matters. Oh, and, yes, one other warning:
14/ Write one critical word about him or $TSLA and prepare for the descent of the flying monkey cultists. So much fun, that bunch. For them, this a religion, not an investment, and we are heretics to be burned at the stake.
15/ One further thought, @ivanlpenn & @uwsgeezer. Word is $TSLA shopped your story for a week. Takes a while to find gullible reporters who lack background and will put pretty lipstick on a pig. Congrats! You were the winners!
