Tesla’s Investor Day features 17 executives, leaving Musk out of the spotlight

when Tesla CEO Elon Musk has promised to promote its 2023 Investor Day event on March 1, revealing a “Master Plan 3,” its long-term vision for its next stage of growth.

Last year, Musk said his new plan would include details on “the extreme scaling needed to keep humanity off fossil fuels, and AI.” He also promised the plan would include “a section on SpaceX, Tesla and The Boring Company.”

hours tesla investor day But on Wednesday night, many shareholders and fans wanted more, Tesla stock falls On Thursday, analysts were positive on the balance.

Deutsche Bank analysts said in Friday morning’s Automotive Update, “Away from Tesla’s Investor Day, more details about its next-generation platform, including launch timing, vehicle segments and pricing, and financial implications, are looming large. At the same time, the company has shown impressive traction, presenting a high-level plan for significant improvements in technology and manufacturing that, in our view, will lead to a long-term The upward trajectory of good volume and margin is not compromised.”

There was no discussion at the event of the company’s highly affordable electric vehicle, which it first unveiled at its Battery Day event in 2020, and an update on the start of deliveries of the Cybertruck, which has been significantly delayed and improved. More on the Roadster, too, the company’s progress in heavy-duty trucking with the new Semi.

Musk did not discuss how Tesla plans to work with his other ventures.And the “Master Plan 3” document had not yet been posted to the company IR page as of Friday morning.

What went well in the presentation and what didn’t?

Pivotal Media founder Marisa Thomas, who has been training executives in technology, finance and elected officials for more than a decade to hone their presentation skills, shared her analysis. .

One of the things Investor Day did well was turn shareholders’ attention to the wider organization under Tesla’s famous CEO.

During the event, Tesla handed out 17 different company leaders to talk about what the company has accomplished so far and where they want to go next.

“I don’t think it’s Elon Shaw anymore,” Thomas said. “At a time when so many people are concerned about how fragmented his focus as a leader is, it makes sense to try to make people feel comfortable with the team – the team is It’s more than Elon.”

Since Musk spearheaded the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter and named himself CEO last October, Tesla’s shareholders have pledged to help Musk with his split focus, Twitter. and the controversy he raised in his tweets. By making massive changes to the platform.

According to YouGov data shared with CNBC, his actions and increasingly political provocations on Twitter have weakened interest in the Tesla brand, especially among left-leaning potential customers and shareholders. There seems to be

Investor Day highlighted Tesla’s bench, but diversity was not its strong point. She was the only two women presenters. Thomas said that in 2023 on his 17-presenter stage, he said two women would make for a “very poor show” and not give a “sense of optimism” about the company’s diversity and fairness. said.

The presentation could also be more sophisticated. Some presenters spoke more confidently, while others read nervously from the teleprompter.

“It’s public speaking, not public reading. It’s hard to trust someone who is supposed to be an expert but looks down and reads the script. Too often, engineers We believe you get a pass by speaking at the , a skill that should be in every executive’s toolkit,” advised Thomas.

Investor Day may have managed to show off the Tesla team, but its content left some fans and analysts it was a pity.

First, Thomas said the event had a slow start and lasted far too long. After about three hours, a question and answer session followed. “People have a hard time watching his two-hour action movies these days, and his three-hour investor presentations are totally out of focus,” he says Thomas.

Tesla also failed to provide a clear point on Investor Day. “Any good presentation should contain a few key points. They are obvious to investors and why are they important to Tesla’s future? This event fails to achieve that.” was,” she added.

Martin Viecha, Tesla’s longtime head of investor relations, seems to have admitted that the meeting was too long and that key points may not have been clear to everyone. “For those who don’t have 3 hours” posted a 9-point summary.

Management also waited hours before the event to confirm the company’s biggest news of the week. I confirmed that I will open a new factory.

He provided no new details.

On Thursday, Mexican officials filled some of those gaps media interviewTesla is expected to spend $5 billion in the short term and $10 billion in the long term on its vehicle assembly plants and employ between 5,000 and 10,000 people.

The factory will be Tesla’s largest in the world, purchasing approximately 4,200 acres of land in an industrial zone with the capacity to manufacture up to one million vehicles per year. By contrast, Tesla’s factory in Austin, Texas sits on about 2,500 acres.

On Investor Day, Musk said he expected some Mexican officials to be present. He didn’t say their names and didn’t know their titles. Mr. Thomas said it would be unwise for the CEO to treat these officials with rudeness and pettiness if the new factory is critical to the future of Mexico’s economy and to Tesla’s business. He welcomed guests by name and acknowledged their partnership with more respect.