Jamie Powell: The best of Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas: "Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas is a renowned Tesla bull... until yesterday.... [He] proceeded to lay into the future prospects of Elon Musk's company, holding nothing back.... To pick one, of many possible, quotes from the call is hard. But this is a standout: '[Tesla's]... seen more as a distressed credit story and a restructuring story. So from a growth story to a distressed credit and restructuring story [in a quarter]. At the heart of this though, is demand'. Jonas' change of heart comes as a surprise to Alphaville, as for many years he's been a vocal bull.... So to commemorate the mood swing, here are five of our favourite Adam Jonas quotes from Tesla's various quarterly conference calls over the years...
...The time Adam asked about a rationale for Tesla to work with SpaceX on space exploration (Q2 2016).... "When we think of SpaceX, is there any conceivable strategic rationale for Tesla Motors and Tesla Energy, or Tesla Solar, to work closely with the efforts of space exploration?... We're thinking proprietary low earth orbit satellite network to enhance the connected autonomous car ecosystem."... The time Adam asked whether Apple would be either a suitable acquirer or strategic partner (Q1 2017): "OK. And just as a follow-up, Apple has enough net cash, I think, to buy Tesla like more than 3x over. Is there anything that Apple does or has, besides having more money than they know what to do with, that could be helpful in Tesla's mission to accelerate the transition to shared autonomy in sustainable transport?"... The time Adam got even Elon to roll his eyes.... "OK. And just a follow-up then, on space but not on Mars but more Earth, Earth (inaudible)." Elon R. Musk, Tesla, Inc.—Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO and Product Architect: "Oh God. Come on, let's not get—space. Come on." Adam Michael Jonas.... "No, it's actually—it's really relevant. I was just curious is there anything that SpaceX is doing that—or enabling that could be advantageous to Tesla's mission to accelerate sustainable transport?" The time Adam again willed for a SpaceX and Tesla tie-up (Q1 2018): "Some argue that SpaceX could offer Tesla a resilient cybersecure pipe for this precious vehicle data and a potential competitive advantage."... The time Adam felt the love, and suggested Tesla collaborate with the military (Q2 2018): "Hey. everybody. First is, there's so much love and respect for colleagues and Wall Street analysts on this call. It's almost—it is lifting my spirits. What can I say? I got 2 questions. The first is for the Autopilot team.... This same technology, with a few tweaks, have some pretty obvious military capability. Do you see any risk that US companies will ultimately not be allowed to operate weapons grade AI-based technology in a market like China and vice versa?... Who do you think would be a more formidable competitor over time, BMW or Amazon?" To be fair to Mr Jonas, everyone has a right to change their minds. But with a price target of 230, versus Wednesday's 192.73 close, perhaps it's time he also updated his model...
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