Tesla Is "Silly ... a Stupid Idea," Lindzon Says: Govt. Better Off Investing in Bikes

Jul,14,2010
Electric car marker Tesla went public on June 29 with great fanfare. At $17 per share,the IPO was priced above its expected range and more shares than expected were sold to meet high demand.

Tesla was the first American car company to go public since Ford in 1956 and one of the best VC-backed IPOs in recent memory; the stock jumped 41% on its opening day of trading. As a result, Tesla was hailed as a reminder of the promise of American ingenuity and (further) proof that capitalism is far from dead, despite myriad reports to the contrary.

As FusionIQ CEO Barry Ritholtz declared here the day after the IPO: "Telsa is exactly what Wall Street is supposed to be doing -- bringing capital to entrepreneurs with good ideas and helping drive the engine of growth."But venture investor Howard Lindzon says Ritholtz is wrong: Tesla is a "silly company" and a "stupid idea," Lindzon says.

"That's a lot of money to launch a car that maybe 1% of the country wants," Lindzon says, noting the Department of Energy lent Tesla $465 million to build its Model S sedan. "I don't see the magic. I want to see companies that make products that we can understand - that we can aspire to own."

Furthermore, Lindzon notes CEO Elon Musk sold about $24 million worth of stock at
the offering and argues lead underwriter Goldman Sach "mispriced the deal" by
pricing it a $17. "If they priced it at $22, the company would have got a lot more
money [and] maybe paid back the government," he says.

After trading above $30 on its second day of trading, Tesla stock slid precipitously to below $15 on July 7. But after "breaking" its IPO price, the stock has since climbed back with the broader market; late Wednesday, the stock was up more than 9% Wednesday to near $20 per share. In other words, it's too soon to pass judgment on Tesla the stock, much less Tesla the car company.

But if the government's goal in supporting Tesla was to help wean us off foreign oil, Lindzon says (only half-jokingly) Uncle Sam would be better off backing a bike manufacturer and putting bikes all over American cities.

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