Elon Musk Tesla promises ‘a lot of horse—t’

At the Sohn Investment Conference in Manhattan on Monday, Greenlight Capital founder and president David Einhorn said Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s promises about Tesla’s self-driving vehicles amounted to “a lot of horse—t.”

Greenlight is famously short shares in the electric car maker, and Einhorn is regarded as one of the most prominent and vocal critics of Musk as well.

Last year, Einhorn and Musk clashed over Greenlight’s short position in 2018, after the hedge fund suffered losses from Tesla’s rising share price in the second quarter. After that clash, Musk fans at Chubbies, a mens’ apparel business, sent a box of short-shorts to Einhorn.

At the Sohn Conference, Einhorn quipped: “Napoleon once said, ‘Never interrupt your enemy when he’s making a mistake,’ so I won’t. Just watch the screen.”

He then presented a few slides showing Elon Musk’s frowning face behind captions which were promises and proclamations he made recently, including:

• “It’s financially insane to buy anything other than a Tesla. They will be like owning a horse in three years,” – Elon Musk, April 22, 2019
• “A Tesla will be worth $150,000 to $250,000 in 3 years.” – Elon Musk, May 2, 2019

“That’s a lot of horse—t,” Einhorn concluded, with a slide that showed a poop emoji replacing Musk’s face in the slide, inspiring some chuckles from the audience.

Einhorn then moved on to a presentation about planes, trains and leasing, and some new investments at Greenlight.

The Sohn Conference convenes fund managers who volunteer to present investment ideas to raise money to fight pediatric cancer.