Fred Lambert, editor and lead content producer of EV-centric blog Electrek, has been a homer for Tesla since the early days. For years he was a leader in the cultural phenomenon that is/was Tesla, and seriously financially benefitted from his position as an OG Tesla Stan. But on Thursday, Lambert posted that he had sold all of his $TSLA shares, and his reasons were perfectly sound. Though they were similarly sound last year, the year before, and on and on. So why did he do it, and why now? Here’s what Fred had to say:
“I no longer feel like the original mission to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport or renewable energy is a priority. Now, it’s all about AI, self-driving, and robots.”
“I don’t trust Elon Musk anymore. I think a combination of social media addiction and the cult of personality around him has broken his feedback loop and set him on the wrong path.”
“I am becoming unaligned with the majority of Tesla shareholders. It couldn’t have been clearer when 73% of them voted to reinstate Musk’s ~$50 billion compensation package without any change…”
“…The last reason why I sold has nothing to do with Tesla. I see a lot of signs that we are entering a recession. I prefer to be more liquid in those situations, and Tesla is up 10% in two days for seemingly no reason, so it felt like a good time to get out since I don’t feel aligned with shareholders.”
Sell the spike, I guess, huh?
Using Tesla’s referral codes Fred has “earned” a few free cars and other kickbacks from the company, allegedly including two of the as-yet-unreleased Tesla Roadsters. His ethics and motives as an automotive reporter have been suspect for years, and nobody was surprised to learn he held Tesla stock in the first place. I guess good for him for selling it.
I am of the belief that walking away from Tesla because of things Elon did in 2024 is a bit too little, too late. If you were still supporting Musk and his companies in 2023, it was too late. This guy has been a mask-off fascist dipshit with no interest in the company’s original ethos for at least five years. I’m glad Lambert finally grew a spine, but I’m not sure this sell-off is the brave move he thinks it is.