Tesla has to pay a big bill in 143 days — but the smart money, it seems, is still on Musk
Despite all the hand-wringing over manufacturing setbacks and Musk’s tweets, Tesla’s stock still trades at astronomical valuations
New York — One hundred and forty-three days. That’s how much time Elon Musk has until the big bills start coming due in the debt market. This, in truth, wouldn’t be considered a lot of time in most circumstances. But in 2018, with capital markets still minting bonds and loans by the trillions, it’s still a relatively comfortable runway for a company such as Tesla to secure a financial reprieve. So despite all the hand-wringing over the manufacturing setbacks and the perplexing Musk tweets and the run-ins with regulators, Tesla’s stock still trades at astronomical valuations and its bonds show almost no concern of a default in the near term. For now, at least. The question is whether Musk can use these 143 days to appease the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with changes to Tesla’s board — including his own removal as chair — then start producing electric cars fast enough to generate the cash needed to either start paying back those debts outright or convince creditors to ...
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