Tesla Might Want Some More Money

I write a fair amount around here about how Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has a habit of saying things about Tesla on Twitter that turn out not to be true. I have my reasons for writing about this: It’s funny, for one thing, and material corporate disclosures via a CEO’s tweets are still sort of a novelty, and, most notably, the Securities and Exchange Commission has spent a lot of time in court arguing that Musk should not be allowed to say untrue things about Tesla on Twitter.

But it is important to keep some perspective here and remember that Musk also has a habit of saying things about Tesla on earnings calls that turn out not to be true. This is not a novelty—he’s far from the first CEO to do that—and it does not particularly raise interesting legal questions or objections from the SEC. Also: It’s fine. Everyone just sort of understands that you can say things on earnings calls that turn out not to be true. Earnings calls traditionally begin with a magic incantation of the words “forward-looking statements,” and a warning that “actual events or results could differ materially” from what is discussed on the call, and people understand and accept that risk and are more or less not allowed to sue if in fact things turn out differently.