Musk defends Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity (Source: CNBC)
In 2016, Tesla acquired SolarCity — a solar roof installation business — for $2.6B.
For years, the acquisition has been criticized as self-dealing by Tesla CEO Musk and his family.
And, on Monday, Musk went to court to defend the transaction.
… a number of red flags were raised, per CNBC:
Tesla shareholders sued Musk and other board members, charging that the acquisition was a “bailout” of a struggling SolarCity. Another plaintiff settled for $60m last year, but Musk chose to fight it.
… are an ideal pairing, per Musk’s take. Both are looking to usher in a clean energy future.
In a perfect world, Tesla owners can charge their cars from electricity generated by the SolarCity solar panels installed on their roofs.
According to CNBC, SolarCity’s post-acquisition record is mixed: It repeatedly delayed manufacturing solar tiles but sold a ton of energy storage products.
That is the key question, per The Wall Street Journal. In court, Musk argued he didn’t have any undue pressure on the deal (85% of Tesla shareholders agreed to the transaction).
Musk could pay $2B+ to Tesla itself if he loses the case and the presiding judge finds that SolarCity “wasn’t worth anything,” per WSJ.
As the world’s 2nd richest person ($183B), Musk can probably handle the hit… we just hope this outfit from his Wario SNL skit makes an appearance:
A memorable scene from Musk’s SNL appearance (Source: YouTube / SNL)