(Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk acknowledged on Friday that it was “foolish” of him to snub analysts on a conference call earlier in the week, but further needled Wall Street with a series of accusatory tweets.
In a post-earnings call on Wednesday, Musk refused to answer questions from analysts on the electric vehicle maker’s capital requirements, saying “boring, bonehead questions are not cool,” before turning questions over to a little known investor who runs HyperChange, a YouTube investment channel.
The outspoken performance shocked many analysts, sparked a fall in Tesla’s share price and led some to question whether Musk’s behavior could risk the company’s ability to raise capital.
In early-morning tweets on Friday, Musk said the two analysts he cut off - RBC Capital Markets’ Joseph Spak and Bernstein’s Toni Sacconaghi - “were trying to justify their Tesla short thesis.” ‘Shorting’ means they were betting the stock would fall, but the two have ‘hold’ or ‘neutral’ ratings on the stock, according to Thomson Reuters data.
“I should have answered their questions live. It was foolish of me to ignore them,” Musk tweeted.
The two analysts were not immediately available for a comment.
The spat comes at a crunch time for Tesla, when it is struggling to ramp up production of its Model 3 sedan, on which its profitability depends. It is trying to build 5,000 of the vehicles per week by the end of June and overcome manufacturing hurdles that have delayed its rollout.
Although Musk has insisted the company neither needs nor wants new funding, many believe the company will seek to raise more capital by the end of 2018.
Tesla’s stock recovered a little on Friday, up 2.4 percent at $291 in early
