Having the option to make the numbers look better, yet choosing the harder path to reflect the commercial substance, is remarkable. This refusal to play accounting gimmicks is an incredibly strong, positive signal when evaluating the long-term quality of a growth company. You caught a vital detail that perfectly captures what exceptional management looks like.
Ashok actually dropped some solid numbers! He confirmed the unsupervised fleet hit >380k miles across 6 cities with zero notable incidents. More importantly, he said weekly unsupervised miles have been compounding at double-digit % rates since Jan and will continue that pace through year-end, with launch friction trending toward zero for statewide expansion.
Frankly, I don’t think there’s a missing master plan—the operational strategy and execution are clear. The main gap right now is just specific data on Cybercab unsupervised. The main uncertainties left aren't internal; they're the state-by-state regulatory approvals and proving FSD V15 holds up across all weather and edge cases as it scales.
You're confusing an accounting metric with a capital markets execution. Being in the 'diluted share count' doesn't give management a blank check to bypass corporate governance.
Even if a net-settlement tax withholding mechanism is pre-approved in an equity plan, Tesla acting as a corporate entity to execute a $50B+ private block trade to banks is likely a secondary equity offering. A corporate capital raise of that scale legally requires formal board authorization for the pricing and underwriting agreements. If the company doesn't take on that corporate action, it has to be a personal sell-to-cover, which keeps the market risk and execution burden entirely on the individual.
@ICannot_Enough@hamids Net share settlement means the company pays the withholding tax in cash to the IRS. Tesla’s total cash on hand is around $44B. They literally do not have the corporate liquidity to cover a ~$50B federal/CA tax bill. It has to be a sell-to-cover, just like 2021.