GOVERNANCE

Who Really Controls Tesla?

One billionaire flew to space this weekend. Others were trying to resolve more mundane problems here at sea level.

Like shareholder lawsuits. Elon Musk will testify today in a high-stakes trial where he’s accused of using one of his companies (Tesla) to bail out another of his companies (SolarCity), enriching himself and leaving shareholders holding the bag.

The backstory: In 2016, electric vehicle maker Tesla bought solar energy startup SolarCity for $2.6 billion, aiming to build a single, integrated sustainable energy company. Musk didn’t need much due diligence before buying SolarCity—after all, his cousins founded it in 2006 and Musk served as the chairman. 

But SolarCity was in bad financial shape, losing money and holding more than $3 billion in debt. And investors weren’t particularly enthusiastic about the deal. After the acquisition was announced, Tesla shares fell more than 10%, wiping out more value ($3 billion) than the entire purchase price for SolarCity. 

The details

The lawsuit alleges that Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity reeked with conflicts of interest and that Musk failed to disclose liquidity problems at SolarCity.

Musk’s counterargument is this: Look, the board approved it. Musk only owned about 22% each of Tesla and SolarCity at the time of the deal, meaning he wasn’t a corporate autocrat who could combine his two companies without oversight.

Also, if you haven’t checked lately, Tesla stock is currently 15x its price when the company purchased SolarCity...so how was this bad for Tesla shareholders exactly? 

The “why it matters” part

If Musk loses, he could be asked to cough up the full amount of the transaction—$2.6 billion. That’d be one of the largest judgments ever against an individual.

But beyond that, the trial raises bigger questions about how much control tech moguls have over decision-making at their companies. As Reuters asks, “Does Elon Musk control Tesla Inc., or does Tesla control Elon Musk?”

SPACE

Now Back to Billionaires In Space

As Elon Musk looked on, Richard Branson and five other crew members successfully completed a flight to space, a milestone for Virgin Galactic and the young space tourism industry.

Branson and crew flew 53.5 miles in the air, unbuckled and floated around for a bit, and descended back to Earth before enjoying the more traditional Sunday morning activity of drowning yourself in champagne.

Big picture: Yesterday’s was the first mission that mimics the commercial flights Virgin Galactic hopes to launch soon. About 600 well-heeled customers who’ve paid at least $200,000 each are eagerly awaiting their opportunity to follow in Branson's footsteps.

One more thing: Our colleagues at Gossip Brew wouldn’t let us publish this story without acknowledging that billionaire Jeff Bezos will fly to space in a Blue Origin rocket in just over a week. “Can’t wait to join the club!” Bezos wrote in a congratulatory Instagram post after Branson’s flight. 

TAX

Global Tax Reform Update

Overhauling the international tax system takes longer than loading a webpage in 1995, but countries are making progress. Leaders from 20 of the world’s largest economies endorsed a plan over the weekend, continuing the momentum after 132 countries approved it earlier this month. 

The plan: It would introduce a 15% minimum tax rate globally, eliminating the strategy some countries have used of dropping their corporate tax rate to attract business HQs.

Why it matters: A 15% floor would make it easier for the Biden administration to raise taxes on corporations in the US, since it’ll be harder for companies to find more attractive rates elsewhere. Biden wants to collect up to $2 trillion in revenue from corporate tax increases over the next decade. 

Now comes the hard part

Advocates will need to sway holdout countries, including Ireland and Hungary, which successfully leveraged low tax rates to propel their economies forward. If they can be brought on board, the biggest challenge of all looms: convincing Congress this plan would be beneficial for the US economy. 

Looking ahead...the plan won’t be ready to present to American lawmakers until next year, Secretary Yellen said.

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GRAB BAG

Key Performance Indicators

Stat: Marvel’s Black Widow scored $80 million at the box office this weekend, the best opening for a movie since the pandemic began. But even more interestingly, the film also generated more than $60 million in revenue through sales on Disney+ Premier Access, the first time the company has shared financial details about streaming releases. 

Quote: “I knew the drought was bad. I didn’t realize it was this bad. This place is unrecognizable.”

Fisherman Eric Richins described the water crisis at Lake Mead to the LA Times. Next month, the government will likely declare the first-ever water shortage for the lake, a reservoir that supplies water to farmers in California, Nevada, California, and Mexico. 

Read: Tripping in LSD’s birthplace. (Scientific American)

CALENDAR

The Week Ahead

Earnings season is here: Companies will begin reporting their results for Q2, and prepare yourself for some big numbers. Economists expect earnings to have increased 65% over Q2 2020, when much of the world was in lockdown mode.

• Per tradition, the festivities kick off with big banks JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley.

Economic data: The number to watch is Tuesday’s Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation. Investors have recently shrugged off concerns that supercharged prices will linger...let’s find out if they’re right. 

Everything else: 

• Angela Merkel is visiting the White House for what will likely be the final time as German chancellor. 
• Bastille Day is on Wednesday.
• Watch Shohei Ohtani hit bombs in the Home Run Derby tonight.
• Friday releases: Space Jam 2, Anthony Bordain’s documentary, John Mayer’s album

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• China pledged to retaliate against the US for the blacklisting of Chinese companies allegedly tied to human rights abuses.
• Twitter named a “resident grievance officer” in India as tensions grow with the Indian government.
• Novak Djokovic won Wimbledon for his 20th Grand Slam title, tying Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the men’s record.
• An unopened copy of Super Mario 64 sold at auction for $1.56 million, a record price for the sale of a single video game.

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Like a college dorm room, but classier: Browse this comprehensive digital collection of movie posters.

Dive back into the week:

• Shallow dive: The joy generator
• Medium dive: Every state’s least favorite state
• Deep dive: The story of AWS
• Cannonball: How and why to do a life audit 

GAMES

The Puzzle Section

New game alert: The Games department at the Brew is innovating faster than Willy Wonka. Try this new game called Kriss Kross (especially if you're a TV nerd). 

Pick the odd one out

1. BNSF, UPS, Dairy Queen, GEICO, Duracell 
2. Chicago O’Hare, Newark Liberty Airport, Charlotte Douglas Intl., Washington Dulles, Denver Intl.
3. Powell’s, The Strand, City Lights, Shakespeare and Company, the Stone Pony
4. Yukon, Olympia, Acadia, Sierra, Canyon

ANSWER

1. UPS. The rest are owned by Berkshire Hathaway

2. Charlotte. The rest are United Airlines hubs

3. The Stone Pony. The rest are bookstores

4. Olympia. The rest are GMC car brands