Read on Twitter
1/ With all the recent buzz around SPACs, I thought I’d share my experience working on the IPO for @Tesla (as junior analyst/glorified coffee fetcher) -- where I saw @elonmusk tear up the traditional playbook 10 years before anyone else was even questioning it. It worked. 
2/ A little background first -- at 22, I had no business getting a job at Morgan Stanley (liberal arts major/knew NOTHING about finance) but was desperate to work in renewable energy and hustled my way onto their clean tech banking team.
3/ My final year there, I worked on @Tesla IPO. A dream come true. 9 months of financial modeling, S-1 drafting, very late nights, yadi yada and we began the Road Show where Musk (accompanied by a gaggle of bankers) would pitch investors to buy shares in the IPO.
4/ Elon wanted to do things differently.
First -- he needed people to see/touch/feel the cars. The staid & dry PPT pres would not do.
I remember weeks of convos about removing glass doors to bring cars into our lobby in Time Square. Bosses were pissed; Elon insisted.
First -- he needed people to see/touch/feel the cars. The staid & dry PPT pres would not do.
I remember weeks of convos about removing glass doors to bring cars into our lobby in Time Square. Bosses were pissed; Elon insisted.
5/ VIP Investors were even given test drives @ Chelsea dealership. When 1 canceled, I got a ride in a prototype Model S (!!!) In 3 years at MS, I’d never seen investors with ear-to-ear grins on their faces before. It was pure genius. Grown men & women giggling like kids.
6/ @elonmusk wore jeans 
It’s a weird detail to remember, but all I ever saw was suits - from my colleagues, clients, I mean everyone. Different times
It felt like such a rock star/iconoclast move.
Clearly an extension of the brand + a stick in the eye to ol’ Wall Street
It’s a weird detail to remember, but all I ever saw was suits - from my colleagues, clients, I mean everyone. Different times
It felt like such a rock star/iconoclast move. Clearly an extension of the brand + a stick in the eye to ol’ Wall Street
7/ Finally, pricing. Post Roadshow, bankers put on typical dog & pony show about how great it'd gone and recommend a starting price: $15.
Elon says, “no, higher.”
Air sucked out of room.
I’d never seen/heard of someone pushing back here. We were the experts, right?
Elon says, “no, higher.”
Air sucked out of room.
I’d never seen/heard of someone pushing back here. We were the experts, right?
8/ Bankers go on mute and start swearing. I listen, not fully comprehending, just aware of insane stress level in room.
Can someone convince him otherwise?
Who does he think he is?
What if IPO fails?
Do we pull out?
Can someone convince him otherwise?
Who does he think he is?
What if IPO fails?
Do we pull out?
9/ And -- it was a risk. Tesla’s financials were a mess at that time.
They’d only sold ~1,000 sports
to date
Desperately in need of
Huge debt load.
Model S wouldn’t debut for 2 more years.
This could be a dumpster fire. Reputations at stake. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000119312510017054/ds1.htm
They’d only sold ~1,000 sports
to date Desperately in need of
Huge debt load.
Model S wouldn’t debut for 2 more years.
This could be a dumpster fire. Reputations at stake. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000119312510017054/ds1.htm
10/ But Elon knew, what the bankers did not, that Tesla would change the car industry. And he knew he’d be leaving money on the table by pricing too low, creating a massive pop on day 1. @bgurley would have been proud.
Elon said $17 or no deal.
Elon said $17 or no deal.
11/ In the end, bankers give in. Deal prices @ $17, trades up to $24 at close.
Investors believed.
I think Elon was thrilled to get out of NYC and away from the suits. Myself included.
Investors believed.
I think Elon was thrilled to get out of NYC and away from the suits. Myself included.
