JUICY TESLA RESIDUAL VALUE UPDATE (+ $TSLA CATNIP)

Some time ago I went over a recent $TSLA ABS transaction and pointed to some interesting residual value stuff that was going on in the deal. WELL, THERE'S AN UPDATE! First, remember what the issues with the deal were:

To recap, a large part (56%) of the value of the deal would come from the residual value of the leased cars. Additionally, Moody's was concerned that residual value data from auctions was unavailable and most of the info was coming from resale channels controlled by $TSLA.

Okay, but who was actually providing the residual value figures used in the deal credit analysis? That job was done by ALG, a data service owned by a small NASDAQ-listed company TrueCar. Note that both $TSLA (through finance subsidiary TFL) and Moody's reference the ALG figures

As a side note, the founder of TrueCar, Scott Painter, is a former $TSLA advisor and known Elon Musk stan, as he noted in this charming 2014 NYT profile:

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/business/in-his-office-theres-always-cause-for-celebration.html?_r=1

Presumably, due to the noted lack of auction data, ALG was getting info from the aforementioned $TSLA controlled resale channels. Now, what's the update? Well, just before their Q2 earnings call, TrueCar announced that they are selling ALG to J.D. Power for $135M!

So, in the future, it seems that the data service $TSLA uses to provide RV estimates for its ABS deals will be owned by the same company that did our boy Elon like this, rather than the one founded by his good buddy Scott Painter.

Does this mean anything for $TSLA? Idk, but it will be interesting to see what the residual values look like in their future ABS deals

Note: I have no position in $TSLA and never have. This is all just entertainment for me & hopefully a nice tidbit for fellow $TSLA watchers!