--- title: "Economist Slams Elon Musk for Making Tesla a “Tech-Bubble” Meme Stock" description: "Economist J. Bradford DeLong slammed Tesla CEO Elon Musk for turning the EV maker's stock into a meme stock." date: "2024-05-02" modified: "2024-05-02" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/economist-slams-elon-musk-meme-stock" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Tesla" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "economics" - "elon musk" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Economist Slams Elon Musk for Making Tesla a “Tech-Bubble” Meme Stock ![Economist J. Bradford DeLong slammed Tesla CEO Elon Musk for turning the EV maker's stock into a meme stock.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Casino Royale Despite posting [disastrous quarterly earnings](), Tesla [is still worth]() more than Toyota, Porsche, Mercedes, and Hyundai combined. But experts are becoming wary of the company's sky-high valuation of well over half a trillion dollars in market capitalization — long a subject of debate — especially now that sales are in freefall and Tesla's competition is flourishing. Meanwhile, its CEO Elon Musk — who has long made a habit of over-promising — is quickly turning into a "meme-stock carnival barker," as economic historian and UC Berkeley economics professor J. Bradford DeLong argued in an excoriating [new piece for *Project Syndicate*](). In fact, Musk is currently [chasing a $55 billion pay package]() even as he conducts mass layoffs. "From the standpoint of its suppliers, employees, and customers, \[Tesla\] is a source of income and production," DeLong wrote. "And from the standpoint of Wall Street speculators, it is a bouncing ball in a roulette wheel: a tech-bubble casino play." ## AI Gamble Analysts have long [suspected]() that Tesla's considerable valuation vastly exceeded its actual worth. And with Musk seemingly pivoting from manufacturing and [EV infrastructure]() to AI-facilitated driver assistance technologies and [self-driving "robotaxis]()," this schism is only bound to grow, DeLong argued. "We should be thought of as an AI or robotics company," Musk said during Tesla's [April earnings call](). "The way to think of Tesla is almost entirely in terms of solving autonomy and being able to turn on that autonomy for a gigantic fleet." That's despite "automotive revenues" accounting for the [vast majority]() of the company's sales — not AI tech or robotics. In other words, DeLong believes Tesla has been turned into a "meme stock" by Musk, referring to a stock that's being massively inflated by a cult-like following, especially on social media. He's not the first to make that suggestion. Last month, investor Roger McNamee [told *CNBC*]() that Tesla is a meme stock that's being traded like an "extension of Elon Musk," not "like a car company." "For all the current Tesla shareholders planning to offload their holdings in the next couple of years, everything hinges on the company succeeding as a meme stock," DeLong wrote, "and Musk is diligently working toward that goal." "Since there are virtually no long-term Tesla shareholders, the market does not particularly care that the company lacks a CEO who is trying to build it into an enduring profit-making organization," he added. In short, DeLong believes that Musk has greatly undermined Tesla's mission and is throwing his weight behind the [growing belief]() that the billionaire should be replaced. "Does anyone seriously think that the Musk of today is the right CEO to manage the Tesla we need?" DeLong concluded. "I no longer do." **More on Tesla:** *[Tesla Fans Furious as Company Fires Supercharger Team, Cancels Supercharger Leases]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()