DealBook Briefing: Tesla Supplier? Your Check May Be in the Mail
esla’s suppliers worry about getting paid
The carmaker’s shares went on a roller-coaster ride yesterday. Pick your own reason — plenty make sense. Another hit looks likely today, after the WSJ reported a survey of auto parts suppliers in which 18 of 22 respondents rated Tesla a risk to their businesses.
More from Tim Higgins, Marc Vartabedian and Christina Rogers of the WSJ:
Separately, several suppliers in interviews said Tesla has tried to stretch out payments or asked for significant cash back. And in some cases, public records show, small suppliers over the past several months have claimed they failed to get paid for services supplied to Tesla.
No one spoke of wanting to cut ties to Tesla. Elon Musk responded that when his company hadn’t paid promptly, it was sometimes because the suppliers had sent the wrong parts. He added the following reassurance: “We are definitely not going bankrupt.”
More in Tesla news: Axios describes how SpaceX could help finance a Tesla take-private, a prospect its non-Musk investors dread.