{"id":543,"date":"2019-09-02T17:47:46","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T17:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobbinghood.com\/finance\/2019\/09\/02\/the-next-big-test-for-elon-musk-arrives-this-week\/"},"modified":"2019-09-02T17:47:46","modified_gmt":"2019-09-02T17:47:46","slug":"the-next-big-test-for-elon-musk-arrives-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobbinghood.com\/magazine\/2019\/09\/02\/the-next-big-test-for-elon-musk-arrives-this-week\/","title":{"rendered":"The next big test for Elon Musk arrives this week"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Tesla will turn in a critical production report<\/a> on Tuesday that will show investors whether the company can sustain and surpass its long-promised target of building 5,000 Model 3s per week.<\/div>\n
That report will go a long way toward determining whether Tesla (TSLA<\/a>) can fulfill Musk’s pledge to turn a profit in the third and fourth quarters.<\/div>\n
That seems like a long time ago. In early August, Musk sent the tweet that led to his tangle with regulators \u2014 a cryptic announcement<\/a> that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private at $420 per share.<\/div>\n
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The SEC said he had no such thing, and sued Musk last week<\/a> for misleading investors.<\/div>\n
Under a settlement announced Saturday<\/a>, Musk agreed to step aside as chairman for three years, and he and Tesla each agreed to pay $20 million fines. Musk neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing under the settlement.<\/div>\n

The SEC lawsuit may be behind him, but Tesla still has some serious IOUs coming up. A total of $2.7 billion of Tesla debt is due this year and next, according to Goldman Sachs. <\/p>\n

That’s one reason the production and profit targets are so important: Tesla needs the cash to pay down all that debt.<\/p>\n

The markets have reflected investors’ worry<\/a>. Tesla bonds maturing in August 2025 traded at 84.5 cents on the dollar on Friday, close to a record low. And Tesla stock has fallen 31% from its high in the hours after the ill-fated tweet.<\/div>\n

The stock may bounce back Monday, now that the uncertainty over Musk’s future is removed. But Wall Street still wants something else \u2014 results.<\/p>\n

2. Jobs, jobs, jobs: <\/strong>Analysts expect another month of solid growth when the US Labor Department issues its September jobs report on Friday.<\/p>\n

More important may be the wage growth figure: Will it hit 3% for the first time since April 2009? If so, will that unnerve investors worried about an overly aggressive Federal Reserve?<\/p>\n

3. Changing of the guard at Goldman: <\/strong>Lloyd Blankfein is ending his run as CEO of Goldman Sachs (GS<\/a>) on Monday. He will be replaced by Goldman president \u2014 and part-time DJ <\/a>\u2014 David Solomon. <\/div>\n
The investment firm’s stock is down more than 10%<\/a> since beginning of the year. Solomon will need to deal with lower revenue from Goldman’s trading desk, which collects client fees to buy and sell bonds, commodities and currencies.<\/div>\n
4. Earnings watch: <\/strong>It’s a relatively slow week for corporate reports, but among the notable names turning in results are Pepsi (PEP<\/a>), Stitch Fix, Bon-Ton and Costco.<\/div>\n
For Pepsi, this will be the last earnings report under CEO Indra Nooyi, soon to be succeeded <\/a>by the company’s global operations chief, Ramon Laguarta. The stock could use a caffeine boost: It’s down 7% this year.<\/div>\n
5. Rebooting business news: <\/strong>On Thursday, CNNMoney becomes the all-new CNN Business<\/a>, covering the companies, personalities, and innovations driving business forward.<\/div>\n

This new initiative will focus on the single biggest financial story of our generation: how technology is upending every corner of the global economy, forcing businesses, workers, and society itself to adapt rapidly, or be left behind.<\/p>\n

6. Coming this week:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Monday<\/strong> \u2014 Stitch Fix and Wage Works earnings; David Solomon becomes Goldman Sachs CEO; Eurozone unemployment rate<\/p>\n

Tuesday<\/strong> \u2014 PepsiCo earnings; US auto sales for September<\/p>\n

Wednesday<\/strong> \u2014 Lennar earnings; ADP employment report<\/p>\n

Thursday<\/strong> \u2014 Costco (COST<\/a>) earnings; CNN Business launches<\/div>\n

Friday<\/strong> \u2014 US jobs report<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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