54
RandeepHothiwasdrivingnorthonCalifornia’sInterstate 880
inAprilwhenhespotteda redTeslaModel3.Thesightwas
unremarkable—inFremont,whereHothi’sparentsliveand
Teslahasitsautoplant,theelectricsedansareeverywhere—
butthisparticularvehiclestoodout.
It hadmanufacturer’splates,suggestingit wasa proto-
typeofsomesort.Moreconspicuously,it alsohada camera
mountedona customtripodrisingabout5 feetabovethe
trunk.A secondcamerainsidethecabinpointedatthesteer-
ingwheelandcenterconsole.Twopassengersrodeinback,
behindthedriver.
Hothiinstantlysurmisedwhatwashappening:Teslawas
filminga demo,likelyrelatedtotheAutopilotdriverassistance
technologythatChiefExecutiveOfficerElonMuskhadlately
beentalkingup.HothituckedhiswhiteAcurainbehindthe
sedanandstartedtailingit.
Heisn’ta copora privateinvestigator,andthoughhe’ssold
sharesofTeslaInc.’sstockshort,he’snota professionalinves-
tor,either.Hothiis somethingmuchmoredangerous:a grad
studentwitha Twitteraccount.Forthepastfewyears,he’s
dedicatedmuchofhisfreetimetotheideathatMuskisn’tthe
successfultechnologisthe’swidelyconsideredtobe.
InHothi’smind,Muskisanepicfraud—“theEd
Hardyshirtoftechvisionaries,”“theJarJarBinksof
technology,”or“acrossbetweenElizabethHolmesand
DonaldTrump.”HothihastauntedMuskaboutweight
gain(“IsElonlactating?”),saidhebenefitedfromapart-
heidinhisnativeSouthAfrica(“Didn’tyourdadpay
foryourwhitesonlyschoolingwithhisemeraldmine
money?”),andpredictedhisimprisonment(“You’ll
havemorereadingtimeinjail”).Thevitriolstaysfocused
mostlyonTesla,notMusk’sotherventures—thespaceflight
company,thebrain-implantcompany,thetunnel-drillingcom-
panywiththebrandedflamethrowers.
Withmorethan 30 millionTwitterfollowersanda steady
streamofYouTubevideosandpodcastsfromTeslalovers
aroundtheworld,Muskhasplentyoffanstotakehisside.
Theyshoutdownthegentlestcriticsonsocialmedia,have
beenknowntobringdoughnutstoemployeesduringend-of-
quarterpushestogetvehiclesoutthedoor,evenvolunteerto
talknewownersthroughthebellsandwhistles.“Hugethank
youtoallTeslasupportersforhelpingwithcardeliveries,”
MusktweetedinSeptember2018.“Yourock!!”
Hothiispartofthecounterrevolution—aninformalyet
obsessiveglobalfraternityof
accountants,lawyers, hedge
fundmanagers,formerTesla
employees,andsomerandos
whojustlove trolling.Fora
fewyearsthey’vebeenposting
sickburnsandnegativeindi-
catorsinequalmeasurewith
a #TSLAQ appended. They
researchexecutivedepartures,
lawsuits,customercomplaints,andaccidents,addingtheoccasionalallegationof
financialchicaneryanda passelofpunstosuggestthat
Tesla’sendis nigh.Shortlyafterthecompanypaid$2bil-
lionforthetroubledSolarCity(co-foundedbyMuskand
runbyhiscousins)in2016,someonecameupwiththe
hashtagbycombiningTesla’sNasdaqtickerwitha “Q,”
thecharactermarketstackontoa stocksymbolaftera
companyfilesforbankruptcy.
Lately,Muskandhiscompanyhavehadtheupper
hand.Tesla’ssharepricehasmorethandoubledsince
October,thankstoa surprisequarterlyprofit,January’s
announcement of record
deliveries,and thestartof
productioninChina.Tesla
shortsellerslostmorethan
$2.8billionin2019,accord-
ing to Ihor Dusaniwsky, a
managingdirectoratanalyst
S3Partners,andhavealready
lostaboutthat muchin2020.
SomewithinTSLAQhaveaban-
donedthecause.Onetweeted
thathe“lostthevastmajority
ofhisnetworth”bettingagainst
Muskandbid farewell witha
seriesofGIFsfromTheSimpsons.
Musk,alwayspreparedfora vic-
torylap,tweeteda linktoLenaHornesingingStormyWeather
onJan.14.Hothideclinedtosayhowmuchhe’spersonally
betagainstTesla,excepttosay,“Ilookforwardtomakinguse
ofthecapitallosscarryforwards.”
ButwithTesla,thenextbacklashis alwaysrightaround
thebend.InNovember,TSLAQcrowedwhenMuskunveiled
anelectricpickupcalledtheCybertruckandits“bulletproof ”
glassprovedextremelyvulnerable.“Watchingseriouspeople
trytopretendlikethis#cybertruckisn’tElon’s‘emperorhas
noclothes’momentwillbefun,”wroteTeslaCharts,a pro-
lificandwidelyfollowedaccount.(Thestockpricefell6%the
followingday.)Morerecently,theNationalHighwaySafety
Administrationsaidit wouldevaluateallegationsmadeina
petition:Thecomplainantssaya Tesladefectcancauseunin-
tendedacceleration.Teslarespondedina Jan. 20 blogpostthat
“thispetitionis completelyfalseandbroughtbya Teslashort-
seller.”Daysearlier,onJan.15,TeslahadovertakenAppleas
America’smost-shortedstock,accordingtoS3data.Thecom-
panyis slatedtoreportitslatestquarterlyearningsonJan.29.
FearingreprisalsfromMusk,forwhomnocriticistoo
obscure,mostTSLAQtypestweetundernomsdeguerre.
Hothi’sis “skabooshka.”Althoughhespeaksfivelanguages,
thealiashasnospecialmeaning.“It’slikea stupidsound,”he
says.“Iwantedridiculousandenigmatic.”
That dayonI-880,Hothifollowedthe Model3 fora@ELONBACHMAN: NTSB
IS THE ONE HE CAN
IGNORE. NHTSA IS
THE ONE THAT WILL
PROMULGATE BLOATED
AND SCLEROTIC RULES
THAT ENTRENCH @TESLA
AS AN INCUMBENT
UNLESS THE STOCK
CRACKS, IN WHICH
CASE THEY’LL RIDE IN
AND HANG THE CORPSE!
(JAN 17 2020)Bloomberg Businessweek January 27, 2020@WALLSTCYNIC:
JUST A LITTLE
REMINDER THAT TESLA
SERVICE USES...FORD
PICKUPS. @SUNDEEP
@ELONMUSK $TSLA
(NOV 26 2019)@MONTANA_SKEPTIC: THE VERY LAST JOB I WOULD
WANT RIGHT NOW IS $TSLA GENERAL COUNSEL,
ANSWERING TO HIS HOLY HIGHNESS THE ALMIGHTY VISIONARY DISRUPTIVE ENTREPRENEURIAL PHYSICS-WHIZ DEEP-THOUGHT-TWEETING EARTH-SAVING MARS-BOUNDPEDO-