Just more evidence of what a Potemkin village Elon Musk's Tesla business is - now Tesla is asking has decided that a good way to get money into their coffers is to ask suppliers to give it to them.
Tesla emailed a statement on Monday afternoon setting the memo in the context of broader negotiations with suppliers. In particular, it said:
"We asked fewer than 10 suppliers for a reduction in total capex project spend for long-term projects that began in 2016 but are still not complete, and any changes with these suppliers would improve our future cash flows, but not impact our ability to achieve profitability in Q3."
Tesla didn't indicate whether any suppliers had agreed or how much was sought in aggregate. But the context in which this story appears means that, when Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call rolls around in nine days, getting clarity on this issue should be a priority.