Ultra-Millionaire Tax is a wealth tax that is introduced for the richest people in the U.S.A. It is a new bill that is introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. She has been proposing to introduce this for a long time.
Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced the Ultra-Millionaire tax with Representative Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania And Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington. The main aim of the new bill is to fight for wealth inequality in the country.
The wealth tax would force the American households whose income is more than $50 million to pay taxes.
Lets dive deeper to understand what is this tax all about
The American households whose net worth is in-between $50 million and $1 billion will have to pay a 2% wealth tax. For example, if the household is earning $50 million then they will have to pay $100,000 in the form of wealth tax.
The American households whose net worth is more than $1 billion will have to pay a 3% wealth tax. For example, if the household is earning $2 billion, then it will have to pay $60 million in the form of wealth tax.
The households earning below $50 million will not come under the tax bracket. 0.05% of the American households will come under the proposed tax bracket according to a press release.
Evasion Methods
The Ultra-millionaire tax has anti-escape measures been taken under consideration. The country will invest an amount of $100 billion to strengthen the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) who is responsible for collecting the taxes. There will be a minimum of 30% audit rate for the taxpayers who are responsible for paying the wealth tax.
If the U.S citizens who have an income of more than $50 million would want to leave the country or move their assets and citizenship to another country, then they would have to pay an exit tax of 40%. There would be penalties implements for underpayment of the wealth tax.
Top Richest Americans
Reasons for the new Ultra-Millionaire Tax
The main reason for the implementation of the new bill is to reduce the wealth inequality in-between the American Households in the country.
Let’s take an example – consider two people A and B. A’s father is a millionaire with an income worth $50 million, pieces of jewelry, collectibles, and yachts. A earns an income of $50,000 and B comes under the American household who earns an income of $100,000. B’s income is also $50,000.
But even though A has a lot of assets and income generated in his family he will have to pay the same amount of tax that B is paying. Increasing the income tax would affect B more than that of A and that is why the wealth tax is implemented.
Wealth tax is calculated based on the entire income of the family and not just an individual.
According to an analysis conducted by economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman from the University of California-Berkley, The American wealth of the richest that is 0.1% of the population has seen their income triple from 7% to 20% in the years 1970-2016 and the rest of the 99.9% has seen a decline in their share of wealth from 35% to 25% in the years 1970-2016.
The richest families of America are 13,000, they have the same amount of wealth as the rest of the 117 million families in the country. According to their study, they’ve found that the top 0.1% pays around 3.2% of their income as taxes while the bottom 99.9% pays around 7% of their income as taxes.
Amount Owed by the Richest for Ultra-Millionaire Tax
According to the Tax rates which is proposed by Elizabeth Warren, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos will have to pay $5.7 billion as a wealth tax for the year 2020. Jeff Bezos would still have $185 billion in net worth after paying the tax.
Tesla’s Elon Musk will have to pay $ 4.6 Billion as a wealth tax for 2020. Elon Musk would still have $148 billion in net worth after paying the tax.
Microsoft’s Bill Gates will have to pay $ 3.6 billion as wealth tax for 2020 and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg will have to pay $3 billion as wealth tax for 2020.
According to a survey conducted by CNBC on Millionaires, it was seen that around 60% of the millionaires support the wealth tax proposed by Elizabeth Warren.
FAQ
How many billionaires are there in India?
There are 177 billionaires in India as of 2020.
Who is the richest billionaire in India?
Mukesh Ambani is the richest billionaire in India.
Who is richest woman in India?
Roshni Nadar Malhotra with a wealth of ₹54,850 crore is the richest woman in India.
Conclusion
According to Elizabeth Warren, the implemented wealth tax would raise around $3 Trillion in 10 years. It is said that the tax would raise around 1% of America’s GDP in a year. The revenue would help in paying for child care, developing the educational infrastructure, developing nursing home cares, tuition-free public colleges and schools, and promoting clean energy in the country.
Elizabeth Warren has said that implementing the wealth tax will help in raising money for President Joe Biden’s agenda ‘#BuildBackBetter’ which includes policies like expanding the caregiving economy.
Elon Reeve Musk is a technology enthusiastic entrepreneur, using his sharp and clever mind in technological investment, and engineering. Elon Musk is trying to save the world by recreating and innovating every industry he has come across with, be it media and finance to transportation and energy.
He is the Founder, CEO, CTO and Lead Designer of SpaceX and also the product architect of Tesla Inc. He also has other ventures and has a net worth of $171.6 Billion and is the third richest person in the world right now. Musk is one of the most admired people, especially for his creative and innovative skills.
Work harder than the average people. Don’t work 100, but 150 percent, which will give you the edge over all the people. Hard work always pays and working hard more than the other humans, will be always beneficial.
2. Work with smarter guys
“Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” This quote works well while hiring people. If you hire one smart guy instead of 3 normal guys. In that case, one guy working for 1 hour is better than two guys working 6 hours and also saves man-power. It is a mistake to hire huge numbers of people to get a complicated job done. As number will never compensate for talent, getting the right answer will tend to slow down progress, and will make the task incredibly expensive. The personality of a person also matters along with the talent the person has and these two traits go hand in hand.
Don’t always be nice to people. In business, be as direct as possible. Give higher priority to goals than money. Have a higher goal in life rather than focusing on making money. The money will be the outcome of the higher goals. Know as many details as you can know of your work, to be an expert in your field.
4. Believe on your decisions
If something is important enough and there are odds against it, against you, you still have to pursue it. Persistence is very important. You should not give up, unless you are forced by your mind to give up.
5. Clear vision
If one has a vision and is continuously working on the idea, then Nothing is impossible. Life is too short for long-term grudges. Know what motivates you. Keeping your eye on the ball is key. The key to success and to fulfill your dreams is having clear vision.
Follow your guts. Listening to one’s instincts is natural to everyone but we usually tend to curb down our natural thoughts owing to external response and stimuli. Don’t do it. Follow what your inner mind says and block out all the external thoughts. It is never too late to find out what one loves and pursue it as a dream.
7. Learn from your failure
Learn from your failures and keep going. Learn from your mistakes. See what went wrong and what is stopping you from getting the desired results. Work on it and keep moving. Everyone follows the heard, try to break-free of the heard and challenge the norms. The one who breaks the mediocrity are the ones who become successful in life and everyone follows them. Don’t be afraid of new arenas. Always consider failure as an option and keep hustling.
8. Be like water
Always have a adaptive nature and be comfortable with the change. No one knows what challenges might come in future. Successful people knows how to adapt to any situation and they continue pushing themselves to reach their goals. No matter what comes in the way, embrace it, and try to solve the problem instead of complaining about it.
9. Improve the Product, not the marketing
The bigger a company gets, the more it spends on marketing, and in some cases, their marketing budgets surpass the budget of any other aspect of their business. This means that you are investing more in improving promotion than in improving the quality of your product. Focus on improving the product. The word-of-mouth will do the marketing for you.
10. Work consistently
Consistency is the key. It’s matters a lot and takes time. In order to be consistent, you have to maintain positive behavior and perform day after day, until you get what you desire. If you get what you desire, then celebrate for a while. The prizes are not an excuse to take rest. There’s nothing wrong with taking some time to celebrate and enjoy your successes. But yeah, don’t celebrate too much and get derailed from your goal.
“You get paid in direct proportion to the difficulty of problems you solve”
“Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”
“Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to plan to sell a company.”
“People work better when they know what the goal is and why. It is important that people look forward to coming to work in the morning and enjoy working.”
“Starting and growing a business is as much about the innovation, drive, and determination of the people behind it as the product they sell.”
“When Henry Ford made cheap, reliable cars, people said, ‘Nah, what’s wrong with a horse?’ That was a huge bet he made, and it worked.”
“You have to say, ‘Well, why did it succeed where others did not?’”
“As much as possible, avoid hiring MBAs. MBA programs don’t teach people how to create companies.”
“Don’t delude yourself into thinking something’s working when it’s not, or you’re gonna get fixated on a bad solution.”
“I say something, and then it usually happens. Maybe not on schedule, but it usually happens.”
“If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise, it’s not.”
“I don’t spend my time pontificating about high-concept things; I spend my time solving engineering and manufacturing problems.”
“People should pursue what they’re passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else.”
“Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”
“Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.”
“Really pay attention to negative feedback and solicit it, particularly from friends. … Hardly anyone does that, and it’s incredibly helpful.”
“You want to have a future where you’re expecting things to be better, not one where you’re expecting things to be worse.”
“Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time.”
Some small tips from Elon Musk’s speeches at various university
Work super hard.
Attract great people.
Focus on the things that actually make a difference.
Don’t just follow the trend.
Take risks.
Focus on signal vs noise.
Work with the best possible people.
Work hard, and work very smart.
Elon Musk’s work formula
1. Practice managing cortisol
The second aspect of this is that when you are with friends, your body gets a rush of serotonin whereas when you are at work, your body gets a rush of cortisol. To adapt biologically to achieve anything that has to do with ~ 16 hours of work per day, one has to embrace a very good response about cortisol rush.
2. Look to the solution
No matter what the situation is, you have to look at the situation from the point of view of an problem, and deriving an solution. And this is a hard but possible way to do it.
Learn to get more efficient at embracing stress. To do this, “calibrate each task”. Think about a simple situation: You head out of your home to catch a flight, and you are stuck in traffic. Your stress level increases very quickly. If you were to calibrate this and say – no matter what the traffic conditions are, no matter what the weather is – the journey to the airport from my home takes ~ 35 mins. Then if you take ~ 55 minutes in hands and travel accordingly you cannot be stressed out.
4. Do not stress
Most efficient people do not stress about a problem. They just identify it quickly, plan a good solution, and work on the solution. Their stress level remains low enough, and therefore they are able to make this a habit.
Rules of success of Elon Musk
5. Do not let others get stressed out
When one person in the team panics, many others panic. It is very important to keep a very cool temperament when stressful situations arise. If a soccer team coordinates well, while keeping a cool temperament, they can win a match with one fewer player. But if one player demoralizes the whole team, they can never win a match.
Most of us would have heard about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. It is all over the news and everyone speaks about the fancy returns provided by this digital coin. It has created its mark in the market. It was not so famous some years back and the value of the coin was not so high.
The popularity has increased the value of the digital coin. But even though the coin has provided huge returns and even though it has been claimed as the favourite investment tool for the GenZ, the major investors and the rich stays away from it.
The famous investor of India Rakesh Jhunjhunwala recently said that he wouldn’t buy bitcoin for even 5 Dollars. Warren Buffet one of the richest people in the world has said that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are worthless. He terms it to be a delusion.
Here are some reasons why the rich doesn’t invest in bitcoins.
Bitcoin has become a craze worldwide. Not a lot of them know what a bitcoin is or understands the concept of cryptocurrencies. But they would end up investing in it because of the trend and later on would sell it which would cause a huge fluctuation in the price. This makes it difficult to value the coin and to find an accurate value.
Bitcoins are not backed by any assets and hence the price of bitcoins totally depends on the demand and supply. If the demand for bitcoins are increasing the price would increase and if the demand decreases there would be a fall in price. This makes it difficult for investors to make a good investment.
Bitcoin Price in U.S. Dollars 2017- 2021
Bitcoin is just a digital coin. It cannot be touched or felt, it is not physically present. It is made up of certain codes and it does not have a real value. The value of bitcoin depends on the people and the market news. If there is a negative news in the market then we will see a fall in prices of the coin and vice-versa.
Bitcoins are highly volatile. Bitcoins can be traded 24 hours a day and since it is open for trading every time there would be huge amount of buying and selling, which would cause a difference of up to 20-30% of the price in a day. It is considered unstable and there are chances that you would lose all your money in a day.
Bitcoin’s main value is derived from its blockchain technology. But now a lot of other cryptocurrencies are using the same technology. Bitcoin has an early mover advantage and that’s why the prices are really high. But bitcoin was actually made to make secure online transactions which is not the situation now. Some exchanges say that it would take around 10 days to complete an order of the bitcoin placed, as there is huge demand for the coin.
Most of them don’t transact using bitcoin because the price keeps fluctuating. When the other person receives the money, the value would be different when compared to the time the coins were sent.
Most of them are not buying the coin for its value, but because of the trend. The rich and investors finds it gambling and not investing.
There are a lot of scams associated with bitcoins. Hackers or Malicious users can get details of your Wallet and take away your coins. There was a recent incident where the twitter accounts of the top individuals Elon musk, Barack Obama and Bill gates were compromised.
The tweet said that they were feeling generous and would double the bitcoins sent to a specific wallet. People who sent the bitcoins lost their coins and it was impossible to trace the digital coins because of the blockchain technology as it keeps it secure. It involves a lot of risk.
There is no central body which regulates and hence if you lose your bitcoins or if someone hacks into your wallet you wouldn’t receive your coins back. Bitcoin’s blockchain technology makes it impossible to track your coins if you lose it. It is highly risky and it cannot be considered as an investment option.
Bitcoin is an risky investment that may or may not pay off.
Is it Legal to buy and sell Bitcoin in India?
It is Legal to buy and sell Bitcoin in India.
What are the taxes I should be concerned about Bitcoins?
There is a lack of clarity on the tax front on Bitcoin investment in India.
Conclusion
Other than these there are also a lot of scams related to Cryptocurrencies. The companies promise huge returns and claims that a specific coin is going to beat bitcoin in some years and people tend to invest in it. People invest without proper research and knowledge and just look at the high returns and lose their entire amount.
The above reasons are why the wealthy don’t prefer to invest in bitcoins. Bitcoins have provided huge returns in the recent years but it is a highly risky product and you can never predict the price of bitcoin in future. Buying a bitcoin is equivalent to gambling than investing.
The social media platform has another gem added to its treasure, called the Clubhouse. So to say in the pop culture lingo, the app is said to be “lit AF” since it’s in a hot spot of news and media. The app has also been making headlines for the security concerns of its users, its billion-dollar investments, and also for being kicked out by the Chinese government.
Let us analyze what is Clubhouse and what the hype is all about.
February 22, 2021– Clubhouse has surpassed the 10 million mark for its downloads globally. India has witnessed 42000 installations of the app so far.
February 14, 2021– “Join me for a Conversation”? Elon Musk invites Putin on Clubhouse.
February 10, 2021– Clubhouse tops Japan’s download chart as CEOs and other top executives embrace app. Clubhouse has been downloaded on 440000 devices in Japan alone.
February 11, 2021– Facebook is working on a similar app called the Fireside to compete with Clubhouse.
Clubhouse – The App
Clubhouse, founded a year ago, by silicon valley entrepreneur Paul Davison and ex-Google employee Rohan Seth, is an audio chat app that lets you talk, listen or join conversations happening in the “rooms” of the app. It has a 5000 members cap on every room that is created. If you want to speak, you can “raise your hand” and be brought up on the “stage” along with the moderator in charge of the room.
The Clubhouse app is currently only available for iPhone users. According to the official website of Clubhouse, the developers are working on an android version of the app which will soon be made available.
Clubhouse Logo
So once you are invited, you can listen as well as join conversations, discussions and interviews on various topics by entrepreneurs and artists alike. The conversations are live unlike podcasts and can be listened to or joined only while they are on air. You can listen to them while you are multitasking or join a group of listeners on a topic that fuels your curiosity.
Is Clubhouse Jeopardizing the Security of its Users?
Well, the answer cannot be a legit yes but many of the users are bothered by how it demands access to all your contacts. This might not be a surprise as many of the social media apps have the same protocol, But Clubhouse has contact uploading requirements which might be uncomfortable to the users.
The app shows recommendations to those people who have been blocked by other users. For example, if you are being harassed, and have blocked out the contact, Clubhouse lets that harasser know that you’re connected to them via app recommendations.
Also, there are speculations that Clubhouse makes unencrypted recordings of the conversations happening in the virtual “rooms” which it claims to delete if anything happens beyond the status quo.
Adding to the above, another observation is that Agora, the company that is behind the app’s infrastructure, is based in Shanghai. It concerns the users of privacy breach and the data being passed on to the Chinese government.
Why is Clubhouse getting all the Attention? – Celebrity encounters
For an app launched not less than a year ago, it is surprising that Tesla CEO Elon Musk decides to make an appearance. It doesn’t stop there, Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg too joined the club.
Roughly, a month ago a couple launched a show called “The Good Times Show” which has garnered popularity after it interviewed a few giants from the tech industry. “The Good Times Show” is hosted by a Facebook employee and her husband who is a newly named partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
Elon Musk made an appearance on the show on January 31st where he spoke about his company SpaceX preparing for a Mars trip, about how artificial intelligence will slowly take over, his views on cryptocurrency, and the ongoing pandemic. It all went bananas when he brought on stage Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev for an interview. The interview was about the app’s role in the short squeeze of GameStop’s stocks.
On February 4, the man in charge of the world’s largest social media network, Mark Zuckerberg appeared on the Clubhouse app. Signed in as “Zuck23”, Zuckerberg talked about futuristic technology from Facebook’s Reality Labs Group, which specializes in augmented reality, virtual reality and other platforms believed to be the future of human interaction.
Clubhouse User Growth Over Time
The show further plans to schedule an interview with Elon Musk and rapper Kanye West. The maverick show has been doing new rounds of attention since it interviewed two tech leaders of the industry who are otherwise shy when it comes to media appearances. Clubhouse and “The Good Times Show” could be a new platform for world leaders and influencers to share their knowledge and expertise. It could be also a new media outlet for performers and artists.
The Chinese Ban
Shortly after a certain “room” on the Clubhouse was found discussing taboo topics such as Beijing’s placement of Uighurs in concentration camps in Xinjiang, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests — absorbing perspectives and information far outside the lines drawn by the Communist Party, the app was blocked by China.
Top Clubhouse Markets by Downloads
There are more than one billion internet users in China. But very few have access to iPhones. The access limits further as users need foreign-registered iPhones to download Clubhouse. Politics was one of the topics discussed that touched the wrong Chinese nerve. The government, afraid of the freewheeling of opinions of the citizens on an American app is troublesome enough and wasted no time in banning the app in China.
Although, various tech-savvy groups from China, which included engineers, product managers, and several intellectuals have talked about making a similar app for their fellow citizens. However, many believe that the Chinese government would never give up that control.
FAQs
What is the Valuation of Clubhouse?
Clubhouse reached a valuation of $1 billion as of January 24,2021.
Is clubhouse only on Apple?
According to the official website of Clubhouse, the developers are working on an android version of the app which will soon be made available.
Who owns the clubhouse app?
Clubhouse is developed by a Silicon Valley entrepreneur Paul Davison and ex-Google employee Rohan Seth.
Conclusion
When the app becomes available on android, it is going to create a much bigger flow of listeners voicing their opinions and sharing their stories on the platform that Clubhouse seems to provide. This could lead to many countries, afraid of their opinioned citizens, to prevent its use in their countries too.
Nevertheless, its popularity is far from diminishing. As said earlier, Clubhouse could become a new media outlet and host various arguments and discussions that could change the course of activities around the world. It is on its way to reform the patterns of social media behavior and how we use it.
In a series of tweets, the twitterati took a dig at the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. The CEO of Tesla was targeted since Tesla skipped matching the 401(k) contribution straight for a third year. Twitter was divided in two parts, one in favor of Elon Musk and the other criticizing him for not doing the needful for the retirement funds of Tesla’s employees. The man in the spot, Musk noticed this tweet and answered that his employees have an option of buying company stocks and the company treats its employees as part owners.
We will be looking closely at how TESLA compensates its employees, how much is the company worth and how largely benefitted its employees actually are. Lets take a look at TESLA, the company.
TESLA is a company involved in transportation and energy businesses. It sells cars under its “TESLA Motors” division and stationary battery packs for home, commercial and utility-scale projects under its “TESLA Energy” division.
The company is led by Elon Musk. he is the CEO, co-founder, Chairman and Product Architect.
TESLA has more net worth than all its rivals combined such as Fiat Chrysler ($20 billion), Ford ($24 billion), Ferrari ($32 billion), General Motors ($36 billion), BMW ($41 billion), Honda ($46 billion) and Volkswagen ($74 billion). TESLA’s cars are said to be the most valuable cars in the world.
TESLA is a giant with a market cap of $164 billion dollars and as of 2020 has 70,757 employees working for it.
Now why would a company like TESLA not be contributing to its employees’ retirement fund? How does Tesla compensate its employees? How are Tesla employees becoming millionaires? We are about to find out. Let us first understand how Retirement funds are managed in the USA.
401(k) plan is a tax-advantaged, defined contribution retirement account provided by employers to their employees in the USA. It is named after a section of US Internal Revenue Code.
401(k) Retirement Plan
Employees can make contributions to the 401(k) accounts thorough automatic payroll withholding and their employers can match some, or all those contributions. These contributions are taxed after the employee withdraws the money, typically after retirement.
Employers who match their employee contributions use different formulas to calculate that match. A common example might be 50 cents or $1 for every dollar the employee contributes up to a certain percentage of salary. Financial advisors often recommend that employees try to contribute at least enough money to their 401(k) plans each to get the full employer match.
TESLA skipped matching the 401(k) contributions to the employee retirement fund consecutively for year three and twitter had its fair share of questions for Elon Musk. The TESLA CEO responded to the accusations on twitter saying that “Everyone at TESLA receives stock. My company is all Stock/Options, which I do not take off the table.”
Everyone at Tesla receives stock.
My comp is all stock/options, which I do not take off the table.
Elon Musk responded to the tweet accusing him of not matching the contributions to the employees retirement fund
It is not rare for tech companies to compensate their employees through stock options. However, TESLA is an automaker first, mixed with tech. Auto companies do not offer stock options for all employees throughout the organization.
TESLA offers its employees stocks options as compensation. With recent surge in the company’s share prices, TESLA stocks are creating new millionaires. However, over the years TESLA has made salary cuts in various departments, especially sales.
With a recent surge in TESLA share price, (more than 200% this year alone) TESLA’s employees are compounding on their wealth. Here is a glance at TESLA’s top executives and how much of a stake they hold in the company.
Drew Baglino, Tesla SVP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering, holds 4,222 Tesla shares. His stake in the company is now worth more than $5.7 million. Baglino is one of the top engineers at Tesla where he gradually moved up the ranks during his 14-year tenure at the automaker.
Jerome Guillen, president of TESLA motors, holds 9,752 Tesla stocks worth over $13 million. Guillen has led several key programs at Tesla.
Zachary Kirkhorn, Tesla’s young CFO, owns 11,831 shares of Tesla, which are now worth over $16 million. Like Tesla’s stock, Kirkhorn had a meteoric rise of his own at Tesla. At 35, he is the youngest CFO in TESLA.
Of course, no one is getting richer than CEO Elon Musk as part of this incredible run. Musk owns 34,098,597 TSLA shares — making his stake in Tesla worth more than $46 billion.
Musk’s brother, Kimbal Musk, who is also on Tesla’s board, is significantly benefiting from the rise in Tesla’s stock price. He had 130,848 Tesla shares, which are now worth more than $175 million.
Other Tesla VPs, directors, and even managers are likely to benefit greatly from Tesla’s massive stock price increase — creating several new millionaires.
Several key engineers in batteries, manufacturing, and construction, especially the execs behind Gig factory Nevada, also received massive stock grants worth millions at the time. With the recent price run, employees who held onto their shares are now millionaires.
Tesla also awards performance-based equity bonuses, but those have been put on hold amid the coronavirus crisis. Therefore, employees who have been holding shares since last year are the ones benefiting the most from this recent TSLA run.
Although TESLA’s employees and executives have amassed great benefits through its price run, financial experts suggest that it is always better to have the employees compensated with access to retirement contributions. Since the stock market is volatile and unpredictable, the employees will benefit only until the stock prices go up. According to reports, TESLA has not been making great profits, but thanks to the price run in shares, no one’s complaining. Having said that, not matching the employers contribution may be risky for the employees as it isn’t entirely compensatory to the average employee and without the inflated share price, they would be doomed.
FAQs
How many employees work at TESLA?
Currently, there are 70,757 employees working for TESLA (2021)
How does TESLA compensate its employees?
Along with added bonuses to the salary, TESLA offers its employees stock options as compensation.
Is TESLA coming to India?
Elon Musk confirmed that TESLA would be entering India by setting up a plant in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
The corporate world epitomizes the classic Tom and Jerry cartoon for me. Everyone is chasing someone and then the bigger Dog comes to take the prize away. The story is especially similar in the stock market, and it scripts the rise and fall of many major companies.
There is always history being created with the buying and selling of shares. The recent battle between modern-day online investors and multimillion-dollar hedge funds came to light with GameStop. Let us delve into this bizarre tale.
GameStop was officially born in 2000 while tracing its roots to Babbage’s Etc. founded in 1984. GameStop Corp. operates retail outlets specializing in selling video games. Electricals and gaming related merchandise. The company is headquartered near Dallas, Texas USA.
GameStop has the honor of being the largest video games retailer having shops across United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. It was a successful business model, however with the advent of the online storefront and some failed investments, its fortunes have somewhat declined in the last decade. Also, it hasn’t been doing very well in the pandemic either.
So what happened that its share price skyrocketed? Well, that is the story.
However, we need to understand a bit more about the related parties that played major roles.
Are you on Social Media? Like Facebook or Twitter, well Reddit is also a social platform where users post content. This is then upvoted or downvoted and rankings happen. You can create your own community to discuss or share things that you like, for example, football, technology, or anything specific.
Any discussion or post also feeds into the main section of Reddit. So, in simplest terms, it is like a giant forum, divided into many sub-forums. Around 500 million people visit the site every month. It lives up to its motto “Front page of the internet” and is the sixth most commonly visited site on the internet.
How is Reddit related to GameStop?
Reddit and GameStop relationship
The important link in this story is a forum on Reddit called wallstreetbets. This community had more than four million members focused on discussing the share market, stock, shares, and investment.
It was this community that decided to challenge the big investing Hedge funds to create a short squeeze.
Getting too technical? Let us make it simple.
We know GameStop was not thriving and with the pandemic, people were more inclined to
do shopping online, so the position of GameStop was not great. The large traders in the stock market do betting on the performance of such companies doing well or failing. They then borrow shares in these companies and sell them promising to buy these back later. The premise here is that they would be able to buy back at a lower rate and return it to the owner. The investor (hedge Fund) would end up pocketing the difference as profit.
This would have been the case with GameStop if wallstreetbets had decided not to intervene.
The technical Terms
Let us learn the technical terms first and then discuss more details.
Hedge Funds: Hedge Funds are non-traditional or alternative investments using funds in one portfolio collected from different investors, (Pooled funds) that employ different strategies to earn a profit. They are aggressively managed to have leverage in domestic and international markets to earn high returns. The access is usually for accredited investors only as they are less regulated.
Short Selling: Short Selling is a way of profiting when the value of an asset i.e., Gold, Silver, Oil, or shares falls. A short Seller (mainly big investors) borrows stocks or assets from the owner for a token fee. Then, the seller sells it at market price with a promise to buy these back later. The short seller intends to buy it back later assuming these will fall in price. So, they will have to pay a smaller amount. Once bought, it is then returned to the original owner and the seller would have made a profit or loss depending on the value in the market.
Short Squeeze: A short squeeze occurs when the price of a stock increases unexpectedly especially when sellers expect it to drop. Thus, they have speculated against it and this forces the traders to buy back at a higher price to avoid losses. But this only creates upward pressure on the price, squeezing it even higher.
What happened: The story detail
GameStop was one of the companies that were expected not to perform well and many hedge funds had speculated upon this happening. The share price hit lows of $2.57 in 2020, rising only to about $18.84 by 31st December 2020 as large hedge funds backed the company.
However, there were many including Melvin Capital, Point72, D1 Capital Partners that were short-selling GameStop anticipating it not to perform well and lose a lot of value.
At this juncture, a flurry on amateur investors from the Wallstreetbet forum on Reddit called for people to stockpile these shares. And these small-time investors used their spare cash to buy GameStop shares. Thus, pushing the prices up, more than 1500% at one point, they put the value of the company in Fortune 500 List. The share price reached a high of $350 by 27th January.
This created a short squeeze in the market causing a loss of billions to Hedge Funds that had bet against GameStop. They had to buy back the shares, creating additional demand and pushing the price even higher. By Friday, hedge funds and other short sellers had made an estimated loss of $19 billion.
Not only this but other companies lagging in a performance like MC Entertainment, Koss Corp and BlackBerry, also saw sharp gains in their share prices. They were bolstered by day traders as larger investors bet against them.
The Aftermath
After the unexpected surge in trading of GameStop shares, many trading platforms like Robinhood and interactive brokers curbed the buying and selling of the US Games firm stocks and other similar stocks. These restrictions caused prices to go down by around 55%. This has caused the small investors to be disgruntled by limitations.
The Significance of the GameStop Rally
Short Selling is a common phenomenon in the share market. It is usually big funds and investors fighting over the future of a company. This was probably the first-time small investors have taken the battle to the doorstep.
This single act demonstrates the power of social media and an organized approach. There is free data available easily and it can be transmitted via social media. A united organized and planned approach by small investors was the cause of major losses to bigger fish in the market.
For the Reddit forum, it is being touted as their attempt to break teach a lesson to the large investors. A section of the masses states the aim was to create losses for stockbrokers and hedge funds. Many Reddit users are pointing this to be revenge for creating a financial crisis in yesteryears.
It is very important to remember that these small investors may end up losing funds as the price of GameStop starts downhill, which has already started.
The moral of the story
GameStop’s turbulent journey is a clear show of power that organizing and planning via social media can have and its significant reach among people. It may make the large investing houses think again about betting against a company.
Andrew Left, head of Citron Research admitted after the GameStop fiasco that there would be a change in how hedge funds and short-selling operate as his company made losses in this deal.
The concept of buying and selling stock was a niche to brokers for a long time. However, Share-dealing apps like Robinhood and easy access to information online about companies and trading strategies have opened the field for ordinary small-time investors as well. And They are a force that has to be reckoned with.
This also raises serious questions about the ethics, morality, and legality of collusion among investors to push prices up. While many people were happy seeing the downfall of giants, we have to remember that short term trading is a reality, whether done by small or big investor. Every penny gained by someone is at the cost of loss to someone.
Institutional investors have to be more aware of the mood of the small investor and will have to put in a lot more research into opinions expressed in the forums. Like one short-seller burned by GameStop deal has decided to stop short selling and instead invest in companies with potential for growth rather than bet against them.
Social Media has emerged as a new influence that can cause massive surges in the market, especially posts by influencers. However, critics warn that one would be wise not to follow these advisories blindly. There is a conflict of interest rife within the investment houses and the expert opinion usually are aligned to one of the companies.
There has been a surge in amateur investing during the pandemic as people were stuck at home and had time on their hands. They poured time and money into learning more about investing. This has a rippling effect as they trade in stocks and risks without understanding them fully.
The availability of apps for trading is another grave factor to be considered. While the savvy investor can earn a profit, but inexperienced and ill-informed investors may not only lose funds but also will not be protected by any legislation or law.
Similarly, hedge funds are also less regulated than other funds like mutual funds. The aggressive strategies used by them are not always completely transparent. GameStop incident was seen as a public way to punish the perpetrators of morally dubious practices. There is a clear need for more stringent rules to curb such trading practices.
The Tesla Boss enjoys tweeting and has been known to feud with short-sellers. And when he decides to tweet everyone takes notice. He threw in his gauntlet in the fray saying “Here come the shorty apologists. Give them no respect. Get shorty” and another on Tuesday “Gamestonk!!” was enough to send the price up again.
The South African-born American entrepreneur Elon Musk, (born June 28, 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa) cofounds PayPal as an electronic payment firm, and creates SpaceX, the launch vegetable and spacecraft manufacturer. He has also been one of the first major investors in the electric car manufacturer Tesla as well as Chief Executive Officer.
Musk came from a father from South Africa and a mother of Canada. He showed early computer and entrepreneurial talent. In 1988, Musk left South Africa after obtaining the Canadian passport because he refused to support apartheid by the military and because he wanted the greater economic opportunities available in the United States.
Early Talent
After his studies, he joined Stanford University, but after just two days bravely dropped out with his brother to launch Zip2’s first company. Zip2 just arrived to help companies get online at the start of the Internet boom.
Musk then sold his Zip2 share to co-found X.com in 1999, with the millions raised, and PaysPal was later merged. Despite disagreements and dismissal of Paypal as a CEO as the larger shareholder in 2000, eBay earned millions of dollars in the $1.5 billion deal acquired by Pay Pal to kick off the Musk Revolution we know so much today. An impressive amount of business plan, start-ups and side projects is acquired by the billionaire, each working on revolutionizing.
The Boring Company (TBC) develops safe, fast-to-dig, and low-cost transport-, utilities and freight tunnels. The company was founded by Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX. Our Loop service is planned to be the fastest and best system ever.
It can be claimed that the Dull Business was recognised more for its name or whacky goods (not least “Not A Flamethrower”) than the brilliant piece of work before the enthusiastic presence of Elon Musk on the Joe Rogan Experience padcast. The name is taken from its key function: bore tunnels and was created in 2016 as a result of the frustration of traffic, as revealed by Elon Musk on Twitter.
This organization installs tunnels and infrastructures in crowded cities to alleviate pollution. Building contracts in Chicago, Los Angeles, and California are still in place.
2. Hyperloop
Hyperloop Logo
In a white paper written by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX in 2013, Hyperloop is an ultra-high-speed land transportation system planned for passengers and freight. It consists of partially evacuated tubes and high-speed passenger and cargo capsules.
Some found the most ambitious development of Hyperloop Musk yet, which is a major assertion if you believe it succeeds in space and creates thirty-layer long tubes. Hyperloop is a proposed mode of transportation, according to Elon Musk, for 380 plus miles of journey from Los Angeles to San Francisco in just 35 minutes.
When do you expect this to happen? With a tunnel, the rail system is built that can operate with reduced drag 800 miles per hour. Currently, Hyperloop is still much in its planning stages, although there were first leaks.
SolarCity is an Elon Musk initiative that we as makers of renewable and energy-saving goods keep tight to our hearts. It was not clearer that Elon shared our view of a better world – and our mission to contribute to it – than SolarCity.
The brothers Peter and Lyndon Rive created SolarCity in 2006 on the basis of a recommendation of their cousin Elon Musk, chairman and promoter of the organization for a solar business idea. The installed solar panels could produce 440 megawatts (MW) of power by 2009.
SolarCity is the second-largest solar panel supplier in the USA, an affiliate of Tesla. It pushes the big step towards self-consuming electricity, just as we do at myenergy, from its long-lasting glass to its transparent solar cells.
4. Neuralink
Neuralink Logo
Elon Musk wants to have brain surgery among everyone. In fact, he needs everybody to have a brain implant — Neuralink, his company’s brain-machine interface. He says that he will overcome several conditions – paralysis, fear, and addiction. He says that it can.
Scientists must understand even more about the brain and how it can be realized from all other theories. The brain is still enigmatic, and problems like fear and depression are still uncertain about their physiological origins. In the new video from Verge Technology, we discuss what Neuralink might do and what aspects of Musk’s ideas need more science.
Musk has been worried about the possible risks of artificial intelligence for some time now. The organization has for several years warned that AI represents the biggest existential danger for human life, as does the technology “invoking the demon.” In the light of this strong position with respect to artificial intelligence, it was a little interesting that Musk announced in December 2015 the launch of its own AI research firm. Open AI is funded by investments of more than $1 billion and focuses on the protection and responsibility of evolving AI technologies.
By making it available to all, Musk insists that this is the way for major businesses who wish to take advantage of the invention for their own financial benefit.
His Successful Projects:
1. Spacex
Spacex Logo
“SpaceX designs and manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft,” founded in 2002 with the aim of revitalizing global interest in space exploration while massively lowering costs. The reusable Falcon Strong, the world’s most efficient operating rocket that holds approximately 64 kilograms, is now mastered by Elon Musk and SpaceX’s 6000 employees. It arrives in February 2018 after his successful test flight.
With the Falcon 1, a two-stage liquid-fuel craft, the organization entered the arena to bring small satellites into orbit. The Falcon 1 was much cheaper in terms of design and functioning than its rivals, a spacecraft sector mostly dominated by publicly owned and government-funded businesses like Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The SpaceX-developed Merlin engine, a cheaper alternative to those used by other firms, made part of rocket economic efficiency feasible. SpaceX also aimed at making reusable warheads
Without referencing Tesla, didn’t you think we would celebrate Elon Musk’s finest, did you?
Elon Musk had a profoundly positive influence on the automotive industry alongside original Tesla designers Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. In addition to what once was the limited, unchanged, and increasingly under deployed electric and hybrid vehicles market, he has accelerated towards a more competitive future.
Tesla Motors started with the roadster and proceeded with the X, S and Model 3, which will be in the immediate future. In each model, competitive demand has grown to build their own electric and hybrid cars and the increasing promise of petrol and diesel replacements is illuminated more clearly.
Tesla has changed the story well and truly in terms of renewable technology on the highways, manufacturing cars capable of driving up to 315 miles with only one charge and hitting 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds.
We all know that Elon Musk is an utter visionary with unbelievably better ideas than other citizens. In a recent interview with Joe Rogan, Musk said it was nearly like a curse that he had so many valuable ideas that he always failed to concentrate on a project.
On the other hand, we are also mindful that on a number of occasions the South African contractor has struggled, many of which include extremely problematic scenarios. Yet Elon Musk seems to be still at the forefront of all the adversities and all the odds.
Therefore, I wanted to speak about these failures and demonstrate how Elon repeatedly overcomes the most destructive blows and uses the lessons to boost his company:
1. Netscape Denial and Ousted at Zip2
Elon Musk did not give up
When Elon first started out, he applied to a variety of new tech firms, including Netscape, without success. He created a searchable business directory named Zip2 in view of these rejections, which was effectively an online equivalent of a telephone book.
It might now sound like a very easy concept, but at a time when the use of computers was still very limited, this was groundbreaking. Sadly, in the early years, Zip2 failed and most founders showed little interest in financing the idea. In 1996, however, Zip2 finally obtained some much-needed funding, but Elon Musk was ousted as the company’s CEO and given a much smaller role. The entrepreneur chose, after great success, to move forward to focus on a brand-new project that would be the beginning of what we all know as PayPal.
2. Paypal Was Initially Voted ‘the Worst Business Concept of the Year’
Believe it or not, as it was launched as authentication software for the PalmPilot and other mobile devices, PayPal was voted the worst business concept of the year in 1999. Musk and co-founder Max Levchin, however, continued to concentrate on building an online wallet that was beginning to gain momentum. Eventually, PayPal received funding to grow this project and the business went public in 2002.
Conclusion
It’s true that Elon Musk is not only a genius, considering his many mistakes, but also an extremely ambitious human with a burning desire to excel. Although Tesla and Space X are sure to enjoy a prosperous future, it is a tribute to his character that we can clearly not doubt or imagine what the next South African will do! The media’s tendency to run through the mistakes as an entrepreneur is one thing we should not all skip over. Never doubt, though, as an upcoming entrepreneur. And when you do make it, they will already be off for your achievements.
As India is making some huge advancements in space tech, Many space startups of India are grabbing the attention of investors. Surviving in an Indian startup space is not easy with fierce competition around you. 60 to 70% of the startups fail without even emerging to the top, so emerging as a space tech startups in India is an achievement in itself. Here we are going to talk about Top innovative space startups in India.
Building a space startup requires building path-breaking technologies across launch, communication, and satellites and massive investments. As Elon musk’s SpaceX made history by sending two astronauts to space on Crew Dragon spacecraft using a Falcon 9 rocket, many Indian startups can see light at the end of the tunnel.
Low-cost, High-Speed, Reliable Internet direct to Homes, Businesses, Schools, and Healthcare Centres
Astrome is a Bangalore based spacetech startup founded by Neha Satak and Prasad HL Bhat on May 20, 2015. Astrome Technologies Private Limited is one of the top space companies and includes 3 registered patents primarily in the ‘Electric Communication Technique’ category, according to IPqwery.
Just like cable TV from space is 100 times cheaper, delivering internet from space will be cheap, and fast”.
says Neha, who is the CEO of her company.
Astrome Team | Top Space Startups
Astrome will be launching a constellation of 198 satellites into the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to make the internet more accessible to everyone in the developing world. These satellites will cover the most densely populated regions of the world including Africa, South America, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Awards
National Award in the ‘Technology Start-ups Category’ (2018).
US – India Science and Technology Endowment Fund
Most Promising Aerospace and Defense Startup Award by NASSCOM and IESA
Pixxel
Startup Name
Pixxel
Headquarter
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Industry
Defense & Space
Founder
Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal
Founded
2018
Products and services
climate monitoring, crop yield prediction, urban planning, and disaster response
Pixxel is an Indian space tech company Started by 22-year-old Awais Ahmed and. Kshitij Khandelwal. Pixxel has two Indian clients and eight more globally. Pixxel was the only startup from Asia to be selected for the first batch of 10 startups in Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator in Los Angeles. They are building a constellation of earth imaging satellites.
Pixxel Founders Kshitij khandelwal(left) and Awais Ahmed
They are planning to launch satellites that would be helpful for governments and private organizations in collecting AI-powered analytical data related to agriculture, climate, the spread of crop pests and diseases, defense monitoring, and mining to find illegal operations, monitor oil and gas pipelines, natural disasters, forest fire, etc said Awais Ahmed, founder, and CEO of Pixxel. Space tech startup Pixxel raised $5M seed funding from Blume, growX, and Lightspeed for the first satellite launch later this year.
Kawa Space is a Mumbai-based space tech startup founded by Kris Nair and Bala Menon in 2019. Kawa builds and operates infrastructure in space on behalf of an enterprise and corporate clients. Their earth observation satellites are used by customers in financial services, government departments, strategic risk management, and agriculture.
Kawa space has launched one satellite in orbit, and the launch of 18 others are underway. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder of Paytm invested an undisclosed amount in Kawa Space.
Skyroot is a Hyderabad-based startup Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka both are former ISRO scientists. Skyroot Aerospace is the first privately-owned Indian firm to demonstrate the capability to build a homegrown rocket engine. Skyroot has a series of launch vehicles, Vikram 1, Vikram 2, and Vikram 3. Skyroot is into building India’s first privately built space launch vehicles. Skyroot aerospace has raised $4.3 million to date.
Skyroot Aerospace Space
Agnikul Cosmos
Startup Name
Agnikul Cosmos
Headquarter
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Industry
Defense & Space
Founder
Srinath Ravichandran and Moin SPM
Founded
2017
Products and services
Mini launch vehicles
Agnikul is a space tech startup started by Srinath Ravichandran and Moin SPM in 2017, this startup provides a dedicated launch vehicle for smaller satellites at a lower cost. It is the only space tech startup in India to design a rocket engine that can be printed in a single piece using 3-D printing technology. Agnikul is making a small rocket that can carry a payload of around 200 kg. Agnikul has also raised 23.4 crores in the Series A funding round.
Agnikul Founders
“We started Agnikul with the dream of bringing space within everyone’s reach. We are doing this by building nimble, reliable, and modular rockets that can put small satellites in space, on-demand,” Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder and CEO of Agnikul, said.
Conclusion
By looking at the passion and hard work of these startups one thing is for sure that India has a bright future in Space tech. Space tech startups in India are gaining ground as private investors are paying heed to this new breed of startups. After SpaceX successfully launched its rockets in space, it paved the path for all the young age space tech startups and proved you don’t need to be a government space body to launch a vehicle in space.
FAQ
How many tech startups are there in India?
India has about 50,000 startups India in 2018; around 8,900 – 9,300 of these are technology-led startups 1300 new tech startups were born in 2019 alone implying there are 2-3 tech startups born every day.
In the automobile industry across the globe, Elon Musk’s Tesla is the leading brand that manufactures Electric Vehicles and the company plans to revolutionize its cutting-edge innovations. Elon Musk announced earlier officially, that he intends to launch Tesla vehicles in India over the coming years.
After Tesla’s CEO made this announcement official, Maharashtra Tourism and Environment minister, claimed that he held a video conference with Tesla executives and have invited them to their state. India minister claimed that Musk’s firm belief in sustainable and environment-friendly growth has made him active in bringing the electric vehicle maker in the country and established a fanbase in Indian states.
On the contrary, Elon Musk replied on Twitter to a tweet from an Indian profile which wrote, “Next year for sure”. However, Musk did not specify any official date or timeline for the proposed launch yet. It is worth noting that Elon Musk announced the plan to launch the company’s vehicles in the country in the year 2018.
Musk’s company, Tesla has been experimenting with super and advanced technologies to develop more environmental friendly vehicles that help in protecting environment.
In the world’s second most populated country, India, pollution has always been a challenge to overcome over the years. The government’s initiative to bring the EV company in the country will aid in environmental protection and increase in number of jobs. The government also has to look in terms of the demand production of the EV company.
The fact of establishing EV in the country is that their sales are essential, but more important is setting up a manufacturing plant in India. Due to the global pandemic, high and raging unemployment has reigned supreme in the country.
If Tesla established the production setup in the country, it will boost the economy by increasing the citizens’ job opportunities. The Indian government would take a step towards the future of tech in the automobile industry, starting with Tesla.
Elon Musk’s tweet about the Tesla’s launch in India
Challenges for Tesla’s Launch in India
Tesla has been monitoring the Indian market for quite some time now but has been unsuccessful due to some reasons like lack of infrastructure, policies, and the market for electric vehicles.
In the year 2019, the government has lowered the custom duty on EV commodities and parts to around 5%. Pre-assembled EV components will attract almost 15% taxation whereas the ones assembled in India will attract 10% taxation.
And at the same time, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes had withdrawn the exemption of customs duty for EV batteries, to boost the company’s products in India, which might help the Indian EV system and the government’s Make in India initiative in the longer run.
However, the plan couldn’t get through and only the base has been set, there hasn’t been any major development in EV and its parts manufacturing in India, especially the ones that will be competent for Tesla’s technology.
Even though several Indian startups are looking to speed up the process, the timeline is still not defined. Addition to these, with the lack of technology, there is also a lack of infrastructure to accommodate EV on Indian roads.
Tesla’s Top Models
Musk had spoken about India’s strict vehicle import policies earlier. India’s increasing duties on vehicles has delayed Tesla’s entry into the Indian market. Additionally, India’s inadequate EV infrastructure and the low per capita income may have also influenced the California-based carmaker’s decision.
Elon Musk‘s tweet in 2019 read, “I am told duties are extremely high in India (up to 100%) even for electric cars. This would make our cars unaffordable.“
As per a report the transactional market size of electric vehicles is expected to be $7.2 Billion in 2026 and 2030 respectively, with 97% of total EV transactions to be in the commercial vehicle segment by 2030.
Developing charging infrastructure is another difficulty that the company will have to cross. Tesla model 3 which is a complete package in a car, has 50 kWh battery pack which can cover around 355 kms. The government of India is targeting the year 2030 by which it plans to go all-electric in terms of new car sales in the country.
There is hope from the Indian government on making charging points throughout the country to push the go green movement. Buyers may also face the problem of not getting the workshops throughout the country as the company would be just setting up in India. As the vehicles are fully electric, no common mechanic can even try to fix it.
If Tesla comes to India they may also face the problem regarding the price of the cars as the price of Tesla cars starts from Rs 35 lakhs. The Tesla cars will be under the luxury section of vehicles, so the customers who will buy will be only the privileged section of India.
Conclusion
The final line must be that if Tesla comes to India, it has to take a greater risk not only in terms of competition but it also has to deal with the purchasing behaviour and nature of Indian people. If the company is aiming to establish their roots in the Indian environment it does need to look through the fact that the number of electric cars sold in India in a year is much less than other countries.
