Capitalising on conjunctures: Tesla’s ups and downs in financialised capitalism
This article explores the puzzling ups and downs of Tesla, going through one the most volatile stock market swings of the recent past, under conditions of financialised capitalism. We adopt a conjunctural approach, highlighting both the macro and micro dynamics shaping the firm’s financial market tr...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
|
| Series: | Finance and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2059599924000232/type/journal_article |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832584973168672768 |
|---|---|
| author | Tobias Klinge Stefan Ouma Reijer Hendrikse |
| author_facet | Tobias Klinge Stefan Ouma Reijer Hendrikse |
| author_sort | Tobias Klinge |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article explores the puzzling ups and downs of Tesla, going through one the most volatile stock market swings of the recent past, under conditions of financialised capitalism. We adopt a conjunctural approach, highlighting both the macro and micro dynamics shaping the firm’s financial market trajectory. Among these, meticulously maintained narratives, boosted by social media, attracted dedicated followers, while the rise of new retail trading platforms and excitement around Tesla’s index inclusion helped in producing its stock ‘mementum’. This volatility was further supported by an exceptionally large volume of financial derivatives trading, paralleling a public battle between short sellers and the company’s defenders. The resulting stock market boom enabled Tesla to stabilise its finances, whilst its ‘mercurial’ CEO Elon Musk negotiated the largest executive compensation package in US corporate history, turning him into the world’s richest individual. In conclusion, we argue that Tesla serves as an emblematic case of an increasingly tech-driven financialised capitalism, which scholars could use as a window to study future conjunctures. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-08c1cd4f9d62488c90db669a2e905463 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2059-5999 |
| language | English |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Finance and Society |
| spelling | doaj-art-08c1cd4f9d62488c90db669a2e9054632025-01-27T07:17:37ZengCambridge University PressFinance and Society2059-599912010.1017/fas.2024.23Capitalising on conjunctures: Tesla’s ups and downs in financialised capitalismTobias Klinge0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9845-8658Stefan Ouma1Reijer Hendrikse2Department of Geography, University of Bayreuth, GermanyDepartment of Geography, University of Bayreuth, GermanyDepartment of Geography, Cosmopolis Centre for Urban Research, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, BelgiumThis article explores the puzzling ups and downs of Tesla, going through one the most volatile stock market swings of the recent past, under conditions of financialised capitalism. We adopt a conjunctural approach, highlighting both the macro and micro dynamics shaping the firm’s financial market trajectory. Among these, meticulously maintained narratives, boosted by social media, attracted dedicated followers, while the rise of new retail trading platforms and excitement around Tesla’s index inclusion helped in producing its stock ‘mementum’. This volatility was further supported by an exceptionally large volume of financial derivatives trading, paralleling a public battle between short sellers and the company’s defenders. The resulting stock market boom enabled Tesla to stabilise its finances, whilst its ‘mercurial’ CEO Elon Musk negotiated the largest executive compensation package in US corporate history, turning him into the world’s richest individual. In conclusion, we argue that Tesla serves as an emblematic case of an increasingly tech-driven financialised capitalism, which scholars could use as a window to study future conjunctures.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2059599924000232/type/journal_articlecorporate financefinancialisationmeme stockspeculationTesla |
| spellingShingle | Tobias Klinge Stefan Ouma Reijer Hendrikse Capitalising on conjunctures: Tesla’s ups and downs in financialised capitalism Finance and Society corporate finance financialisation meme stock speculation Tesla |
| title | Capitalising on conjunctures: Tesla’s ups and downs in financialised capitalism |
| title_full | Capitalising on conjunctures: Tesla’s ups and downs in financialised capitalism |
| title_fullStr | Capitalising on conjunctures: Tesla’s ups and downs in financialised capitalism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Capitalising on conjunctures: Tesla’s ups and downs in financialised capitalism |
| title_short | Capitalising on conjunctures: Tesla’s ups and downs in financialised capitalism |
| title_sort | capitalising on conjunctures tesla s ups and downs in financialised capitalism |
| topic | corporate finance financialisation meme stock speculation Tesla |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2059599924000232/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tobiasklinge capitalisingonconjuncturesteslasupsanddownsinfinancialisedcapitalism AT stefanouma capitalisingonconjuncturesteslasupsanddownsinfinancialisedcapitalism AT reijerhendrikse capitalisingonconjuncturesteslasupsanddownsinfinancialisedcapitalism |