Can someone get Elon Musk's attention?

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report Summary
Episode: Can someone get Elon Musk's attention?
Release Date: July 23, 2025
Host: David Brancaccio

---

Tesla and Elon Musk’s Multi-Faceted Role

In today’s episode of the Marketplace Morning Report, host David Brancaccio delves into the complexities surrounding Tesla and its charismatic yet multi-armed CEO, Elon Musk. The discussion with Eric Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, provides an in-depth analysis of Musk's diverse ventures and their impact on Tesla's performance.

Elon Musk's Diverse Interests
David Brancaccio opens the conversation by highlighting Elon Musk's numerous roles beyond his leadership at Tesla. He states, “Tesla is run by a guy with a lot of interests. Some will say distractions” [01:25]. Eric Gordon elaborates, “He runs SpaceX, the rocket company. And then there's his latest love. His latest fling is with his AI company. He's got a lot of balls to juggle” [01:41]. This multifaceted involvement raises concerns about Musk's ability to maintain focus solely on Tesla.

Board Dynamics and Leadership Challenges
The conversation shifts to the dynamics between Musk and Tesla’s board of directors. Brancaccio points out, “Tesla shareholders have an interest in Musk buckling down” [02:13]. Gordon responds, “They can and they should [lay down the line on Musk’s focus], and then they'll probably be fired by Musk because he controls the votes” [02:50]. This reflects the tension between the board's expectations and Musk's autonomous decision-making, suggesting potential governance challenges within Tesla.

Impact of Tax Credit Changes on Tesla

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the recent changes in tax credits and their effect on Tesla’s profitability.

Decline in Tax Credit Revenue
Brancaccio notes, “Tesla earns a lot of money from its competitors paying it to help the competitors offset their own lack of clean air achievements” [03:03]. However, with the new tax and spending plan, “the incentive has gone away” [03:03], which could jeopardize Tesla’s profit margins.

Potential Financial Strain
Gordon emphasizes the gravity of the situation: “Tesla might not have turned a profit in the first quarter of this year without those credits” [03:28]. He explains that Tesla operates in two primary streams: selling cars and selling tax credits. With both avenues facing challenges—declining car sales and the phasing out of tax credits—the company requires focused attention to navigate these financial headwinds.

Manufactured Housing: Affordable Solutions and Challenges

Transitioning from the automotive sector, Brancaccio introduces a segment on the housing market, featuring insights from Chris Farrell, Marketplace's senior economics contributor.

Historical Context and Benefits
Farrell provides a historical overview, recalling the era when factory-built homes, such as those advertised by Sears in the early 20th century, were prevalent. He states, “factory built homes... can cost buyers up to two thirds less than building comparable sized single family homes” [06:08]. This cost-effectiveness, combined with the ability to produce homes quickly regardless of weather conditions, positions manufactured housing as a viable solution to the affordable housing crisis.

Current Market Dynamics and Obstacles
Despite these advantages, manufactured homes account for only about 9% of annual new home starts [06:55]. Farrell attributes this to several factors:

• Opposition from Traditional Builders: Resistance from established housing sectors hinders the adoption of manufactured homes.
• Negative Perceptions: Concerns about the quality and longevity of manufactured homes persist.
• Regulatory Hurdles: Zoning and land use regulations often exclude manufactured homes from single-family neighborhoods.
• Financing Difficulties: Access to mortgage financing is limited, forcing buyers to rely on higher-interest personal property loans, which erodes the cost benefits.

Farrell adds, “Manufactured homes hold the potential to satisfy the desire among lower income households to become owners” [07:41], suggesting that overcoming these obstacles could significantly impact housing affordability and ownership rates.

Potential for Resurgence
Given the current shortage of affordable housing, there is a growing recognition of the role manufactured homes can play. Farrell notes, “Nothing like the 1950, 1970 experience” in terms of renewed interest, indicating that while past attempts have faced challenges, the present economic climate may foster a more favorable environment for manufactured housing solutions.

OpenDoor’s Stock Volatility

Towards the end of the episode, Brancaccio touches upon the volatile performance of OpenDoor, an online house buying and selling platform. He remarks, “After a boom during the pandemic, its stock languished for years. But crowd buzz online pushed the stock up 43% on Monday, down 10% yesterday. And I see it's down another 19% today so far” [08:04]. This rapid fluctuation is likened to a "meme stock craze, version 3.0," underscoring the unpredictable nature of stock performance influenced by social media trends.

---

Conclusion

The episode provides a comprehensive overview of two critical areas: the leadership challenges within Tesla under Elon Musk’s diverse engagements, and the potential of manufactured housing to address affordable housing shortages. Through expert insights and real-time market analysis, Marketplace Morning Report equips listeners with a nuanced understanding of these pressing economic and business issues.

---

Note: All timestamps correspond to the original podcast transcript provided.

Transcript

[Marketplace Host]

This Marketplace podcast is supported by Dell. Introducing the new Dell AI PC. Powered by Intel Core Ultra processor. It helps do your busy work for you so you can fast forward through editing images, designing presentations, generating code, debugging code, summarizing meeting notes, finding files, managing your schedule, responding to long emails, leaving all the time in the world for the things you actually want to do. Get a new Dell AI PC starting at $699.99 at Dell.com AI PC how those ahead, Stay ahead.

[Wix Advertiser]

Running a business can be exhausting. Building your website shouldn't be. With wix, you can express your ideas, give direction, then leave the heavy lifting to AI. From site creation to branded content and images. Have fun with the details, customize what you want the way you want and manage your whole business from a centralized dashboard with expert AI tools. Build, scale and enjoy the incredible results. You can do it all yourself. On Wicks.

[David Brancaccio]

Can someone get Elon Musk's attention? I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. Late today we'll get sales, profits, losses and hints of the road ahead from Tesla. Its Stock is down 17% this year for a company where the boss tries to wear about a dozen hats all at the same time. Eric Gordon is a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. Morning, Eric.

[Eric Gordon]

Morning. Hello, David.

[David Brancaccio]

Let's talk about Tesla. Publicly held company, meaning it trades on the public stock market. It is run by a guy with a lot of interests. Some will say distractions. Eric, help us with the list. There's Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and erstwhile government cost cutter.

[Eric Gordon]

There's what he also runs x. He runs SpaceX, the rocket company. And then there's his latest love. His latest fling is with his AI company. He's got a lot of balls to.

[David Brancaccio]

Juggle, including he's thinking about forming his own political party. Tesla shareholders have an interest in Musk. How should I say this buckling down. I mean, many of us sign employment contracts that say that our company is supposed to be the key focus of our work day. That would be of concern to the board. At Tesla.

[Eric Gordon]

It was such a big concern that they put together this legendary pay package. Could have been worth 56 billion. It's with a B dollars to get Musk focused on Tesla, the board said, well, he's worth it because we need to get him focused on Tesla. And if he does, he can produce more than that value.

[David Brancaccio]

So that is the open ended question. I mean, and Tesla has this board of directors. You've looked at the group. Can they, in practice, if they wished, lay down the line on the mindshare that Tesla gets from Elon Musk?

[Eric Gordon]

They can and they should. And then they'll probably be fired by Musk because he controls the votes. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't do what they should do, and it hasn't quite worked out for them.

[David Brancaccio]

Among the challenges that don't get talked about that much, that perhaps Elon Musk would want to focus on more is Tesla earns a lot of money from its competitors paying it to help the competitors offset their own lack of clean air achievements. Competitors could buy credits, but that incentive has gone away in this tax and spending plan just put into law.

[Eric Gordon]

And that will have a big impact. In fact, Tesla might not have turned a profit in the first quarter of this year without those credits. Tesla's in two businesses. It sells cars. Sale of cars is going down. It sells tax credits. Those are going away. The company needs a little attention.

[David Brancaccio]

Eric Gordon is a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. Thank you very much.

[Eric Gordon]

My pleasure, David.

[Wix Advertiser]

Running a business is hard work. Building your website shouldn't be. With wix, you can express your ideas, give direction, then leave the heavy lifting to AI. From site creation to branded content and images. Have fun with the details, customize what you want the way you want, and manage your whole business from a centralized dashboard with expert AI tools. Build, scale and enjoy the incredible results. You can do it all yourself on wix.

[David Brancaccio]

If you need a car, you don't hire a team to find the parts piecemeal to assemble it in your driveway from blueprints. Right, but that is how we tend to build houses. But what is the role of manufactured housing in this? From prefab houses or mobile homes? This is getting more attention from researchers at a time housing is so expensive. Marketplace's senior economics contributor Chris Farrell joins us now. Hello, Chris.

[Chris Farrell]

Good morning, David.

[David Brancaccio]

I remember there's a history of you being able to order a prefab house from Sears. The Sears catalog from 1908 for a bunch of decades. Concept's been around. I guess it's still here.

[Chris Farrell]

Yes, it is. And what I learned during my research, David, is that factory built homes, they help meet the demand for homes. After the Second World War. By the early 1970s, mobile homes accounted for one third of single family homes produced nationwide. And these figures come from studying by three Federal Reserve economists. And you'd like the title, mass production of houses in factories. The first and only experiment was a tremendous success. And I Looked at this other study and it found in the latter part of the 1990s, remember that housing boom that went on during that period of time? Well, more than a quarter of all lower income home buyers purchased manufactured homes.

[David Brancaccio]

All right, folks in California who lost homes in the Palisades and Eaton wildfires want to know. People who've lost homes in tornadoes, other disasters want to know the answer. Three word question, are these cheaper?

[Chris Farrell]

Yes, they are cheaper manufactured homes cost buyers up to two thirds less than building comparable sized single family homes with your traditional methods. And this comes from Harvard University's Joint center for Housing Studies. So factory built homes, they can also be produced quickly, all kinds of weather conditions. That said, and of course, this will matter a lot for people in Southern California, manufacturing housing is most competitive in areas where land prices are low. So in many parts of the country, factory built homes look like an attractive option for increasing the supply of affordable housing and turning home ownership into a realistic option for more renters. Yet manufactured homes, they only make up some 9% of annual new home starts.

[David Brancaccio]

This was all the rage in, say, the early 1970s. If it's such a good idea, what happened to this trend?

[Chris Farrell]

Opposition from traditional builders, negative perceptions about the quality of manufactured homes. Zoning, land use regulations excluded manufactured homes from single family neighborhoods. Mortgage financing is difficult to get while relying on higher interest rate personal property loans. That, David, just swamps the cost advantage of manufactured housing and elite neglect played a role. A study published several years ago, a group of scholars, they learned that planners and housing researchers ignored the industry for decades.

[David Brancaccio]

Any sign at a time when affordable housing is so hard to find, that this perception of prefab might be changing?

[Chris Farrell]

You know, nothing like the 1950, 1970 experience. But the recognition, it's broadly stirring that in an economy that's hobbled by a severe lack of affordable housing, manufactured homes hold the potential to satisfy the desire among lower income households to become owners.

[David Brancaccio]

Marketplace's senior economics contributor, Chris Farrell, thank you.

[Chris Farrell]

Thanks a lot.

[David Brancaccio]

And there's a company that buys and sells houses online called Open Door. After a boom during the pandemic, its stock languished for years. But crowd buzz online pushed the stock up 43% on Monday, down 10% yesterday. And I see it's down another 19% today so far. Meme stock craze, version 3.0. I guess it's Marketplace Morning Report from APM, American Public Media.

[Marketplace Host]

Summer's here and it's time for your kids to have fun in the sun. But it's also a great time to nurture growing minds. Million Bazillion a podcast from Marketplace teaches your kids about something that impacts all of us money. From a fun explainer on tariffs, yes, it's possible to why some athletes make so much money. Million Bazillion tackles big questions with easy to understand answers. Listen A Million Bazillion all summer long. Available wherever you get your podcasts.