Toronto, Ontario — This is your weekly economics update, as it pertains to collision repair. This week, we cover Elon Musk’s pending suit, plus APMA’s decision to open its first-ever office outside of Toronto in its 70+ year history.
Tumult at Tesla
Tesla shareholder Michael Perry has filed a lawsuit in Delaware, U.S., accusing Tesla CEO Elon Musk of insider trading.
The lawsuit cites a complaint that Musk sold more than US$7.5 billion worth of Tesla shares in late 2022, prior to the company’s potentially disappointing production and delivery quantities for Q4 2022.
The suit claims Musk discovered lower-than-expected numbers in mid-November 2022, and that the CEO sold his shares before the information went public.
When Q4 2022 results were announced in early Jan. 2023, the suit accuses that Musk sold shares to a profit US$3 billion. Stock prices for Tesla subsequently plummeted upon the announcement of Q4 results.
Perry’s suit accuses Musk of “exploiting his position at Tesla” and breaching his fiduciary duties to the company. The suit also accuses Musk of “exploiting his position at Tesla” and breaching his fiduciary duties to the company. It also alleges that Tesla’s directors breached their fiduciary duty by allowing Musk to sell the shares. The lawsuit requests the court to direct Musk to return the profits made from the trades.
As of Monday’s close, Tesla shares traded at US$176.29, down 29 percent from Jan. 1, 2024.
Suppliers in Southern Ontario
The Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA) has opened an office in Windsor, Ont., marking the organization’s first office outside of Toronto in more than 70 years.
Flavio Volpe, APMA president, said the move was “important because about a third of [APMA] members are in the Windsor area and in an incredible spectrum of members from tool-and-mold makers to advanced applied mobility technology.”
The organization has hired two “veteran industry experts” to staff the Windsor, Ont., office. Mike Bolton and Karen Speers have spent their careers in the Windsor supplier sector and have advised APMA operations for years, said the organization alongside the announcement.
Speers in particular touts a significant background in developing the workforce, in “recruiting, cultivating and training” automotive workforces.
The Windsor, Ont. APMA office will be located within the Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation at the University of Windsor.
