Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here. Continue Reading Below Elon Musk summed up his feeling about the government-mandated U.S. coronavirus closings and restrictions every American is dealing with as "fascist" during a cuss-filled rant on the company's earnings call Wednesday evening. "Forcibly imprisoning people in their homes is against all their constitutional right," Musk lamented. "People should be outraged." “Forcibly imprisoning people in their homes is against all their constitutional right…People should be outraged.” An order in the six-county San Francisco Bay Area forced Tesla to close that plant starting March 23 to help prevent the virus's spread, and it was extended until the end of May. ELON MUSK BACKS CORONAVIRUS REOPENING, TAKES HEAT FROM REP. OMAR Musk was fired up earlier in the day, tweeting 'FREE AMERICA NOW'… That prompted Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn to fire off her own rebuttal bashing the billionaire. "Billionaires want to continue profiting off your labor even if it means risking millions of lives," Omar wrote. "They call this 'freedom.'" Musk sounded off even though Tesla managed to produce its third straight quarterly profit, navigating the negative impact the coronavirus closings are having on other industries. TESLA'S SURPRISE PROFIT GIVES STOCK MORE TO ROOM TO RUN Still, profits on an adjusted basis came in at $1.24 per share, beating Wall Street's expectations for a loss. Revenue was $5.9 billion, in line with estimates. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS "Although impacted by inefficiencies related to the temporary suspension of production and deliveries in many locations, our gross margin remained strong," the company stated. "At Gigifactory Shanghai, further volume growth resulted in a material improvement in margins of locally made Model 3 vehicles. In addition, Model Y contributed profits, which is the first time in our history that a new product has been profitable in the first quarter." CITADEL'S KEN GRIFFIN REPORTS TESLA STAKE Shares rocketed higher in the extended session Wednesday rising over 9 percent, pushing the company's market cap closer to $100 billion and setting Musk up for a big payday. TESLA'S ELON MUSK SET TO BECOME A BIGGER CASH COW If and when that figure nabs $100 billion, Musk has an option to buy 1.69 million shares of Tesla stock for $350.02 per share. But for the options to vest, the market capitalization has to average above $100 billion for the next six months, and it has to be above $100 billion for the next 30 business days, according to the compensation packages contained in company filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk does not take a salary, instead favoring the incentive package. His net worth per Forbes is valued at over $40 billion. GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE The Associated Press and Michael Liedtke in Berkeley, California, contributed to this report. Source: Read Full Article
AP Photo/Jae C. HongTicker Security Last Change Change % TSLA TESLA INC. 800.51 +31.39 +4.08%