Jim Cramer To Elon Musk: Focus On Car-Making, Not TV

Jim Cramer has advice for Elon Musk: Spend more time focusing on running a business and less time hosting a TV comedy show.

What Happened: In an appearance Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” Cramer criticized the latest earnings report from Tesla Inc. TSLA, pointing out its absence of EBITDA and Musk’s projections that the Model Y will become the world’s biggest-selling vehicle by 2023.

“I expected more,” said Cramer, sourly. “This was not the quarter I expected, and it’s not the quarter I would go on ‘SNL’ after.”

Cramer also commented on what he perceives to be Musk’s level of self-confidence.

“He’s got a head as big as his car going on ‘Saturday Night Live,’” the CNBC host said. “I wish he would go back to where he was for a while, with his nose to the grindstone.”

See Also: Online Backlash Percolates Over Elon Musk's 'SNL' Hosting Gig

Why It Happened: Tesla reported first-quarter revenue Monday of $10.4 billion, a 74% year-over-year increase and earnings of 93 cents per share.

Yet Cramer is unimpressed and warned Musk not to take his automotive rivals at Ford Motor Company F and General Motors Corporation GM lightly.

“This was not the blowout quarter,” he said. “This was a very good quarter versus what others do. But do you see the amount of money at a GM or Ford? I know he laughs at those guys — I know that he thinks GM and Ford are dinosaurs, but dinosaurs can rule the Earth if they came back. I have to watch what Ford and GM are doing — I don’t think that they’re dead anymore.”

Cramer added that his comments were intended to be constructive criticism.

“I love Tesla,” he said. “I’m being critical because I expected them to make more money.”

(Photo by Timisu/Pixabay.)