Page 8A
BUSINESS & TECH
East Oregonian
Saturday, August 18, 2018
As Musk admits to job stress, Tesla’s board may have to act
By TOM KRISHER
and STAN CHOE
AP Business Writers
Elon Musk’s erratic
behavior was front and cen-
ter again this week as the
CEO of Tesla conceded that
he’s overwhelmed by job
stress, pushing his electric
car company’s stock down
and bringing pressure on its
board to take action.
Musk’s revelation, in a
Thursday interview with
The New York Times, came
as government regulators
are reportedly investigating
whether his recent out-of-
the-blue tweet about taking
Tesla private violated dis-
closure requirements.
Now, experts say Tesla
has reached an intersection
where the board must decide
the direction of its leader-
ship. Among their sugges-
tions: Remove Musk as
CEO, permanently or via a
AP Photo/Jack Plunkett, File
In this March 9, 2013, file photo, Electric car maker Tes-
la’s CEO Elon Musk gives the opening keynote at the
SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas.
temporary leave of absence,
or appoint a No. 2 executive
who could act as a steadying
hand.
“It’s kind of bizarre,”
said Charles Elson, director
of the corporate governance
center at the University of
Delaware. “It’s a drama we
shouldn’t be watching.”
Tesla presents plenty of
challenges for the top exec-
utive: It routinely loses
money and is burning
through cash as it ramps up
development of its Model
3 sedan, a less-expensive
electric car it hopes appeals
Sales director for Backpage.com
pleads guilty to conspiracy
PHOENIX (AP) — The
sales and marketing director
of Backpage.com pleaded
guilty Friday to conspir-
ing to facilitate prostitution,
acknowledging that he par-
ticipated in a scheme to give
free ads to prostitutes in a
bid to draw them away from
competitors and win over
their future business.
Dan Hyer is the second
Backpage.com employee
to plead guilty in cases in
Arizona in which the site
has been accused of ignor-
ing warnings to stop run-
ning prostitution ads, some
of which involved children.
Authorities say the site has
brought in $500 million in
prostitution-related reve-
nue since its inception in
2004.
Some of the site’s opera-
tors also are accused of laun-
dering money earned from
ad sales after banks raised
concerns that they were
being used for illegal pur-
poses. In all, six others affil-
iated with Backpage.com,
including founders Michael
Lacey and Jim Larkin, still
face charges in the case.
Hyer, 49, faces a maxi-
mum fine of $250,000 and
up to five years in prison
for his conviction. As part
of the plea, prosecutors will
dismiss 50 charges of facil-
itating prostitution and 17
money laundering charges
against Hyer. It’s unclear
whether the plea deal calls
for Hyer to testify against
others in the case.
Hyer said about 10 or
11 years ago his company
would copy ads from the
adult section of Craigslist
and other sites, repost them
on Backpage.com and then
offer client a free ad, which
prosecutors say was offered
for a trial period. Hyer also
said the ads were some-
times illegal because they
contained links to another
site that lets customers post
reviews of their experiences
with prostitutes.
The object of the strategy
was to compete with Craig-
slist and increase Back-
page.com’s revenues, Hyer
said. An indictment filed in
the case alleged Backpage.
com used the strategy in
Nashville and other cities
and planned to expand such
efforts in Los Angeles and
New York.
Asked by U.S. District
Judge Steven Logan whether
he was agreeing to the plea
deal because he believed he
was guilty of the conspir-
acy charge, Hyer responded,
“Yes, your honor.” Moments
before pleading guilty, an
emotional Hyer lifted his
glasses to wipe his eyes with
a tissue.
Designed to prepare students in
grades 6-8 to be safe when they’re
home alone, watching younger
siblings, or babysitting.
to the mass market. A large
number of investors known
as short-sellers have bet
against the company.
Musk has added to those
pressures with lofty projec-
tions for profits and produc-
tion that Tesla often fails
live up to. Plus, the eccentric
billionaire is the head of at
least two other companies,
including the rocket com-
pany Space X.
Musk admitted to the
Times that the past year has
been the most “difficult and
painful” of his career. The
newspaper reported that
during an hour-long tele-
phone interview on Thurs-
day, an emotional Musk
acknowledged that he was
working up to 120 hours a
week and sometimes takes
Ambien to get to sleep.
Yet he said he has no
plans to give up his dual
role as Tesla’s chairman and
CEO.
“If you have anyone who
can do a better job, please let
me know. They can have the
job. Is there someone who
can do the job better? They
can have the reins right
now,” he told the paper.
Tesla’s board showed no
sign of taking action on Fri-
day. In a statement to The
Associated Press, directors
praised Musk’s leadership,
saying he had put hundreds
of thousands of popular cars
on the road, created tens of
thousands of jobs and cre-
ated significant returns for
shareholders. Musk was
not involved in crafting the
statement.
Shares of Tesla Inc. tum-
bled about 9 percent, clos-
ing Friday at $305.50, their
lowest level since Aug. 1.
For the week, the company
shares lost 14 percent, or
$8.5 billion in market value.
Recent developments put
board members in a diffi-
Arrest made in more than 100 synthetic pot overdoses
NEW HAVEN, Conn.
(AP) — A 53-year-old man
has been arrested in con-
nection with more than
100 synthetic-marijuana
overdoses, many of them
in the same New Haven
park, after authorities say
they caught him with 32
bags of the drug, police
said Friday.
Some of the victims
identified John Parker, of
New Haven, as one of the
people who was dealing K2
on the New Haven Green,
where most of the over-
doses occurred Wednesday
and Thursday, Police Chief
Anthony Campbell said.
No deaths were reported,
and officials said most peo-
ple recovered quickly.
No overdoses were
reported Friday.
Parker,
who
was
arrested Wednesday, was
charged with drug crimes
after being found in pos-
session of the K2 bags,
Campbell said. He was
also charged in connection
with drug sales in the city
earlier this year, the chief
said.
Campbell also said two
other people were arrested
— one by New Haven
police and one by federal
authorities — but investi-
gators were trying to deter-
mine whether they were
connected to the overdoses.
Authorities described
chaotic scenes at the park
near Yale University, with
people falling unconscious
at the same time. Oth-
ers became nauseated and
vomited, officials said.
Some people who over-
dosed returned to the green
and overdosed again, offi-
cials said.
MCKAY CREEK ESTATES
Are you
worried
about
falling?
Call (541) 704-7146 today
to schedule your
FREE FALL REDUCTION
EVALUATION.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
9:00 am - 3:30 pm
CHI St. Anthony Hospital Conference Rooms 1 & 2
2801 St. Anthony Way
Pendleton, Oregon 97801
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Class fee is $30. Lunch is provided.
Pre-registration is required by August 20, 2018. To register, call 541.278.2627
or email emilysmith@chiwest.com. Register early as classes fill quickly!
SAFETY
SKILLS
STEP INTO SAVINGS!
Take posession of your apartment by
August 31, 2018 and receive your
2nd and 4th month rent FREE.
McKay Creek Estates
1601 Southgate Pl. • Pendleton, OR 97801
www.PrestigeCare.com
Thank you to the following businesses for supporting
Newspapers in Education
Their generous support of the East Oregonian NIE
program helps provide copies of the newspaper
and unlimited access to EastOregonian.com and
the e-Edition to schools throughout Umatilla,
Morrow and Gilliam counties.
FIRST AID & RESCUE
SKILLS
Learning skills such as choking rescue and
CPR is often students’ favorite part of the
class. Students also learn a system to help
them assess and respond to injuries and
illnesses.
505 SW 16th St.
Pendleton, OR
541-612-8575
KirbyNagelhout.com
LIFE & BUSINESS
SKILLS
The ability to screen jobs, discuss fees, and
greet employers will set students up for
success now and in the future. Students
practice these skills through various role
plays.
Parker was detained
on $225,000 bail. A pub-
lic defender said there was
no proof linking any drugs
Parker may have had to the
overdoses.
The arrests do not mean
all the bad K2 has been
located, Campbell said.
“We want people to be
warned that what they have
could be extremely danger-
ous and they should not use
it,” he said.
One of the other men
arrested, Felix Melendez,
37, was charged with drug
crimes during the investi-
gation, but Campbell said
it hadn’t been determined
whether he was connected
to the overdoses. He was
found in possession of K2
and received a two-year
probation sentence ear-
lier this year for selling the
same drug on the green.
If you knew that there are several simple steps you can take to reduce your
risk of falling, would you do it? You can make a difference. Stay independent
longer by fall proofing your home and by getting your glasses and feet checked. Most
importantly you can energize your body with exercise. By improving your strength,
flexibility and balance you can significantly reduce your risk of a potentially serious fall.
The Instructor-led class is filled with
fun games and role-playing exercises.
Students even get to use manikins
to practice rescue skills like choking
rescue and CPR!
Students learn how to prevent unsafe
situations and what to do when faced with
dangers such as power failures or weather
emergencies.
cult position because Musk,
who entered Tesla as a major
investor and built the com-
pany into a force that has
changed the perception of
electric cars, is the compa-
ny’s public identity.
But Erik Gordon, a Uni-
versity of Michigan busi-
ness and law professor,
said the board has a duty to
shareholders.
“If the board does not get
him out of this slot at a min-
imum on a leave of absence
basis, I think the board is
going to be seen by a lot of
people who love the com-
pany as being derelict in
their duties,” Gordon said
Friday.
The board has stood
behind Musk despite some
bizarre
behavior.
For
instance, in a recent tweet he
labeled a diver who aided in
the cave rescue of Thai soc-
cer players as a pedophile.
He later apologized.
CHILD CARE
SKILLS
Students learn tips to manage behavior
that will help them stay in control of
themselves and the children in their care.
Students also learn the ages and stages
of child development, as well as practice
diapering.
1415 Southgate
Pendleton, OR
541-276-0880 | RAClub.us
YOUR
BUSINESS HERE:
301 S. Main St., Pendleton, OR
541-278-6800 • OldWestFCU.org
Call Today & Donate!
800-522-0255
For more information on the NIE Program, visit EastOregonian.com/eo/nie.
To make a donation, call 800-522-0255.
CALL 541.278.2627
EMAIL emilysmith@chiwest.com