今日导读
今年 5 月 2 日，特斯拉 CEO 马斯克 (Elon Musk) 召开业绩电话会议后，特斯拉的股价和债券价格大跌。在会议中，马斯克数度打断分析师关于产能和资金的提问，并多次称这些问题“无聊透顶”。就在马斯克打完这通电话后不久，特斯拉市值蒸发了 30 亿美元。最近，马斯克先生又在制造惊人消息了。这次他的“玩火”举动给特斯拉的股市造成了怎样的影响？此举背后的动机又是什么？我们来读今天的新闻。
带着问题听讲解
Q1: 为什么说“埃隆·马斯克在玩火”？
Q2: "buy out" 是什么意思？
Q3: 马斯克先生将公司私有化的道理是什么？
新闻正文
Elon Musk is playing a dangerous game
埃隆·马斯克在玩火
There is never a dull moment with the mercurial Mr Musk, but he excelled himself on Tuesday, stunning the markets by tweeting that he was considering taking the company private by buying publicly available shares for $420 each—a significant premium to the $340 they were trading at before he dropped his bombshell.
反复无常的马斯克先生每时每刻都给人“惊喜”，但周二他超水平发挥，让市场也大为震动：他在自己的官方推特上写道，自己正在考虑以每股 420 美元的价格对公司流通股进行回购，从而实现私有化——在扔下这颗重磅炸弹之前，每股市值是 340 美元，420 美元的价格是显著的溢价。
If it turns out his Twitter promise—that he has secured the tens of billions of dollars he would need to buy out public shareholders - is in any way shaky, then he could find himself accused of price manipulation. It’s a very serious charge, which can land you in jail.
如果事实证明他推特上的承诺——即他买断公众股东全部股份所需的数百亿美元资金已经落实——哪怕有一丁点不靠谱，他都可能发现自己会面临操纵股价的指控。这是非常严重的指控，甚至可能让你锒铛入狱。
There is no doubt there is some sense in taking the company private. Private companies are not subject to the same scrutiny from investors, who want to see very transparent earnings on a quarter-by-quarter basis - and if you don’t deliver it, your share price can be heavily punished.
毫无疑问，将公司私有化是有些道理的。私营公司是不受投资者严格审查的，而上市公司的“金主”希望看到非常透明的按季度计算的收益——如果你不予提供，股价可能受到严厉惩罚。
Also, Mr Musk did not enjoy having to answer the forensic questioning of Wall Street analysts who want minutiae on production, sales, timings, earnings et al. If he takes the company private, he won’t have to do this. If it turns out that he doesn’t have the financial firepower to deliver on his tweet, the regulators may think he’s more than a bonehead.
此外，马斯克先生不喜欢被迫回答华尔街分析师的公开问题，这些分析师想要获得公司生产、销售、时间规划、收益等方面的细节。 如果他将公司私有化，他就不必这样和盘托出。 如果事实证明他没有资金实力来履行推文的承诺，监管机构可能会觉得他比傻瓜更愚蠢。
————— 文章来源 / BBC新闻
重点词汇
mercurial/mɜːrˈkjʊriəl/
adj. 反复无常的；易变的
e.g.
a mercurial temperament
a mercurial mind/wit
excel/ɪkˈsel/
v. 优于；胜过
e.g.
Croatia excelled themselves this year to reach the finals.
stun/stʌn/
v. 使目瞪口呆；使大吃一惊
e.g.
News of the disaster stunned people throughout the world.
premium/ˈpriːmiəm/
n. 额外费用；溢价
bombshell/ˈbɑːmʃel/
n . 爆炸性事件；令人吃惊的事情
buy out
买下...的全部股份；赎买
shaky/ˈʃeɪki/
adj. 动摇的；不可靠的
land sb in sth
陷入困境
subject to
使服从；使遭受
e.g.
Price may be subject to alteration.
forensic/fəˈrenzɪk/
adj. 法庭的；公开辩论的
minutiae/mɪˈnuːʃiiː/
n. （复数）微小的细节；细枝末节；小事
et al/ˌet ˈæl/
abbr. 以及其他；等等
financial firepower
资金实力
bonehead /ˈboʊnhed/
n. 笨蛋；傻瓜
