Michael Bay -- I Cracked Under Techie Pressure When CES Teleprompter Failed

"Transformers" director Michael Bay says his epic meltdown in Vegas yesterday might not make him popular with technology nerds ... but also says it hasn't exactly hurt him with the ladies.

Bay was on "TMZ Live" explaining why he freaked out and walked off stage during a big presentation at the CES convention.

It's not like he's never been on stage ... he says he's been front and center hundreds of times, but explains why this one was different.