https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/tesla-i ... cture.html

It will be interesting to follow this. I think their biggest mistake has been trying to build the cars themselves. They have the best technology and would be a great and profitable company if they just licensed out their tech to companies that actually know how to mass produce cars at a profit. (Ford, GM, Toyota, etc.)

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

Ogie is going to pretend he knows how auto manufacturing works now.

I can't stand Musk. Every time there is bad news regarding Tesla's profitability (or lack thereof) he comes out with a diversionary news story about SpaceX, or Hyperloop, or electric semi-trucks, or flame throwers. I'll bet they NEVER sell a single Model 3 at $35k.

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Hard to believe someone wouldn't pick up the pieces and do it right.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Tesla is the Carson Fulmer of car companies.

If Tesla goes south I see Musk making John DeLorean look small time. Musk will become a cocaine importer and not just middle man.

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I don't know how it works, but I do know how to read financial disclosures, and they aren't pretty for Tesla.

It appears Elon Musk doesn't know how auto manufacturing works either

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

Tesla has real value with the tech they've created. The company very well could survive and even thrive if they just continued to develop and sell tech to those who know how to properly utilize it.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

Hell of a cult of personality when it comes to that company and Musk.

you aren't losing if you're dating Grimes

Someone dig up Preston Tucker.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Musk needs to expand Tesla's domain to encompass an entire "Tesla" lifestyle, with a monthly subscription fee on top of the sale price of the car. Offer members preferred/"free" charging via a deal with 3rd party charging provider and whatever other elements of owning a car with a driveable range south of 200 miles might entail. Tesla owners have demonstrated a willingness to overpay in exchange for virtue/brand/perceived superiority signaling.

I am a bit surprised he hasn't sliced up a falcon rocket and sold them it to the public for a 100 bucks a chunk. Seems like there would be a market for scrap that has been to outer space.

They are pretty cars. Wish I had they money or they sold a less expensive version.

He's buried under Ford City.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Tesla would like you to know he's doing just fine, thank you.

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Just chillin' like Garret Quillin.

Just because someone comes after and does this car better doesn’t mean Musk wasn’t great.

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Elections have consequences.

Musk certainly will be viewed as an important visionary and much more important than marketing expert Steve Jobs but I wish he'd be more practical if his goal is truly to advance the world and make big money at the same time.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Elon Musk has certainly brought forward technology that can change the world. He just isn't going to be the guy who gets that technology to the consumer.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

what tech? Their biggest achievement is the charging controller for their batteries. having thousands of individual hard cells is not a new idea, it was just always deemed too complicated. tesla proved it wasnt.

other than that, they dont do anything special... theyre just busting their ass, which is noble, but its hard to make money that way. also, their biggest problem with the model 3 is trying to do too much at once. elon admitted this. the car was supposed to be auto drive, ride sharing taxi. and, the factory its built in was supposed to be nearly FULLY automated. they now admit theres bottlenecks that havent been solved and its causing the profit loss. Elon didnt listen to his former GM executives. people were telling him why companies like toyota and hyundai still used humans for certain processes and he didn't want to hear that. now its biting him in the ass.

that said, tesla has too much street cred at this point to just belly up. i think they may have to raise the price of the model 3, but otherwise i don't see them folding anytime soon.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

I’m curious how many reservation holders are willing to pay $50K+ on the Model 3 vs the $35K that lured half a million people to put down a deposit. We know there are production bottlenecks, but I wonder if they are also running out of people ordering loaded models, especially now that there are viable competitors in that space. I imagine they don’t want to sell at $35K as they would likely lose money on each one.

Once they announce they won’t be selling at $35K, and the tax credits end (soon), it will be a bloodbath.

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I don't have a great read on Tesla. Musk is clearly a visionary, but he needed to hire better operations folks and come up with a less capital intensive way to get his cars to market. There are people that I respect that absolutely swear that Tesla will be the greatest car company ever. And then there are others who bemoan the push toward electric vehicles and the Silicon Valley move into car manufacturing.

Below is a CNBC video link to Ron Baron, who is a vaunted long term investor. Some of this picks over the years are beyond fantastic. He is a believer, and this is not some sell side analyst. His company own about 1% of shares outstanding.

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/14/tesla-is-running-at-light-speed-billionaire-ron-baron-says.html?play=1

I have read through the financial statements. The company is sucking up capital, and the accounting is very odd because some sales have buy back guarantees. There is also a huge commitment to Solar Energy Systems.

They are just taking on too much with R&D in various businesses and trying to build everything themselves. That is hugely capital intensive. I have never owned nor will I ever purchase shares in Tesla.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Not sure how anybody could attempt an argument afainst electric cars. The company will be fine, the only reason there are electric cars in production is because Musk gave away his technology for free to his competition.

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The argument is that the cost of batteries is still too high, and the country does not yet have the recharging infrastructure. So companies like Ford are devoting huge sums of money to electric car development, and it is an uncertain bet if consumers will want them in mass. Ford just said it will stop making passenger cars, so that is the trade-off. Cap Ex is limited, so companies have to pick a lane on where to spend dollars.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

You can see this reticence in other companies that are important. BMW makes a high end I8 at $140k and people will eat it up. But it still is a plug in hybrid not a full electric.

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Elections have consequences.

Maybe to MANY it seem obvious that electric vehicles will dominate the future. But in that field, nothing is certain. There was a time where LNG was being pushed, diesels, and biofuels. One never knows when consumer preferences, regulations, or technological leaps will change the entire market. It makes sense to go down the electric path, but it's not the green revolution people claim. Those cars still need to be charged, and most of that power is coming from traditional power plants.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

We can't push out phone batteries that last more than 6 hours How is the industry going to produce car batteries, reliable, in mass?

Exactly. That is where the criticism is coming from. Folks don't believe the technology will viable and widely accepted in the upcoming decade.

I am not weighing in on which way folks should go. I am simply making the counter case to the electric car mania that some believe in.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

There are many problems that you guys started to mention. Another data point for the future though is where are the design/engineering people going? A relative of mine is in automotive engineering. He was working in transmissions. That seems to be going away and he is moving into motors more now.

Electric cars do not need transmissions.

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Elections have consequences.

I would buy an electric car. Who the hell needs to go more than 200 miles in one day?

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest