Tesla unveil Semi, new Roadster, & also teased a "pickup truck"

[Bewbies]

Originally Posted by GloucesterChief

I would like it if Musk would stop sucking at the government teat and see if his business would survive then.

When this is true of the entirety of corporate America we’ll be a lot better off. But don’t kid yourself thinking Tesla is the only car manufacturer with gov’t help.

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by GloucesterChief

I would like it if Musk would stop sucking at the government teat and see if his business would survive then.

What auto company doesn't get the same "subsidies" Tesla does? Of course you know they all get much, much more.

Losing subsidies will be the best thing to ever happen to Tesla. Other OEMs wind be able to compete.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Claysexual

Maybe Musk will one day wake up and begin manufacturing products that people want.

Tesla demand is NOT the issue. People clearly yearn for Teslas. Being able to produce them quickly is the issue. Tesla is one of the highest rated brands in the US and has superb brand loyalty. Combine that with innovative tech is no wonder they have such demand & strong support. The day they announced the semi many large companies jumped on the waiting list.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by BWillie

The day they announced the semi many large companies jumped on the waiting list.

Of course a lot of companies jumped on the waiting list. If you didn't sign up for one of the first 100 trucks, you will have to wait at least an extra year for delivery. Maybe two.

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by Claysexual

Maybe Musk will one day wake up and begin manufacturing products that people want.

Funny.

If your love of driving is about performance, it's electric all day.

If you're in it for noise, sorry. Eventually you'll learn to love the whirring of a powerful electric motor.

[vailpass]

Who knew Elon’s mom posted here?

[lewdog]

Start posting a consistent profit and then we’ll talk.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by lewdog

Start posting a consistent profit and then we’ll talk.

Remember when Amazon didnt make any money for years and everyone said they would fail? Now Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the world.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Remember when Amazon didnt make any money for years and everyone said they would fail? Now Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the world.

Yes, I remember when Amazon lost a little bit of money on each sale but made up for it with volume.

I also remember that for everyone Amazon there were hundreds of dot.com bubble companies that did in fact go bankrupt.

Facebook wasn't the only social media company. Google wasn't the only search engine. Apple wasn't the only company making music players.

Musk has done an amazing job with his space rocket company. For his car company he has created a prestigious brand and an impressive sport car.

It really remains to be seen whether he can mass produce a mid-price car in sufficient volume and reliability to make a go of it. His track record so far is very poor.

I'm curious also as to why he thought it was better to jump to a full sized electric Semi instead of doing a smaller delivery truck. Long distance trucking produces all sorts of headaches regarding range and re-charging. An urban delivery truck that spends a lot of time loading/unloading and stuck in slow moving traffic wouldn't need near the same range and always returns to the same location at night for charging.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Chief Pagan

It really remains to be seen whether he can mass produce a mid-price car in sufficient volume and reliability to make a go of it. His track record so far is very poor.

I'm curious what gives you this impression. Because they're short of his insane prediction of how long it would take to ramp up? If you pay attention to pretty much every business he's ever run, he sets insane deadlines, misses them, but still hits them in about half the time everyone else thought he'd be able to. That's basically what we're seeing here.

There hasn't been a successful car startup in the U.S. in the past 90 years. So what is his track record being measured against that has been so much more successful?

I'm curious also as to why he thought it was better to jump to a full sized electric Semi instead of doing a smaller delivery truck. Long distance trucking produces all sorts of headaches regarding range and re-charging. An urban delivery truck that spends a lot of time loading/unloading and stuck in slow moving traffic wouldn't need near the same range and always returns to the same location at night for charging.

Which would make a bigger impact on reducing fossil fuel consumption and emissions? There's your answer.

It's baffling to me that people haven't figured out yet that Elon's goal isn't to make money.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by DaFace

There hasn't been a successful car startup in the U.S. in the past 90 years. So what is his track record being measured against that has been so much more successful?

Starting a new car company is really, really hard. I hope Tesla succeeds but I think the odds are he isn't going to succeed as an independent company making mass produced cars.

It would be a personal defeat for Musk, but a tie-up with VW would make a lot of sense for the model 3. Tesla would get a deep pocket funder that has decades of know how about mass producing reliable cars. VW would get a fast track in its switch from diesel to electric.

[Chief Pagan]

I'm curious also as to why he thought it was better to jump to a full sized electric Semi instead of doing a smaller delivery truck. Long distance trucking produces all sorts of headaches regarding range and re-charging. An urban delivery truck that spends a lot of time loading/unloading and stuck in slow moving traffic wouldn't need near the same range and always returns to the same location at night for charging.

Originally Posted by DaFace

Which would make a bigger impact on reducing fossil fuel consumption and emissions? There's your answer.

It's baffling to me that people haven't figured out yet that Elon's goal isn't to make money.

Oh I totally believe that Elon's goal isn't to make money. But he is not going to have the bigger impact if he goes bankrupt.

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by Chief Pagan

Yes, I remember when Amazon lost a little bit of money on each sale but made up for it with volume.

I also remember that for everyone Amazon there were hundreds of dot.com bubble companies that did in fact go bankrupt.

Facebook wasn't the only social media company. Google wasn't the only search engine. Apple wasn't the only company making music players.

Musk has done an amazing job with his space rocket company. For his car company he has created a prestigious brand and an impressive sport car.

It really remains to be seen whether he can mass produce a mid-price car in sufficient volume and reliability to make a go of it. His track record so far is very poor.

I'm curious also as to why he thought it was better to jump to a full sized electric Semi instead of doing a smaller delivery truck. Long distance trucking produces all sorts of headaches regarding range and re-charging. An urban delivery truck that spends a lot of time loading/unloading and stuck in slow moving traffic wouldn't need near the same range and always returns to the same location at night for charging.

I guess I don't think it remains to be seen, and I don't understand how he has a poor track record.

Tesla has MUCH better profit margins than traditional OEMs, aim for 25% across the board as o pad to the 5% industry standard. And production/profitability seems to literally be only a matter of time. At least, I can't think of any real hurdles to this. Really the hardest part is growing and managing your supply chain in unison.

As far as track records, I mean, hasn't he accomplished all of his goals since 2012 up until this point? I bet you'd be hard pressed to find others who have done so well.

As for going big rig first, it's all about destroying conventional solutions to destroy conventional wisdom.

If he came out with a competitor for the F150, there'd be all of this false narrative about an electric truck not getting the job done. They'd likely struggle to gain market share in multiple markets for years due to nothing more than ignorance and bias. If he destroys semis with an electric option, the news will get out, and those people spending ridiculous amounts on trucks will be forced to take notice immediately.

It's the "beat up the biggest guy in the prison yard" strategy coupled with what DaFace said.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by aturnis

I guess I don't think it remains to be seen, and I don't understand how he has a poor track record.

Tesla has MUCH better profit margins than traditional OEMs, aim for 25% across the board as o pad to the 5% industry standard. And production/profitability seems to literally be only a matter of time. At least, I can't think of any real hurdles to this. Really the hardest part is growing and managing your supply chain in unison.

As far as track records, I mean, hasn't he accomplished all of his goals since 2012 up until this point? I bet you'd be hard pressed to find others who have done so well.

$80,000+ sports cars have huge markups and relatively small production runs. Because of the high mark ups, you can have multiple recalls and still make a profit. Anyone who can afford to buy a $80,000+ car, can afford to be without it for a week while it is recalled. They already own a separate vehicle or have alternatives that aren't going to put them out.

That just isn't true of the mass produced middling priced cars. The margins are thinner. Recalls can eat up the thinner profit margin and drivers are going to be more upset about the recalls.

His track record is fine if he sticks to high markup roadsters. His track is very poor if he wants to compete with Toyota.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by lewdog

Start posting a consistent profit and then we’ll talk.

History suggests that that'll probably happen by Q4 this year, but we'll see.