He's doing an AMA today on Reddit. Exclusively about SpaceX though.
Elon Musk's finances
41–50 of 91 posts
Re: Elon Musk's finances
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's made worse in short term this way, yes. But the car production happens and will happen anyway - Musk is only a small fraction of that now. Tesla is aiming to convince everyone to switch to eco-friendly cars, which means that besides adding its own production, it's basically trying to force everyone else's production to switch to making electric cars. So you can't look just at this year's increase in numbers of c…
Are there any credible sources that show Teslas as more environmentally friendly? Electric vehicles run on coal and natural gas to varyingly large extents.
Power plants are more efficient than a car's combustion engine, & power plants can change over time without changing the vehicle. Modular design ftw
Re: Elon Musk's finances
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Everyone talks about the wonders of capitalism and how risk is rewarded Yes, when that risk is spread across the system and the fundamentals are stable ventures. Point being when all you do is take large risks, that's a problem. (fwiw: long on tsla)
Musk is basically undertaking a moon shot: either a huge success or crash and burn. There's not much point keeping reserves.
>Musk is basically undertaking a moon shot
A mars shot if you will
Re: Elon Musk's finances
#44I have no problem whatsoever if Elon Musk destroys investor money to build new technological future. In fact, I fully encourage and support his endeavor as long as it's not my money. Here is epic piece from Warren Buffet from November 22, 1999. Just five months before internet bubble collapsed he explained why he didn't invest in internet technology when everyone said that he was being stupid old fool. http://archive…
A 2010 decision, for example, eBay Domestic Holdings Inc. v. Newmark, held that corporate directors are bound by "fiduciary duties and standards" which include "acting to promote the value of the corporation for the benefit of its stockholders." http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-cor... Under US law there would be a problem if he did that.
First of all, that's New Jersey law, and does not apply to everyone (though NJ is a favorite location for corporate HQs).
Secondly, that case only went as far as it did because Craig Newmark was very open to say "we believe this is good for society and we're willing and expecting to loose money on it"
Under normal circumstances, CXOs have wide discretion in interpreting what is beneficial for their companies. Case in point: contributions to political campaigns, contributions to non-profits, investment in clean energy or lead-free production etc.
The assumption is usually that shareholders are in a better position to judge such actions so the courts defer to their votes.
Re: Elon Musk's finances
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
A 2010 decision, for example, eBay Domestic Holdings Inc. v. Newmark, held that corporate directors are bound by "fiduciary duties and standards" which include "acting to promote the value of the corporation for the benefit of its stockholders." http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-cor... Under US law there would be a problem if he did that.
If a CEO genuinely believed climate change was an existential threat wouldnt actions to mitigate it be acting in the interest of the shareholders even if the company loses money?
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Re: Elon Musk's finances
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are there any credible sources that show Teslas as more environmentally friendly? Electric vehicles run on coal and natural gas to varyingly large extents.
They also run on nuclear power and wind power and solar power - it all depends on what a local power grid uses. But regardless, burning fuel at a power plant is much more efficient than doing it in an ICE, so even if Teslas were powered by gasoline, as long as it's burned at the central plant, it's more energy-efficient and better for the environment.
Uh? Straight fuel -> mechanical energy conversion is less efficient than a series of fuel -> heat -> mechanical energy -> electrical energy -> transportation -> storage -> mechanical energy conversions?
Re: Elon Musk's finances
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
They also run on nuclear power and wind power and solar power - it all depends on what a local power grid uses. But regardless, burning fuel at a power plant is much more efficient than doing it in an ICE, so even if Teslas were powered by gasoline, as long as it's burned at the central plant, it's more energy-efficient and better for the environment.
Uh? Straight fuel -> mechanical energy conversion is less efficient than a series of fuel -> heat -> mechanical energy -> electrical energy -> transportation -> storage -> mechanical energy conversions?
Yes, because ICEs are very inefficient compared to both electric motors and powerplant turbines. In the latter case, scale buys efficiency.
And that's all before you factor in the transport costs of car fuel - gotta burn the fuel to move fuel to top up the gas stations, after all.
Re: Elon Musk's finances
#48I have no problem whatsoever if Elon Musk destroys investor money to build new technological future. In fact, I fully encourage and support his endeavor as long as it's not my money. Here is epic piece from Warren Buffet from November 22, 1999. Just five months before internet bubble collapsed he explained why he didn't invest in internet technology when everyone said that he was being stupid old fool. http://archive…
well he's received multiple gov bailouts so if you're living in the USA he IS doing it with your money. Might not be so excited now lol.
Re: Elon Musk's finances
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's made worse in short term this way, yes. But the car production happens and will happen anyway - Musk is only a small fraction of that now. Tesla is aiming to convince everyone to switch to eco-friendly cars, which means that besides adding its own production, it's basically trying to force everyone else's production to switch to making electric cars. So you can't look just at this year's increase in numbers of c…
Are there any credible sources that show Teslas as more environmentally friendly? Electric vehicles run on coal and natural gas to varyingly large extents.
And the gigafactory will be net zero or net negative due to renewables. Much of the environmental badness is due to manufacturing. That will be close to nil in comparison to a traditional factory for the Tesla vehicles.
Re: Elon Musk's finances
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Most of the environmental impact of a car is in its manufacturing, so global warming is made worse by Tesla selling more cars instead of people buying older ones.
This not true, but also you have to look at the huge solar panel on top of the Tesla Gigafactory that decreases the footprint even more. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-carbon-foot-print-of-manuf... Also I'm biased because I'm suffering from COPD because of the car emissions, so actually I take health impact into account more than most people.
The Gigafactory makes batteries, not cars. Having toured Teslas factory in Fremont, it sure looked pretty carbon intensive to me. I'm thinking of the house-sized aluminum press, hundreds of giant robotic arms, etc.