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Tesla to raise $1B

ir.tesla.com

271–280 of 334 posts

Re: Tesla to raise $1B

#271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although I applaud your skepticism, I think it's misplaced. My first job out of University was working for Daimler-Benz when they owned Chrysler. I was a front line eng supervisor at the plant level focusing on In System Damage, Federal Torque and a host of other quality issues that were plaguing the company at the time. I dealt directly with it so I can tell you, Supply Chain is not that big a deal to fix. They will…

> Supply Chain is not that big a deal to fix This is kind of irrelevant, but somewhat amusing, so I figure I'll tell it. My neighbour (in the middle of nowhere in rural Japan) was some kind of automotive manufacturing expert before he retired. I don't even know his name (he tells me to call him "Tom"), but we go out drinking occasionally. He must have been a big wig because he spent a considerable amount of time in t…

> "We're out of fish", he said, motioning to the bar. :-)

I don't get it.

Re: Tesla to raise $1B

#272
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AP2 is truly dangerous. It's incomprehensible they would release something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ1XLqc5IUg I guess it's a good reality check for autonomous cars when you take away the LIDAR toys. One rather important point is that the car often doesn't realize it is screwing up, because quelle surprise, realizing you don't have a correctly detected lane can be just as difficult as detecting one…

I was under the impression that AP* was for keeping the car in a lane on the interstate. Is it suppose to be capable of navigating rural roads like the video shows?

The initial rollout of Autosteer for AP2 was apparently speed-limited to below 45mph: http://www.theverge.com/2017/1/21/14347698/tesla-autopilot-h... So this may well be the only place where it could be safely tested.

Re: Tesla to raise $1B

#273
post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Supply Chain is not that big a deal to fix This is kind of irrelevant, but somewhat amusing, so I figure I'll tell it. My neighbour (in the middle of nowhere in rural Japan) was some kind of automotive manufacturing expert before he retired. I don't even know his name (he tells me to call him "Tom"), but we go out drinking occasionally. He must have been a big wig because he spent a considerable amount of time in t…

> "We're out of fish", he said, motioning to the bar. :-) I don't get it.

I assume it means that the act of _sourcing_ something at the time it's needed is a much harder problem than it appears; simply because a source exists does not mean that it's the right source, or that it's even stocked.

Re: Tesla to raise $1B

#274
post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point at which Tesla will become not a pie-in-the-sky wet dream is when the price point matches a run-of-the-mill Honda. Right now, having a Tesla is like having a Maserati. I know zero people who have one, my wife (a structural integrationist) _works_ on people who have them, so I am like two social tiers away from thinking of affording one, which, for me, is like dreaming of that Kawasaki Ninja I had postered o…

It would probably be easier to have charging stations with people hot-swapping batteries, than charging station with extremely fast charge times. It would be a task that could be automated right out of the gate too.

"Give up your brand new $10k battery, for someone else's charged but worn old one".

Seems like an unwelcome offer.

Re: Tesla to raise $1B

#276

Uber as a ponzi scheme of ambition 1/ Basic premise was they keep highlighting their entry into larger and larger markets and so investors keep ponying up $ for the ambition. 2/ First, it was taxis 3/ Then, it was taxis + logistics 4/ Then taxis, logistics, vehicle ownership 5/ Then taxis, logistics, vehicle ownership, autonomous 6/ Then taxis, logistics, vehicle ownership, autonomous, trucking 7 / Then taxis, logist…

i think this is unfair. I am not a big fan of uber, but uber already provides value, has a solid service and penetrates international markest (not native, is this...right? sounds kinda wrong imho). Autonomous driving complements their original target (taxis) and makes it possible conquer new markets. I get what your idea is, but i think it's wrong because what they do makes sense and they are actually building (and delivering!) stuff.

They might gamble too high and loose big time, but i wouldn't call it a ponzi scheme.

Re: Tesla to raise $1B

#277
post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Supply Chain is not that big a deal to fix This is kind of irrelevant, but somewhat amusing, so I figure I'll tell it. My neighbour (in the middle of nowhere in rural Japan) was some kind of automotive manufacturing expert before he retired. I don't even know his name (he tells me to call him "Tom"), but we go out drinking occasionally. He must have been a big wig because he spent a considerable amount of time in t…

> "We're out of fish", he said, motioning to the bar. :-) I don't get it.

JIT

Re: Tesla to raise $1B

#278
post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there any Tesla vehicle that doesn't have a waiting list? I'm not disputing that some of the rules around auto sales are problematic, but it seems to me like the limiter on Tesla's ability to sell cars is its ability to produce them.

Hmm that is true. It's probably been said before, but the Model X definitely made things a lot more difficult to get to a rollout of the model 3. "I'm not sure anyone should have made this car," he said at a press conference just hours before the first Model Xs were delivered to VIP customers." ""We probably should have just [modified the Model S]," he added. "There are so many more features and difficult to build pa…

> "We probably should have just [modified the Model S]"

This is one thing I really don't get about Tesla. Why haven't they made an estate-ish version of the Model S? I'm thinking along the lines of the Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake:

http://images.car.bauercdn.com/upload/28771/images/1752x1168...

It's a very nice looking car, and adds that little bit of luggage practicality that the Model S is missing. The aerodynamics aren't much worse than the coupe, so range shouldn't suffer very much.

Re: Tesla to raise $1B

#280
post #183

Nothing wrong with Tesla raising money, after all they basically burn it to sustain the company.. The curios part is that it looks so few.. 1 B isn't a really much.

I agree with you they will have to raise more, model 3 unit economics will probably be horrible and they will need much more cash.
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