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Tesla raises $1.8B

reuters.com

141–150 of 207 posts

Re: Tesla raises $1.8B

#141

So much for their running out of money. Impressive that they can get it from the bond markets. Highlights maturity as a company.

More likely it suggests they would have trouble selling that many new shares. Even Musk has said their share price is higher than they deserve, so selling shares makes more economic sense.

But this amount will only cover their loses for a few months and they probably want to demonstrate their ability to make future profits before diluting their stock significantly. If they sell equity too quickly, it'll look like the stock is crashing and encourage even more selling.

This is how Solar City floundered at the end - under crushing debt from junk bonds.

Re: Tesla raises $1.8B

#142
post #14

"Tesla aims to boost production to 500,000 cars next year, about six times its 2016 output." What is the new goal to 2020? 2 years[0] ago they were expecting delivery 500,000 cars in 2020. If they will do that this year, maybe their new goal is to finally put a foot in the top 20 group of world manufacturers[1]? [0] http://www.businessinsider.com/everything-tesla-promises-to-... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List…

I wonder if they mean Tesla is going to actually produce a half million cars next year, or if they're going to ramp up production to a half million cars per year by the end of the year.

The latter.

Re: Tesla raises $1.8B

#143

Let's talk about Solar City. Their product is intended to be a solar roof, indistinguishable from a typical roof from street level. Costs look to be in the $50,000+ range. The marketing is that homeowners will not only drive electric vehicles, but go completely off grid by storing the energy collected into Tesla batteries. In order for this to make financial sense, there needs to be an ROI for the homeowner. So... ho…

> I am currently spending about $125/month on electricity. That's $1,500 per year.

That right there is not the market they're targeting. You'll also see very few solar panel pitches in Washington and Oregon, as the hydropower costs are so low, the solar system will take a while to recoup.

Think sunny but AC-dependent homes of Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Florida or Georgia. I live in Southern California and from our local NextDoor many residential electricity bills are running at $600-700 a month pre-solar. Granted, the houses are in 3,500 sq ft and above, but frequent A/C needs combined with SC Edison's high rates are driving many to rooftop solar and powerpacks.

Throw in an electric vehicle or two that you prefer to recharge at home on a nightly basis and those kWh add up.

Re: Tesla raises $1.8B

#144

Maybe they can use it to pay their workers fair wages [0] or to improve work conditions to be not twice as bad as in the rest of the industry [1] [0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2017/02/09/unionizi... [1] https://amp.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/24/tesla-fac...

The workers agreed to work for what they are paid, voluntarily. How is it not fair exactly?

If some other company is willing to pay them more, they can go there.

Re: Tesla raises $1.8B

#145

A little imprecision in the article: "The company, founded by Musk in 2003" is untrue. Musk joined the company after it was funded.

https://www.cnet.com/news/tesla-motors-founders-now-there-ar... '....a Tesla representative said that Eberhard and other principals in the dispute have come to an agreement. The company did not reveal any details of the resolution, except to say that there are now five, rather than two, agreed-upon "founders" of Tesla.'

Just because he pays them to say he is a founder doesn't make him one (in the technical sense of the word).

But also, it doesn't matter that much, few would disagree that JB and Elon has done a tremendous amount for Tesla and that it wouldn't exist without them).

Re: Tesla raises $1.8B

#146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually the solar roofs are made to be about the same cost or cheaper than conventional rooftops WITHOUT factoring in the money saved from the electrcity. So anyone that needs a roof replacement (5 million households/yr is the market size iir) might as well get solar roofs. In that sense their ROI is immediate and they have nothing to lose. It only doesn't make sense financially if they weren't planning on roof repl…

My roof is slate and nearly 100 years old. It'll last another 100 with minor maintenance so removing it would be negative ROI because of increased maintenance costs vs what I have today. Still, I'll gladly swap the asphalt roof on my garage when the early adopters drive the price down enough... As an early adopter of everything from CDs to minidiscs I think I'm sitting this one out for a while longer. I don't need th…

Assuming your garage roof is flat, unfortunately it won't generate too much electricity. The panels need to be at right angles to the sun for some of the time (even better if they rotate), and except in some parts of the world near the equator the sun is never directly overhead.

Re: Tesla raises $1.8B

#147

Let's talk about Solar City. Their product is intended to be a solar roof, indistinguishable from a typical roof from street level. Costs look to be in the $50,000+ range. The marketing is that homeowners will not only drive electric vehicles, but go completely off grid by storing the energy collected into Tesla batteries. In order for this to make financial sense, there needs to be an ROI for the homeowner. So... ho…

The analysis I read had Tesla roof plus batteries closer to $60k for an average house plus batteries.

For payback, you could also subtract the cost of a standard roof assuming your not ripping the old off simply to get solar. That takes $10 to $20k off for many people. Plus traffic feeding depending where you live. So for a new build it would drop the payback time quite a bit.

Re: Tesla raises $1.8B

#148

Let's talk about Solar City. Their product is intended to be a solar roof, indistinguishable from a typical roof from street level. Costs look to be in the $50,000+ range. The marketing is that homeowners will not only drive electric vehicles, but go completely off grid by storing the energy collected into Tesla batteries. In order for this to make financial sense, there needs to be an ROI for the homeowner. So... ho…

The analysis I read had Tesla roof plus batteries closer to $60k for an average house plus batteries.

For payback, you could also subtract the cost of a standard roof assuming your not ripping the old off simply to get solar. That takes $10 to $20k off for many people. Plus traffic feeding depending where you live. So for a new build it would drop the payback time quite a bit.

Re: Tesla raises $1.8B

#149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What will the power generation capacity of that roof be after so much time? Don't solar panels wear out?

Realistically, Tesla's solar roofs will probably be usable for 30 years before needing to be replaced. https://solarpowerrocks.com/solar-basics/how-long-solar-pane... Obviously probably solar but it would last long enough to break even.

And, of course, you've got a free roof included with the purchase.

Re: Tesla raises $1.8B

#150
post #14

"Tesla aims to boost production to 500,000 cars next year, about six times its 2016 output." What is the new goal to 2020? 2 years[0] ago they were expecting delivery 500,000 cars in 2020. If they will do that this year, maybe their new goal is to finally put a foot in the top 20 group of world manufacturers[1]? [0] http://www.businessinsider.com/everything-tesla-promises-to-... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List…

I wonder if they mean Tesla is going to actually produce a half million cars next year, or if they're going to ramp up production to a half million cars per year by the end of the year.

certainly they're going to ramp up the hype 1.8B loan to produce how many cars? How much they make on each car sold? How much of it would ever go to paying their debt instead of being burned in place?
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