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Tesla Roadster

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Re: Tesla Roadster

#151

Post by pfranz »

urda wrote: post #143

Tesla can barely ship the Model 3, and now they're adding yet another consumer vehicle to the lineup? Tesla's vision is completely scattered. I have little faith in them at this time since they can't deliver the "economy" Model 3, but now suddenly have the bandwidth to develop, engineer, ship, and maintain yet another car? Tesla, ship the Model 3 at scale and then we'll talk.

Maybe he's just repeating the same Roadster business model? Small quantity (can hand-assemble if necessary), high margin, prestige product to help keep money coming in for the rest of the business.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#152

Post by jhanschoo »

ambulancechaser wrote: post #41
baron816 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would have to guess that they didn't decide to make a Roadster in the last month or two.

I think that that is the person's point. This is several years of development which amounts to wasted resources in light of the manufacturing setbacks of their truly disruptive product.

These seem like orthogonal competencies though. Technologies to sell at volume don't match technologies for small-scale design and engineering.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#153

Post by an_account »

wintermute2001 wrote: post #125

Am I the only one who's worried that Tesla is really starting to bite off more than they can chew? Right now their finances are a mess, they are publicly struggling to produce their most important car ever, their CEO is spending time figuring out how to dig holes underneath LA...and now they're announcing a semi truck and a roaster in the same day? Don't get me wrong, Teslas are incredible cars. But this seems like a…

That’s exactly why they need this. They are running out of money. $250k reservations provide cash now and the promise of a semi might convince more investors to invest.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#154

Post by urda »

jsolson wrote: post #150
urda wrote: post #143

Tesla can barely ship the Model 3, and now they're adding yet another consumer vehicle to the lineup? Tesla's vision is completely scattered. I have little faith in them at this time since they can't deliver the "economy" Model 3, but now suddenly have the bandwidth to develop, engineer, ship, and maintain yet another car? Tesla, ship the Model 3 at scale and then we'll talk.

That was my initial reaction, but it leads to a question: do you stop doing R&D (and shed talent as a result) because production in another part of the company is blocked by some (hopefully transient) supply chain issue?

Preface: I don't have any stake in Tesla's success or products.

If I was a consumer sitting on a Model 3 reservation I would be pissed that they are taking yet more money for yet another car they can't seem to ship at scale.

This makes Tesla look like they care little, because after all they already have your Model 3 money.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#155

Post by telltruth »

staunch wrote: post #73

Apple needs to buy Tesla and run it better than Elon Musk can right now. He's overloaded himself with responsibilities. Apple could do a lot of good by applying their skills to such an important problem. And Tesla's have been called "laptops on wheels" which has some truth it. They have the money, people, and management skill to do it well. Tesla has the industry lead that Apple needs to get in the race. First thing…

Yeah, and the first thing Jonny Ivy would do is make car more thinner and beautiful while completely screwing up battery life and usability. No thanks. If it was in my hand I will take iPhone out of Apple (or wherever Ivy is employed) and give to Musk instead.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#156

Post by rich-w-big-ego »

urda wrote: post #143

Tesla can barely ship the Model 3, and now they're adding yet another consumer vehicle to the lineup? Tesla's vision is completely scattered. I have little faith in them at this time since they can't deliver the "economy" Model 3, but now suddenly have the bandwidth to develop, engineer, ship, and maintain yet another car? Tesla, ship the Model 3 at scale and then we'll talk.

Let's talk companies.

For the uninformed, a part of building a successful vertically integrated battery, car, and truck company that spans the globe that also uses a brand new powertrain and form factor for their products is getting lots of investment so that you can fund your long-term technology play. To get a lot of investment, you have to sustain the public's interest in your product. If you're in the limelight, you are going to get investment. so why not use your new powertrain and form factor in new products that build upon previous products, thus advancing your technology and locking in future investment thanks to the hype?

Do this for a decade and wow, you actually have a clear path to taking over the world's energy and transportation markets thanks to your incredible technological advantage.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#157

Post by urda »

pfranz wrote: post #151
urda wrote: post #143

Tesla can barely ship the Model 3, and now they're adding yet another consumer vehicle to the lineup? Tesla's vision is completely scattered. I have little faith in them at this time since they can't deliver the "economy" Model 3, but now suddenly have the bandwidth to develop, engineer, ship, and maintain yet another car? Tesla, ship the Model 3 at scale and then we'll talk.

Maybe he's just repeating the same Roadster business model? Small quantity (can hand-assemble if necessary), high margin, prestige product to help keep money coming in for the rest of the business.

Sure that worked well for Tesla early as they were growing, but this is a company that is already shipping three vehicles to the consumer space.

They shouldn't be trying to do "small quantity" work , and instead should be focused on going wide and getting those Model 3's out the door to the those that have already bought in to the Model 3.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#158

Post by sago »

gsnedders wrote: post #93
ardit33 wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. The Chiron matches it in speed, but not acceleration. 1.9s vs 2.4s to 60mph. Since the roadster has a 250+ mph figure, the tires are probably going to be one of the limiting factors. (same with the Chiron). " The Chiron can accelerate from 0–97 km/h (60 mph) in 2.4 seconds according to the manufacturer,[4] 0–200 km/h (120 mph) in 6.5 seconds and 0–300 km/h (190 mph) in 13.6 seconds. In a world-record-setting tes…

Chiron is traction limited for most of its run; I presume to beat the Chiron's time the Tesla Roadster has better tyres for initial grip.

> Chiron is traction limited for most of its run

This sounds very dubious, unless it has negative aerodynamic downforce. Even then, the times for each successive mph drop off too fast for it to be traction limited. Even F1 cars are not traction limited for more than a brief spell of straight-line acceleration. Aero drag dominates very quickly.

Cornering or braking, on the other hand...

Re: Tesla Roadster

#159

Post by modeless »

urda wrote: post #143

Tesla can barely ship the Model 3, and now they're adding yet another consumer vehicle to the lineup? Tesla's vision is completely scattered. I have little faith in them at this time since they can't deliver the "economy" Model 3, but now suddenly have the bandwidth to develop, engineer, ship, and maintain yet another car? Tesla, ship the Model 3 at scale and then we'll talk.

This car will bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in preorders immediately, and cost much less than that for them to produce when they get around to it over two years from now. That doesn't seem like a good idea to you? If Model 3 isn't in full production by 2020 then the company will no longer exist anyway.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#160

Post by dvddgld »

urda wrote: post #143

Tesla can barely ship the Model 3, and now they're adding yet another consumer vehicle to the lineup? Tesla's vision is completely scattered. I have little faith in them at this time since they can't deliver the "economy" Model 3, but now suddenly have the bandwidth to develop, engineer, ship, and maintain yet another car? Tesla, ship the Model 3 at scale and then we'll talk.

The economy version is the ultimate goal, along with industrial applications like the Semi. But high end cars make headlines, make people believe and make people excited about the future. That’s more important than you’d think in getting the economy version to be a reality.

Though I do understand the concerns about constant hype and not fully delivering on it, I think that’s infinitely better than the alternative where nothing happens at all.

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