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Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

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121–130 of 148 posts

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#121
post #106

The way I see it, logistics aside, Tesla has awesome cars that are loved by those that manage to get one delivered, customers are actually lining up to buy them to the extent of paying just to get in line for that years ahead of time, and they are pretty much guaranteed to sell anything they ship for the foreseeable future. Better still most of their would be competitors are either not shipping at all right now, year…

Its pretty clear Chevy, Niassan, Hyundai/Kia, and Toyota are already competitive in many regards. Jaguar, Audi, and BMW arent three years behind. Right now its about perceived luxary and marketing, and a bit of a software / business model lead. I dont think any of those companies would be three years behind if they actually tried to deliver a market leading luxury car, although some might need to acquihire some bette…

They are all behind Tesla in cost per kwh for batteries.

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#122
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would the blockchain offer that you can't do actually ? AFAIK, you can buy bonds, buy a Tesla reservation, and sell this reservation without the blockchain.

Maybe you're correct - it's closer to a valid use of the technology than most other uses though. Maybe the reason to use this technology would be to decrease transaction costs and to allow people who want it now to pay a premium for someone else's space. Didn't realise you could sell the reservation so probably you're right centralisation is probably always better than blockchain.

> it's closer to a valid use of the technology than most other uses though.

Why?

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#123

Someone tweeted this video[1] of the tent production line a over a week ago. It looks a lot less clean than the picture Elon tweeted thats in the article. I don't know if I would purchase a 35K+ car that was assembled outside in the open. Also it appears quite chaotic with chassis being transported around also in the open. [1] https://twitter.com/IspyTsla/status/1009134913881190400?s=19

Lockheed and Douglas used to build multi-million-dollar airliners outside in the California air.

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#124
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calling Tesla a paradigm shift is laughable. It's an electric car company and they put a fancy touch screen HUD in the dashboard. Revolutionary!

You underplaying the importance of Tesla is laughable. 5 years ago electric/autonomous cars-as-computers were not on the road map (or were an afterthought) for major OEM's, now you go to auto shows and every manufacturers is featuring an upcoming electric vehicle. It absolutely changed the industry.

Nissan, BMW and GM would like to have a word.

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#125
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would the blockchain offer that you can't do actually ? AFAIK, you can buy bonds, buy a Tesla reservation, and sell this reservation without the blockchain.

Maybe you're correct - it's closer to a valid use of the technology than most other uses though. Maybe the reason to use this technology would be to decrease transaction costs and to allow people who want it now to pay a premium for someone else's space. Didn't realise you could sell the reservation so probably you're right centralisation is probably always better than blockchain.

> decrease transaction costs

How so? If you a decentralised system like that, you need some sort of consensus mechanism, and that is costly, especially when using like PoW. All this would do is to replace robust established mechanisms with expensive and fragile technological overkill that offers no advantage for the user.

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#126

In the electric space it seems like it's going to be Tesla and GM for the foreseeable future. None of Tesla's other competitors are putting out anything remotely close to the Volt and Bolt.

What about Nissan? The Leaf seems to be doing well even though it gets ignored in these conversations.

The Leaf is for those that don't want to spend the extra money on a Bolt or Model 3, and don't need the extra range. The new model Leaf is a fine car, with a little extra range over the original, while being less expensive than its competition. We've got a first-generation Leaf, and have been completely satisfied with it as a commuter/second car. Personally, if we need more range than what we've got, then we really need some range, and even a Model 3 won't cut it. So for us it's fine.

That said, were it time to replace the Leaf, today I'd a Bolt (and I own shares of TSLA, no GM). Good enough range, and say what one will about GM quality, they can at least build a car without huge body panel gaps.

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#127

Someone tweeted this video[1] of the tent production line a over a week ago. It looks a lot less clean than the picture Elon tweeted thats in the article. I don't know if I would purchase a 35K+ car that was assembled outside in the open. Also it appears quite chaotic with chassis being transported around also in the open. [1] https://twitter.com/IspyTsla/status/1009134913881190400?s=19

Do we know if that 35k car will ever be available? how many of those deposit holders are there still holding out hope to one day buy that car? Tesla cars will no longer qualify for the $7500 tax refund soon so that might put off more of them, it will be down to 3750 I think. The danger to Tesla was from two fronts, running out of money before getting into positive cash flow or failing to execute long enough for other…

If Tesla has timed it right and I understand the rule correctly, they will have six months from Monday until the tax rebate is halved. Assuming they are able to increase the production pace further, this means that a good portion of the initial Model 3 reservation holders will get the full tax rebate.

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#128
post #99
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they’re cash flow negative and would eventually run out of runway without either a change in financials or raising a new round.

Someone else would certainly buy them. The brand is too good to let it vanish. So it's just a matter of price -- the more indebted is Tesla the more likely someone would buy it.

Tesla as a brand will certainly continue to exist.

Alas: that's not what is being discussed. If Tesla were to enter bankruptcy, then it legally is no longer necessary to uphold its end of any bonds, payments, or other such financial issues.

Tesla might go bankrupt in the next few years, if this Model 3 thing doesn't work out. At which point, it won't return any of the money from these reservations.

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#129
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calling Tesla a paradigm shift is laughable. It's an electric car company and they put a fancy touch screen HUD in the dashboard. Revolutionary!

You underplaying the importance of Tesla is laughable. 5 years ago electric/autonomous cars-as-computers were not on the road map (or were an afterthought) for major OEM's, now you go to auto shows and every manufacturers is featuring an upcoming electric vehicle. It absolutely changed the industry.

> 5 years ago electric/autonomous cars-as-computers were not on the road map (or were an afterthought) for major OEM's

Five years ago was 2013. The Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt were first released in 2010. Tesla Autopilot was announced in 2014 (four years ago!), which used technology by MobilEye, which was already supplying BMW, GM and Volvo with the same technology.

I don't know where this revisionist history comes from. Large automotive manufacturers did say that it would take time for the technology to mature, and it took roughly as long as what they said it would, around the same time Tesla launched theirs as well. If that's not a roadmap, I don't know what is.

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla lost ~$2B last year, owes ~$10B in debt, and owes >$400M in interest payments per year alone. Moody’s downgraded Tesla’s bond rating because Tesla will need to raise more money this year, at least $2B (which is an extremely conservative figure), to avoid Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Elon Musk also owes >$600M in personal debt that he financed using Tesla stock as collateral. This means that if Tesla stock dips below…

OK, all of this is true, and concerning to me, despite that I would never buy a Tesla (when there are perfectly good used Nissan Leafs out there!). This is part of the reason I never invest in individual stocks: I have no tolerance for the risk, and no confidence that I can interpret all these facts to come up with a coherent estimate of whether the price will go up or down. I guess my question right now is: if the s…

If perfectly good means ugly :). Not that non EVs are much better though.

Model 3 is honestly the best looking car I have ever seen.

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