Tesla Posts Big Quarterly Loss as Its Electric-Car Sales Lag • Hacker News Board

Re: Tesla Posts Big Quarterly Loss as Its Electric-Car Sales Lag

#311

Post by shereadsthenews » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 5:43 AM UTC

newsoul2019 wrote: post #212

samstave wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally; ding ding ding. This is why american MBAs are utter useless garbage.. The asian incumbents in heavy industry are going to own, simply because they are capable and willing to play the long-game. China is pretty much buying all of Africa. They havea 100 year plan. And anyone who isnt aware of that fact, is simply behind the game and already losing. We had a post about KPCB earlier, and good riddance - the a…

This reminds me of the late 1980s when America was on the decline and the Japanese were buying everything and the end was in sight.

People who did not experience the 80s, and the endless nightly news stories about Japanese school kids’ math test scores, will not understand your comment.

Re: Tesla Posts Big Quarterly Loss as Its Electric-Car Sales Lag

#312

Post by foota » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 5:43 AM UTC

sliken wrote: post #155

ProfessorLayton wrote: post #81

Tesla's 1.5B reduction of cash on hand was largely due to the 920M convertible bond payment — but that only happened because TSLA didn't perform to the level necessary for conversion (~$360 IIRC). I wonder what changes in terms this'll warrant for future capital raises. Then they mention that they missed a lot of revenue due to missing half their shipments overseas, and onto Q2 (But also expecting a loss in Q2). Sale…

I find the Panasonic thing very weird. Tesla claims to be battery limited, and also mentioned that their popular and in demand power walls are being throttled by lack of batteries. Does make me wonder. Is Panasonic blackmailing Tesla with limited supply to influence Tesla's battery supply in China? Is Panasonic and/or Tesla lying about the situation?

I read that the plant is operating way below what the capacity should be, so this could be a reflection of them trying to improve on their utilization of what they have now instead of throwing money at the problem.

Re: Tesla Posts Big Quarterly Loss as Its Electric-Car Sales Lag

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Post by m3kw9 » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 5:44 AM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #116

ProfessorLayton wrote: post #81

Tesla's 1.5B reduction of cash on hand was largely due to the 920M convertible bond payment — but that only happened because TSLA didn't perform to the level necessary for conversion (~$360 IIRC). I wonder what changes in terms this'll warrant for future capital raises. Then they mention that they missed a lot of revenue due to missing half their shipments overseas, and onto Q2 (But also expecting a loss in Q2). Sale…

A few more years of this amd they may be bought out by the likes of BMW. The tesla brand is worth something, even if on the hood of a german car.

Elon would sell to Apple, and not these old school car manufacturers that has their tails covering their behinds

Re: Tesla Posts Big Quarterly Loss as Its Electric-Car Sales Lag

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Post by reitzensteinm » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 5:46 AM UTC

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #289

dogsgobork wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The pool of people that put down $1000 thinking they were going to buy a $35k car, has to be much larger than the people willing to plunk down $2500 for a $48k car (the cheapest pre-order currently available). The multi year wait for the $35k version to be available (and quickly abandoned) can't help.

I was surprised by your claim so I checked... the Tesla website currently allows me to configure a Model 3 that is $39,500 before discounts for estimated delivery in two weeks. Not $35k but far less than $48k too.

Parent is referring to the Model Y, and the cheapest version available for preorder is indeed $48k:

https://www.tesla.com/modely/design

Re: Tesla Posts Big Quarterly Loss as Its Electric-Car Sales Lag

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Post by m3kw9 » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 5:47 AM UTC

steelframe wrote: post #210

Reedx wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, but people have been saying they won't make it for over a decade now. It's tiresome and unproductive. Meanwhile they've done amazing things that most considered impossible. They went for it despite the difficulty and actually changed an industry. Electric cars were thought of as golf carts! Not so anymore. The idea of covering the country with chargers was a pipe dream. Now it's reality. Here's hoping Telsa con…

I'm an ex-Tesla owner (went for an I-PACE with my last EV purchase), but I have to agree with this sentiment. Tesla will go down in history as an amazing phenomenon, regardless of whether they survive in the marketplace.

Haha I see that you did. That’s after you’ve tried an I-Pace

Re: Tesla Posts Big Quarterly Loss as Its Electric-Car Sales Lag

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Post by NeedMoreTea » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 5:47 AM UTC

m3kw9 wrote: post #313

sandworm101 wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few more years of this amd they may be bought out by the likes of BMW. The tesla brand is worth something, even if on the hood of a german car.

Elon would sell to Apple, and not these old school car manufacturers that has their tails covering their behinds

I'm sure countless startups thought similarly until an evil old-school behemoth like Microsoft turned up offering tons of money.

Re: Tesla Posts Big Quarterly Loss as Its Electric-Car Sales Lag

#317

Post by newnewpdro » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 5:50 AM UTC

YjSe2GMQ wrote: post #224

Spooky23 wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would only lease a Tesla. Why be stuck holding the bag if the proverbial shit hits the fan?

What's the potential problem for a consumer? No battery replacements? Someone's gotta be making parts even if Tesla goes bust.

Unless I'm mistaken a major component of the Tesla value prop is the supercharger network.

I presume "shit hits the fan" includes goodbye supercharger network.

Furthermore, unless I'm again mistaken, a bunch of people are under the impression that they'll have unlimited free supercharger access for the life of the car.

Re: Tesla Posts Big Quarterly Loss as Its Electric-Car Sales Lag

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Post by hw » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 5:51 AM UTC

newsoul2019 wrote: post #216

m463 wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, they could get full self driving going and sales would go through the roof.

Not so much after the local guy died on Highway 101. The sentiment in my circle is that the self driving can't be trusted.

You're not supposed to go to sleep or take your eyes off the road with self driving. Just like how you can't rely on chat bots and AI to fully answer your customers' questions.

What's not reported in the media is how self driving / autopilot has saved lives. There are plenty of videos online about Teslas making the right split second decision to swerve (in the right direction) or apply the brakes to avoid an accident.

There's way too much focus on accidents due to self driving when there are a lot more accidents happening from non-self-driving vehicles.

Re: Tesla Posts Big Quarterly Loss as Its Electric-Car Sales Lag

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Post by pbreit » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 5:51 AM UTC

iamaelephant wrote: post #268

sytelus wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a definitely path forward for Tesla. They needs to be 1908 Model-T but for EVs of 2019. This means only two things: (1) aggressively lower the manufacturing cost and, (2) scale the battery production. I want to see Tesla that costs $18K and has a range of 300 miles. This would turn auto-industry upside down. I think this is completely doable.

Why would this be doable for Tesla but not every other car manufacturer?

No baggage, aggressive leadership, better talent.

Re: Tesla Posts Big Quarterly Loss as Its Electric-Car Sales Lag

#320

Post by frankchn » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 5:53 AM UTC

epistasis wrote: post #302

frankchn wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could that lead be maintained? It was a big jump from a BlackBerry to an original iPhone, but is there one from a Pixel 3 to an iPhone XS?

Does the lead need to be maintained? If everybody else catches up, but does not surpass, that's not a loss and Tesla is still competing. And by then Tesla may be competing at the lower margin segments of the market too.

The fact that they will stay competitive is already priced in, given that Tesla is by market cap about the size of GM and Ford. However, I find some of the loftier predictions of analysts ($1000+/share) somewhat unjustifiable at present.

I wonder if Tesla should not have entered the mass market with the 3 and stuck with the S and X. Higher margins and lower CapEx there.