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Tesla Q1 2020 Update

ir.tesla.com

171–180 of 391 posts

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#171

Since, things are slow, my notes.... Misc: - Fremont plant idle since March 23rd - raised 2.3B in February, which seems really well timed now - Musk venting with "FREE AMERICA NOW" tweet makes him seem almost crazy - can see why Elon is going crazy on twitter, he'd almost turned around Telsa and now they may be in the worst cash crunch of their long life - Shanghai Giga reopened on Feb 10th, showing the importance of…

Musk might just be venting on Twitter, as another commenter has suggested, but one way or another these tweets might turn out to benefit him. From what I can tell based on both personal and online interactions, it seems to me that U.S. public sentiment has been shifting against the lockdowns recently - and not just among some fringe protester groups, but among all kinds of demographically and ideologically different…

> it seems to me that U.S. public sentiment has been shifting against the lockdowns recently - and not just among some fringe protester groups, but among all kinds of demographically and ideologically different groups

Nope, ending the lockdowns is not a popular movement.

More than twice as many people believe they don't go far enough as believe they go too far.[1]

"Only 12% of Americans say the measures where they live go too far. About twice as many people, 26%, believe the limits don’t go far enough. The majority of Americans — 61% — feel the steps taken by government officials to prevent infections of COVID-19 in their area are about right."

[1] https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/22/outbreak-poll-most-am...

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#172
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plus, the price of gas has gone down significantly, hurting one of the benefits of electric cars.

Couple with this the massive glut of used cars thats about to get worse, the fact that many cities are seriously considering long term conversion of roadways to be pedestrian only and all the oil field pickups that are about to get repo'd (pertaining to the cyber truck). What I'd really like to know is what will happen to Tesla's vehicles if the company goes under? Like will they get bricked essentially? I sincerely…

I wonder if cities will also start designating streets (or as a softer approach, significant amounts of parking) as EV-only.

A city that wants to electrify the vehicles driving there could do that very easily by converting a certain percentage of parking spots to EV-only every year. This will roughly ensure (at least) the same percentage of cars in the city being EVs (since if there's more, using a non-EV becomes extremely unattractive as you can't find parking).

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#173
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's also how genius works. When you're really good at one thing, there's the risk of thinking you're good at everything.

That's not genius. That's arrogance. Truly smart people know that their abilities and success are fleeting and do not extend beyond their own little sphere. And if they do venture beyond they are humble and learn from the wisdom of experts. They never, ever think they are good at everything.

That just depends on what you mean by 'smart'. Plenty of people are intelligent, competent, have great ability at something, but lack the wisdom to recognise their limits.

It is indeed arrogance, but it is absolutely common in smart people. At least for some kinds of smarts.

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#174

Since, things are slow, my notes.... Misc: - Fremont plant idle since March 23rd - raised 2.3B in February, which seems really well timed now - Musk venting with "FREE AMERICA NOW" tweet makes him seem almost crazy - can see why Elon is going crazy on twitter, he'd almost turned around Telsa and now they may be in the worst cash crunch of their long life - Shanghai Giga reopened on Feb 10th, showing the importance of…

Someone _please_ hire someone to follow EM with a phone jammer on. I can't take his BS anymore. Why do smart people like to have strong opinions on subjects they are not expert in? (Disclosure: I own TSLA stocks.)

I think it is a mistake to assume that Elon's opinion on this is uninformed. People were dragging him and Tesla for supposedly procuring and distributing the "wrong kind" of ventilator a couple weeks ago and it turned out that the type they were sending out was the one that was delivering the best patient outcomes. Asked later he said he chose to focus on that type after talking to doctors in China about their experience.

The Tesla factory in China has been open for almost 2 months now post outbreak so I imagine their experience with that informs what can be done safely and effectively at their US factory.

It's ironic the number of things that Elon Musk and his companies have pulled off that many claimed were impossible and yet people's first assumption when Elon Tweets something w/o explanation is that he must be uninformed and talking out of his butt.

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#175

Since, things are slow, my notes.... Misc: - Fremont plant idle since March 23rd - raised 2.3B in February, which seems really well timed now - Musk venting with "FREE AMERICA NOW" tweet makes him seem almost crazy - can see why Elon is going crazy on twitter, he'd almost turned around Telsa and now they may be in the worst cash crunch of their long life - Shanghai Giga reopened on Feb 10th, showing the importance of…

- Will Elon stop with tweets that hurt Tesla? Appoint a CEO, or COO to run things to take pressure of Elon? I have read this from so many people for the last 5 years all the time. Sure, the tweets show that Elon wants faster growth, and frustrated, and I didn't like that tweet either, but if you want a conservative CEO, buy IBM or Oracle stocks, please leave Tesla alone.

except he's a major owner of SpaceX and doesn't seem to do any batshit crazy tweets about it. So seems to have worked having a CEO there.

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#176

Since, things are slow, my notes.... Misc: - Fremont plant idle since March 23rd - raised 2.3B in February, which seems really well timed now - Musk venting with "FREE AMERICA NOW" tweet makes him seem almost crazy - can see why Elon is going crazy on twitter, he'd almost turned around Telsa and now they may be in the worst cash crunch of their long life - Shanghai Giga reopened on Feb 10th, showing the importance of…

Musk might just be venting on Twitter, as another commenter has suggested, but one way or another these tweets might turn out to benefit him. From what I can tell based on both personal and online interactions, it seems to me that U.S. public sentiment has been shifting against the lockdowns recently - and not just among some fringe protester groups, but among all kinds of demographically and ideologically different…

Twitter is not reality. Polling is pretty clear that ending lockdowns is quite unpopular.

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#177
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't believe the Tesla crowd bought theirs to save on gas anyway, so not sure if this is true.

Maybe not, but if gas had continued to go up in 2020 and 2021, you'd have to think that would help convince move people to shift over to electric.

I've somehow never believed that theory. There are tens of thousands who buy gas guzzlers, at whatever price of gas was/is. If only people were that rational, they'd stop buying them to save our planet.

You can tax cigarettes all you want, people are still gonna smoke.

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#178
post #56

Am I reading this right? They have 25% profit margin on each automotive? Feels like a tech company's margins. Does anyone know how it compares to traditional automakers?

That would be 25% gross margin. That means before they've paid salaries and recurring expenses.

Nonetheless, for autos, that is world class. Last time I checked, only Toyota had higher gross margins.

Note that it's also before they've paid interest or principle on loans/bonds, before their capital spend (new factories & mfg. equipment). This type of spending is investing in future profits, such as building CyberTruck, adding capacity for more Model Ys, adding capacity for charge stations, etc.

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#179
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has been said before and should be said again: Elon needs an assistant who shuts his fucking phone off at midnight. It's like the moon comes out and he turns into a werewolf. There was a theory that he's Ambien-tweeting, but I suspect he just never learned in college like many of us that any idea that sounds really good at 1 am is probably really stupid.

Elon has done well by me. Every company he runs turns to gold. I wouldn't have him change a thing. Seriously, given his performance over the long-term, I hope he tweets even more. It enrages people that can't think past the next quarter, and that's good for long-term shareholders like me!

I knew a PayPal alum who would get grumpy if you mentioned Elon in any context. If you implied that he had anything to do with PayPal's success, he would turn red-faced and start to vibrate. It was scary so I only did it once (okay, twice, because I forgot)

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#180
Hmmm, I have been a ardent Tesla supporter for many years and actually own 2 teslas (my post history would confirm that), but alas starting today I am done with Tesla and Elon. I have given him a pass for - Promising autopilot in 15 days (after they abruptly terminated their contract with mobile eye) when I bought my model S in 2016 - saying FSD features are 3-6 months away in 2016 (some of these features launched this month in 2020) - pedo guy tweet - 420 tweet - other absurd hyperbolic claims like battery swap, coast to coast driving in 2018, top line Model S loaner cars for everyone, blah blah blah - a neural net driven rain sensor that barely works

I still believe that Model 3 and S are the two best cars I have ever driven. But I can't support Tesla anymore, which is not build for a mission, but seems to be build to squeeze workers and lie to customers.

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