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Things Are Bad at Tesla. They're About to Get Much Worse

forbes.com

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Re: Things Are Bad at Tesla. They're About to Get Much Worse

#21

Post by happytoexplain »

jqpabc123 wrote: post #11

To be such a smart guy, Musk does some really dumb stuff --- like alienating most of his customer base. Like investing billions to build an auto manufacturing academy for the Chinese --- now his primary competition. The article highlights Tesla marketplace trouble --- but it ignores the other half of a "double whammy" that envelopes Tesla. While Musk was busy shooting his company in the foot, investors were buying hi…

It seems more like he simply doesn't care very much about the money side of things. I.e. he simply values what he's doing ("fixing" government, championing the current tone of the right, etc), and believes the business-side impact is worth it. He also may believe that the long-term impact isn't as bad as it seems because this all might enlarge the right-wing part of his customer base.

Re: Things Are Bad at Tesla. They're About to Get Much Worse

#22

Post by watwut »

itsdrewmiller wrote: post #14
jqpabc123 wrote: post #11

To be such a smart guy, Musk does some really dumb stuff --- like alienating most of his customer base. Like investing billions to build an auto manufacturing academy for the Chinese --- now his primary competition. The article highlights Tesla marketplace trouble --- but it ignores the other half of a "double whammy" that envelopes Tesla. While Musk was busy shooting his company in the foot, investors were buying hi…

>If TSLA was valued like other car companies (90% of TSLA revenue is from auto sales), would Musk look like a business genius? Yes? In that world he built tesla into only a 60 billion dollar company, along with his work at X/paypal and SpaceX. That's still incredible. (Obviously that skill hasn't transferred to government work though.)

His work in X was failure (except of political goal of raising up far right) and he seemed to be more of obstacle in paypal then reason for success.

Re: Things Are Bad at Tesla. They're About to Get Much Worse

#23

Post by quantified »

jqpabc123 wrote: post #20
itsdrewmiller wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If TSLA was valued like other car companies (90% of TSLA revenue is from auto sales), would Musk look like a business genius? Yes? In that world he built tesla into only a 60 billion dollar company, along with his work at X/paypal and SpaceX. That's still incredible. (Obviously that skill hasn't transferred to government work though.)

In that world he built tesla into only a 60 billion dollar company Only $60 billion??? You're selling him way short. At it's peak earlier this year, Tesla market cap was $1.5 TRILLION --- valued at more than all the world's major auto manufacturer's COMBINED. All while commanding only about 4% of unit sales. Can you say O-U-T-R-A-G-E-O-U-S-L-Y over priced? Since then, TSLA has lost almost half it's value --- and by a…

It's really hard to say how much was meme valuation and how much was people actually believing his statements about Full* Self-Driving, cars becoming an appreciating asset (!), humanoid robots. Plenty of people believe his ~lies~commercial puffery.

Re: Things Are Bad at Tesla. They're About to Get Much Worse

#25

Post by kreetx »

jqpabc123 wrote: post #11

To be such a smart guy, Musk does some really dumb stuff --- like alienating most of his customer base. Like investing billions to build an auto manufacturing academy for the Chinese --- now his primary competition. The article highlights Tesla marketplace trouble --- but it ignores the other half of a "double whammy" that envelopes Tesla. While Musk was busy shooting his company in the foot, investors were buying hi…

Tesla stock buyers are buying it for future promise, thus the value. The other car makers aren't innovating as much so there isn't any perceived future to pull forward and buy.

The disaster you are expecting is just your wishful thinking, if you look around the web, there is an alternate reality that says the direct opposite from you.

Re: Things Are Bad at Tesla. They're About to Get Much Worse

#26

Post by JohnFen »

kreetx wrote: post #25
jqpabc123 wrote: post #11

To be such a smart guy, Musk does some really dumb stuff --- like alienating most of his customer base. Like investing billions to build an auto manufacturing academy for the Chinese --- now his primary competition. The article highlights Tesla marketplace trouble --- but it ignores the other half of a "double whammy" that envelopes Tesla. While Musk was busy shooting his company in the foot, investors were buying hi…

Tesla stock buyers are buying it for future promise, thus the value. The other car makers aren't innovating as much so there isn't any perceived future to pull forward and buy. The disaster you are expecting is just your wishful thinking, if you look around the web, there is an alternate reality that says the direct opposite from you.

The reality is that nobody knows what the future will be. Not the person you're replying to, not the investors, not you, not me.

But my gut tells me it's more likely to be the speculative investors who are engaging in wishful thinking. I haven't seen any real reason to suspect otherwise, even before the events of the last couple of years.

Re: Things Are Bad at Tesla. They're About to Get Much Worse

#28

Post by mingus88 »

happytoexplain wrote: post #21
jqpabc123 wrote: post #11

To be such a smart guy, Musk does some really dumb stuff --- like alienating most of his customer base. Like investing billions to build an auto manufacturing academy for the Chinese --- now his primary competition. The article highlights Tesla marketplace trouble --- but it ignores the other half of a "double whammy" that envelopes Tesla. While Musk was busy shooting his company in the foot, investors were buying hi…

It seems more like he simply doesn't care very much about the money side of things. I.e. he simply values what he's doing ("fixing" government, championing the current tone of the right, etc), and believes the business-side impact is worth it. He also may believe that the long-term impact isn't as bad as it seems because this all might enlarge the right-wing part of his customer base.

Conservatives by definition are not prone to paradigm shifts.

I own an EV truck and I simply cannot comprehend the animus from “truck guys”. Here is a vehicle made in a U.S. factory, powered by 100% US energy, no foreign oil, with towing capacity, torque and top speed that puts legacy vehicles to shame.

But for reasons that only make sense inside their political bubble, these trucks are threats to their way of life.

Musk’s concept vehicles with nothing but flat screens that promise to take the burden of driving away from us entirely are never going to catch on with heartland Americans.

Re: Things Are Bad at Tesla. They're About to Get Much Worse

#29

Post by jqpabc123 »

happytoexplain wrote: post #21
jqpabc123 wrote: post #11

To be such a smart guy, Musk does some really dumb stuff --- like alienating most of his customer base. Like investing billions to build an auto manufacturing academy for the Chinese --- now his primary competition. The article highlights Tesla marketplace trouble --- but it ignores the other half of a "double whammy" that envelopes Tesla. While Musk was busy shooting his company in the foot, investors were buying hi…

It seems more like he simply doesn't care very much about the money side of things. I.e. he simply values what he's doing ("fixing" government, championing the current tone of the right, etc), and believes the business-side impact is worth it. He also may believe that the long-term impact isn't as bad as it seems because this all might enlarge the right-wing part of his customer base.

It seems more like he simply doesn't care very much about the money side of things.

Yes, that certainly does explain his substantial history of charity, benevolence and ethical business practices.

https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/12/elon_musk_appeals_voi...

Re: Things Are Bad at Tesla. They're About to Get Much Worse

#30

Post by jqpabc123 »

quantified wrote: post #23
jqpabc123 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In that world he built tesla into only a 60 billion dollar company Only $60 billion??? You're selling him way short. At it's peak earlier this year, Tesla market cap was $1.5 TRILLION --- valued at more than all the world's major auto manufacturer's COMBINED. All while commanding only about 4% of unit sales. Can you say O-U-T-R-A-G-E-O-U-S-L-Y over priced? Since then, TSLA has lost almost half it's value --- and by a…

It's really hard to say how much was meme valuation and how much was people actually believing his statements about Full* Self-Driving, cars becoming an appreciating asset (!), humanoid robots. Plenty of people believe his ~lies~commercial puffery.

"Plenty of people believe his ~lies~commercial puffery."

Plenty of these "believers" don't have money to invest in TSLA stock.

Most of those who have invested are so-called "professionals" whose job it is to avoid falling for "puffery". These "professionals" will eventually be forced to own the fact that they have been bamboozled by a con artist. And once this starts, the wheels are going to fall off the Tesla car really fast.

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