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Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

reuters.com

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Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#111

Post by maxerickson »

vinceguidry wrote: post #20
sova wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Excellent! Thank you for pointing that out. "Profit" is a comical term, how can we measure the net savings for humanity-at-large from such endeavors?

I wouldn't exactly call it comical. It's just that it's a political term rather than a financial one. Deciding to take a profit this year is an important signifier for the investors, who all must have the same question in mind, how long is it going to take for their investment to pay off. As long as Musk decides to roll all revenues back into operations, investors get nothing. Musk has a reputation as someone who doe…

humanity is getting out of the deal, they already got the Model S and X, it's soon going to get the 3

Let's not be too breathless when we describe the cars that a few hundred thousand of the wealthiest people on the planet have purchased.

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#112

Post by fweespeech »

cortesoft wrote: post #65
fweespeech wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Per-unit margin goes down (but is still profitable per unit) but you make up in volume to create a profit. Tesla's main costs aren't the cost per unit but the engineer/software costs iirc.

If they make more profit by selling more units at a lower price... then why don't they always just do that?

Production bottlenecks.

Tesla is constantly behind on producing cars for its customers. They just wanted to generate money now rather than later.

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#113

Post by kmonsen »

karmelapple wrote: post #66
mwfunk wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's the only reason someone might express skepticism of Musk at this point. They might want Musk to succeed at these things very, very much, but fear that his sketchier tendencies might lead to failure.

I'm curious - what sketchier tendencies do you mean?

How autopilot was enabled for example. It has potentially created a difficult public perception of self driving cars.

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#114

Post by duaneb »

tw04 wrote: post #58
usaphp wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "I also happen to know a lot of the people who bought a heavily discounted Tesla in Q3 feel kind of burned that right at the beginning of Q4 Tesla announced the new Autopilot hardware (that isn't retrotfitable on old vehicles). " Wow I guess this is the best proof of how Tesla is really changing the way auto owners think, this is something that wasn't unthinkable before Tesla and their over the air updates. Can you…

No, but I can imagine a BMW owner complaining that the 2016 model came out 3 weeks after he bought his 2015, with no notice from BMW, the sales guy, or the press. And that the 2016 model came with a bunch of new features he really wanted and would've been willing to pay for.

Even in the case the 2015 model was heavily discounted? Seems like a classic deprecation strategy.

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#115

Post by jasonlingx »

franciscop wrote: post #92
ebalit wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I checked the Q3 email [1] and while it is indeed about motivating their teams to reach profitability, it doesn't mention any discount.

Here you go: [1] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-06/full-text-...

This email does not mention anything about discounts. It does not even mention sales. It does talk about "building and delivering every car we possibly can".

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#116

Post by XJOKOLAT »

ams6110 wrote: post #96
patrickk wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe because everyone wants his companies to succeed... Surely the only ones who don't want dramatically cheaper space launches, cheaper, widely available solar PV installations and attractive, affordable electric vehicles are deeply entrenched incumbents whose continued profitability involves polluting the planet, or those who really hate the environment for whatever reason. There are valid criticisms you can lev…

I don't have anything against Musk. I simply don't care much one way or the other because the things he's working on will never affect me. Electric cars are not something I'm interested in owning at the price Tesla is asking. Or even half what Tesla is asking. Utility electricity works fine for me, is a small fraction of my monthly budget, and is reliable. I.e. something I never really worry about. Payments for and m…

Do you walk around with an effective pollution mask?

One that helps you avoid pollution but doesn't make you look like Bane from the Dark Knight Rises?

Please send me a link, thanks.

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#117

Post by secabeen »

mitchellh wrote: post #23

Really great news! But something that shouldn't be overlooked is the discounts they gave in Q3 to push deliveries up. First, those that know me know that I am a Tesla FANATIC. My girlfriend once challenged me to not talk about Tesla (motors, energy, something) for a 24 hour period. I dunno if I've ever done that honestly. I'm also an owner (no surprise given my fanaticism, lucky to be able to afford one). And I also…

>Really great news! But something that shouldn't be overlooked is the discounts they gave in Q3 to push deliveries up.

Elon stressed in the call that they did not give significant discounts, and the few that did happen were not to be repeated.

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#118

Post by Retra »

tw04 wrote: post #58
usaphp wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "I also happen to know a lot of the people who bought a heavily discounted Tesla in Q3 feel kind of burned that right at the beginning of Q4 Tesla announced the new Autopilot hardware (that isn't retrotfitable on old vehicles). " Wow I guess this is the best proof of how Tesla is really changing the way auto owners think, this is something that wasn't unthinkable before Tesla and their over the air updates. Can you…

No, but I can imagine a BMW owner complaining that the 2016 model came out 3 weeks after he bought his 2015, with no notice from BMW, the sales guy, or the press. And that the 2016 model came with a bunch of new features he really wanted and would've been willing to pay for.

New models of cars come out every year. It seems something easy to be unsympathetic about; Nostradamus could have predicted that new cars with new features are right around the corner. That's the perpetual status quo.

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#119

Post by Anasufovic »

kmonsen wrote: post #107
Anasufovic wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we know which path leads to better sales.

And which path leads to buyers remorse.

It's similar to iPhones, countless complaints yet those same people keep buying them.
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