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Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey

teslamotors.com

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Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey

#161

Post by stcredzero »

assholesRppl2 wrote: post #106
ssmoot wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla's site is a bit frustrating. I get most of those same benefits driving a Nissan Leaf. So I'm not really interested in a "true cost" comparison to a gas vehicle I wouldn't be buying anyways. Turns out the Model S at $1,466 as optioned is more expensive than a Leaf. :) Not that I wouldn't kill for a 300 mile range...

do you realize how much money you could make from networking opportunities that arise from driving around a Tesla? invest in your future

Tesla is the new Country Club membership? (They are also being granted as perks of employment.)

Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey

#162

Post by TheMagicHorsey »

kenrikm wrote: post #101
Edmond wrote: post #32

I hope people don't forget the profit motive of Mr Musk. It seems technology entrepreneurs have adopted the rhetoric of "just trying to make the world a better place" while conveniently ignoring their own profit making motives. I am no friend of car dealers but I am also not going to be suckered by a self-serving sales pitch. While I don't necessarily support the NJ move, I think we should start asking questions abou…

Elon made enough off PayPal to never have to work.. ever again . Instead he put all of his money into Electric cars, solar power and rockets with a huge chance that he would loose it all (and almost did). I don't think that profit is his motivating factor.

I seriously don't understand people that get mad when someone makes a profit. Like are those people expecting to work and earn nothing? When you risk your capital, should you not get a return? And when you risk it on something crazy like electric cars, shouldn't the profits be even that much larger, to compensate you for the out of proportion risk?

Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey

#163

Post by doppel »

jusben1369 wrote: post #78
thedufer wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're currently selling Teslas in NJ (without a middleman) and not having any legal problems because of it, so your example's premise seems to be flawed.

You have to dig deeper on the story than his post. They've been told for a long time that the license shouldn't have been issued and would be revoked and that a change in legislation was needed. Again, Musk knows all this. But it doesn't fit the dialogue.

Still, they do actually have the option now and they are losing it in the future. If the prospect was that they were going to keep being able to buy directly from Tesla, and that this was foiled by a backroom-deal (to put it in his words), then he is technically correct.

I can understand what you mean, but to the end consumer they are going from being able to buy a Tesla directly to not being able to.

Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey

#164

Post by marssaxman »

batoure wrote: post #117
marssaxman wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. I am completely uninterested in owning a vehicle which is 0wned by the manufacturer.

whats the difference? 20% of Americans lease their cars from manufacturers right now, when you lease something by its nature you don't own it. Another 60% make use of financing when they buy, in which case the bank owns your car. If you are trying to make an argument about control then make it and maybe give us some more information than just the conclusion of your thoughts.

Sorry if my reference was unclear - I meant "0wned" in the hacker sense, in that ultimate control rests not with you, the owner, but with the manufacturer, who in the case of Tesla can apparently just pump new code out which your car will install. That seems seriously creepy and weird to me. When I buy a car, its previous owner should have no further control over it. OTA updates for a car sound really wrong.

Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey

#165

Post by Edmond »

darkarmani wrote: post #134
Edmond wrote: post #32

I hope people don't forget the profit motive of Mr Musk. It seems technology entrepreneurs have adopted the rhetoric of "just trying to make the world a better place" while conveniently ignoring their own profit making motives. I am no friend of car dealers but I am also not going to be suckered by a self-serving sales pitch. While I don't necessarily support the NJ move, I think we should start asking questions abou…

> I think we should start asking questions about economic value flow. If people live in one place yet all their economic activity is directed to some place on the other side of the country, what is the long term effect of this on their local economy? What do you mean? Isn't there economic value in owning a Tesla? Just because the money flows the other way doesn't mean there isn't value in owning the product.

The problem isn't with owning the Tesla but rather that the economic transaction involved in acquiring the Tesla would leave nothing to NJ (except perhaps sales tax).

When you have a dealership, you have local folks working there thus some of the money that car buyers spend gets circulated locally, which would not be the case if all you have to do is point and click to get your car delivered.

This is a serious concern as more economic transaction is virtualized.

Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey

#166

Post by protomyth »

r00fus wrote: post #155
stcredzero wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that is a pretty good example of something never to write in a letter that you want to positively influence a situation. Right. It does close the door to Christie deciding to do a turnaround and adopt the issue as a crusader for the people. Actually, considering that Gov. Christie is a politically powerful man with an apparent history of underhanded retaliation, I think it's really the last thing you want to do.

Alternative viewpoint: Christie may already be on his way out or on his way to becoming a lame duck. Musk clearly sees no future for Tesla as long as Christie's admin is calling the shots. Remember, this letter is to "the people of new jersey" and not "the current governor of new jersey". Musk is choosing his venue, the court of public opinion - an arena where Christie is taking some major hits.

If he expects a different result with a Democrat then he hasn't looked at the political contributions of the NJ auto dealers.

Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey

#167

Post by azernik »

skore wrote: post #10

> An even bigger conflict of interest with auto dealers is that they make most of their profit from service, but electric cars require much less service than gasoline cars. There are no oil, spark plug or fuel filter changes, no tune-ups and no smog checks needed for an electric car. Also, all Tesla Model S vehicles are capable of over-the-air updates to upgrade the software, just like your phone or computer, so no v…

The man is nothing if not a smooth salesperson.

Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey

#168

Post by bjt »

cylinder wrote: post #19
mrt0mat0 wrote: post #7

It blows my mind that in a country that preaches a free-market economy, the government is preventing a company from selling a superior product. I'm pretty sure people will still buy the car if they want to, and in time, those car companies will go under anyway, but why slow down progress?

Remember that the US is not pro-business, it's corporatist. It's a government that is able to be easily captured by incumbent, monied interests. Starting businesses and operating them on a small level is much easier in other developed nations.

The relevant government in this case is the state of New Jersey, not the United States of America. There is a lot of variation between state governments.

Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey

#169

Post by stcredzero »

rhizome wrote: post #36
notahacker wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was impressed by the fact that he bothered to offer an explanation of why the law was introduced and what purpose it served; it makes for a more compelling argument than some cookie-cutter rant about Big Evil Corporations wrapping their rent-seeking tentacles around the government.

Cookie-cutter rants are rarely published by people with skin in the game.

I suspect it's the same general mechanism as even the most liberal of recent US presidents strangely doing the bidding of the military-industrial complex. (Obama and Carter.)

Re: Elon Musk: To the People of New Jersey

#170

Post by elwell »

skore wrote: post #10

> An even bigger conflict of interest with auto dealers is that they make most of their profit from service, but electric cars require much less service than gasoline cars. There are no oil, spark plug or fuel filter changes, no tune-ups and no smog checks needed for an electric car. Also, all Tesla Model S vehicles are capable of over-the-air updates to upgrade the software, just like your phone or computer, so no v…

He's done a very good job of spinning around the publicity for an improved public opinion of Tesla. Impressive.
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