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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

#171

Post by nbarbettini »

yladiz wrote: post #37

I'm impressed and skeptical of the substantial increase in production. A 70% increase in production in one year would likely require substantial changes in the production stages. Hopefully Tesla didn't cut any corners to hit this production number; I'm hopeful that they just scaled back their production initially and now show their "full potential", or added a lot of new machinery in their production line(s). Maybe t…

They weren't scaling back their production before. They've just been aggressively expanding the plant - they built an entire new production line for Model X (IIRC), and have been adding a lot of automation. Not all quarters have been new records, but this one is.

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

#172

Post by njharman »

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…

Pollution affects everyone. Terrorist attacks and the multiple wars fought affect most people, certainly everyone in the West.

Only a self centered ignoramus thinks reducing need for oil doesn't help them.

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

#173

Post by karmelapple »

kmonsen wrote: post #113
karmelapple wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Poor judgment with the name... but sketchy? I don't think introducing the feature is sketchy, since it certainly seems to be working pretty well so far, right?

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

#174

Post by tempestn »

usaphp wrote: post #34
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…

> "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…

It's strange from the other side too. With technology it's normal to be able to get updates, but for new tech to eventually come out that makes the old stuff obsolete. A clear sign that this is about to happen is... deep discounts on the existing product.

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

#175

Post by greglindahl »

forgetsusername wrote: post #2

Cashed in a large amount of ZEV credits, for a one-time revenue bump of $140MM. Excluding that, GAAP loss was $117MM. Big increase in accounts payable. But, all things considered, that's not bad.

If you're wondering who's buying and selling ZEV credits, here's the California score-card for Oct 2015 through August 1, 2016. No prices:

https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/zevprog/zevcredits/2015zevcred...

Tesla provides 80+% of the ZEV credits transferred, and the 2 biggest buyers are Fiat and Ford. It could be that this quarter's transfers aren't in this table.

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

#176

Post by harryjo »

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…

That sounds like extreme short-term thinking that is used to fool investors and partners until the gig is up next quarter.

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

#177

Post by NotSammyHagar »

usaphp wrote: post #34
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…

> "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…

For the past 2 years they also announced new stuff at the October/November boundary. 2 years ago, it was the autopilot hardware with the camera in the front and radar. Cars before Nov 2014 didn't have the camera in the front (some of the them had the front radar). It was obvious to anyone paying attention that this is the time frame when they announce updates.

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

#178

Post by will_hughes »

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.

> no notice from BMW, the sales guy, or the press

Tesla has done this for a long while. Newer larger battery pack options, newer interior and tech package options, and completely new performance and configuration options (insane, dual motor, and autopilot 1.0 all hit at once)

While there wern't announcements ahead of time what was coming, there were often advance notice that there was an announcement coming, and even when there wasn't - there was a big period of quiet from Tesla leading up to it.

For Autopilot 2.0 everyone knew it was coming for at least the Model 3 launch (Elon said as much at the Model 3 announcement), they just brought it forward.

It is really no different to what happens to customers for a bunch of other tech companies. Canon sure doesn't tell anyone when their new models are coming out - you know it'll probably happen at a major trade show, but only if you're someone that follows that kind of thing. The average customer at their camera shop isn't going to have the sales guy say "Hey, wait a week and we'll have the next version available."

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

#179

Post by erikpukinskis »

RivieraKid wrote: post #18

Related, at the beginning of Q3 Elon Musk sent email to employees urging to cut costs: > I thought it was important to write you a note directly to let you know how critical this quarter is, The third quarter will be our last chance to show investors that Tesla can be at least slightly positive cash flow and profitable before the Model 3 reaches full production.

Although now he says (in the earnings call) there is a slight chance that Q4 will also be profitable.

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

#180

Post by NotSammyHagar »

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.

I can see why that would be irritating. But they did it the last two years - announce updates in Oct/Nov. And they will do it again next year. The difference from regular cars is there's not such a long lead time between announcement and delivery, it just kind of hits the market right after. They are going for a cell phone kind of experience, where it's continually improving.
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