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Tesla sales 'misleading' says Audi blog post

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Re: Tesla sales 'misleading' says Audi blog post

#21

Post by hkmurakami »

byoung2 wrote: post #3

The fact that Audi had to write this says that they feel threatened. And while Tesla does only sell one model at a time, they are able to produce cheaper models and sell more of them. As for the question posed by USA Today: There are questions, too, about whether it can keep its order books full, or whether the number of people who crave electric cars is limited. With the new financing offer, a Tesla is within reach…

> And while Tesla does only sell one model at a time, they are able to produce cheaper models and sell more of them.

Never thought about it till now, but that is reminiscent of Apple's product strategy. It'll be interesting to see if it remains this way in the future even after Tesla grows significantly.

Re: Tesla sales 'misleading' says Audi blog post

#22

Post by tokenadult »

byoung2 wrote: post #3

The fact that Audi had to write this says that they feel threatened. And while Tesla does only sell one model at a time, they are able to produce cheaper models and sell more of them. As for the question posed by USA Today: There are questions, too, about whether it can keep its order books full, or whether the number of people who crave electric cars is limited. With the new financing offer, a Tesla is within reach…

The fact that Audi had to write this says that they feel threatened.

That's the way I have felt about several of Elon Musk's responses to the press. It remains to be seen what consumers will do with their hard-earned money to bring about sustained profit for which automobile manufacturer.

Re: Tesla sales 'misleading' says Audi blog post

#23

Post by jedmeyers »

notatoad wrote: post #19
smackfu wrote: post #7

The CNN headline is definitely misleading: “Tesla sales beating Mercedes, BMW and Audi.” No one would guess they are talking about "per model sales" vs "per manufacturer sales", since they are naming manufacturers. It's just linkbait. Tesla really is the new Apple!

"No one would guess" really? because my first assumption was that they were comparing sales of Tesla's only model to sales of Mercedes, BMW, and Audi's equivalent models. that is, comparing the sales of one high-end luxury car with the sales of other high-end luxury cars. it seems blindingly obvious that the Model S isn't selling more units than Mercedes' entire range.

But they did not say "Model S vs A8", they had said "Tesla vs Audi" - which does not mean "Model S vs A8".

Re: Tesla sales 'misleading' says Audi blog post

#24

Post by btilly »

beat wrote: post #8

Now here's an interesting question, or maybe some interrelated questions. First, will Tesla be able to manufacture profitably in the sub-$50k range (competing with the Audi/BMW/MB low end), with a car that is range-comparable to the S? In other words, can they build a genuinely useful electric drivetrain for about the same price as an internal combustion drivetrain? Next, as they start spinning up long-term reliabili…

The answer to #1 is that Tesla's ability to do that is entirely dependent upon improvements in battery technology. Based on those projections of about 7% improvement/year in batteries, in a few years they will.

#2 will be of interest, but I think it mostly comes down to battery technology.

As for #3, the history of other disruptive innovations says that by the time it is possible to sell cars that meet the mass market need, the cost structure that Audi/BMW/Lexus etc have will keep them from developing competitively priced cars. (What did you think the whole "avoid the dealer overhead" step is about for Tesla?)

Re: Tesla sales 'misleading' says Audi blog post

#25

Post by r00fus »

beat wrote: post #8

Now here's an interesting question, or maybe some interrelated questions. First, will Tesla be able to manufacture profitably in the sub-$50k range (competing with the Audi/BMW/MB low end), with a car that is range-comparable to the S? In other words, can they build a genuinely useful electric drivetrain for about the same price as an internal combustion drivetrain? Next, as they start spinning up long-term reliabili…

> First, will Tesla be able to manufacture profitably in the sub-$50k range (competing with the Audi/BMW/MB low end), with a car that is range-comparable to the S?

I can tell you what Musk is betting: that the supercharger network will eventually make this a moot point. Of course, advancing better batteries will result in the lowest Model S range (160mi) likely becoming Tesla's "baseline", I imagine.

Re: Tesla sales 'misleading' says Audi blog post

#26

Post by r00fus »

tomkarlo wrote: post #11
beat wrote: post #8

Now here's an interesting question, or maybe some interrelated questions. First, will Tesla be able to manufacture profitably in the sub-$50k range (competing with the Audi/BMW/MB low end), with a car that is range-comparable to the S? In other words, can they build a genuinely useful electric drivetrain for about the same price as an internal combustion drivetrain? Next, as they start spinning up long-term reliabili…

Or, how long until one of them buys Tesla and combines its expertise with their existing infrastructure for mass production?

I'm pretty smart finance folks have learned from GOOG stock structuring and the like to prevent LBOs/corporate takeover threats. I'm reasonably sure some of them work for Tesla.

Re: Tesla sales 'misleading' says Audi blog post

#27

Post by michaelfeathers »

For kicks, re-read the article as something written 4+ years ago substituting "Apple" for "Tesla" and any other cellphone manufacturer for "Audi."

“Tesla has to show it can be consistently profitable with a single product that is priced so high that most buyers can’t afford it,”

Indeed.

Re: Tesla sales 'misleading' says Audi blog post

#28

Post by notatoad »

jedmeyers wrote: post #23
notatoad wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"No one would guess" really? because my first assumption was that they were comparing sales of Tesla's only model to sales of Mercedes, BMW, and Audi's equivalent models. that is, comparing the sales of one high-end luxury car with the sales of other high-end luxury cars. it seems blindingly obvious that the Model S isn't selling more units than Mercedes' entire range.

But they did not say "Model S vs A8", they had said "Tesla vs Audi" - which does not mean "Model S vs A8".

they actually did say it. there was a whole article, including a clearly labeled graph, underneath that headline. They didn't say it in the headline, but that's the reason articles exists instead of just headlines - sometimes they have stuff in them.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/13/autos/tesla-sales-bmw-merced...

Re: Tesla sales 'misleading' says Audi blog post

#29

Post by AJ007 »

tomkarlo wrote: post #11
beat wrote: post #8

Now here's an interesting question, or maybe some interrelated questions. First, will Tesla be able to manufacture profitably in the sub-$50k range (competing with the Audi/BMW/MB low end), with a car that is range-comparable to the S? In other words, can they build a genuinely useful electric drivetrain for about the same price as an internal combustion drivetrain? Next, as they start spinning up long-term reliabili…

Or, how long until one of them buys Tesla and combines its expertise with their existing infrastructure for mass production?

I wonder if that "expertise" could be more negative than positive. As with software there is certainly a good deal of benefit to having a fresh company, without legacy baggage.
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