Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

211–220 of 376 posts

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#211

Post by vvanders »

mikeash wrote: post #209
vvanders wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Superchargers. I regularly make a ~300mi roundtrip with our Tesla, I wouldn't own one today if that wasn't possible. [edit] Before anyone brings up ChaDeMo(I have the adapter), SAE combo neither are nearly as fast(120kW) in real-world use and have nearly as much market penetration. The super-charger network is also something that's planned and built-out with the intention of being to make the major arterials rather t…

Non-Tesla fast charging stations also tend to be broken a lot, and are installed in small numbers, often single units. It's tough to plan a trip where you need a charge at a particular location when you could be screwed if a single spot is occupied or out of order. Most Tesla locations are 6 spots or more, and they're much better about fixing them when they break.

Yup, and the just added real-time status on the nav map so you can see how many slots are available and re-route if needed.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#212

Post by elihu »

timr wrote: post #65
Robotbeat wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole point of advertising is to make something popular that isn't already or to maintain popularity for something that would otherwise decline in popularity. As long as all GM is doing is sniping at other electric cars while doing general broad-based advertising of their fossil fuel powered vehicles, they're not lifting a finger to expand the EV market. I wouldn't worry about Tesla, anyway. Tesla has huge brand…

"The whole point of advertising is to make something popular that isn't already or to maintain popularity for something that would otherwise decline in popularity." You can't push on a string. Consumers buy bigger cars when gas prices are low, and more efficient cars when gas prices are high. It's why Toyota (which has built a brand identity around fuel efficiency) does worse when fuel prices go down. Marketing can i…

Most people just need their car to get around and will migrate to whatever is the cheapest option with the capabilities they want. Right now, electric cars cost more. Eventually, they will probably be cheaper than gas. When that happens, the market for electric vehicles will be essentially the same as the market for vehicles. (Gas may still be needed in the medium-near-term for things like pulling a trailer up a long hill.)

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#213

Post by jd20 »

smogcutter wrote: post #153
dmix wrote: post #120

Tesla recently announced they are ramping up their Model 3 production even more than what some people thought was already optimistic numbers: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-27/tesla-mod... > For Musk to hit all of his targets, Tesla would need to build about 430,000 Model 3s by the end of next year. That’s more than all of the electric cars sold planet-wide last year. > Even if half of the Model 3 in…

A related concern is how well their repair and service operation scales. There are already repair horror stories all over internet for the relatively tiny number of cars already on the road. The model S is a beautiful car, but it's a luxury toy. I'll venture that most Model S owners have at least one additional car. If you're in the market for a 35k sedan though, you're looking for a commuter and family car that need…

Personally, I've found The vehicle itself to be very reliable. But they need to scale out service operations. I can call an Audi dealer and have my car brought in within a couple days (or go to one of many third party shops). With Tesla, they're typically booking 1-2 months out (and that's in the bay area, where we have like 3 service centers). Luckily, the only times I've had to bring in my Tesla, it was something super non-trivial.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#214

Post by agumonkey »

hueving wrote: post #147
aphextron wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To sell that many $35,000 sedans in the U.S. “would be absolutely unprecedented based on what we know about car markets today and how people spend their dollars,” said Salim Morsy, electric car analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “It could happen. I’m pretty sure it won’t.” Model 3's will sell literally as fast as Tesla can push them off the production line. The pent up demand for this thing is insane. Over 40…

Or withdrawals from people. The deposits are non-committal so people can cancel without losing anything.

Curious, did Tesla published updated stats ? or anyone else for that matter. The announcement numbers were way above expectations, but it's not much if half of that evaporated after the hype.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#215

Post by harichinnan »

MattRix wrote: post #199
wfunction wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Or withdrawals from people. The deposits are non-committal so people can cancel without losing anything. I feel this is going to be the killer for them.

Sure, there will be tons of people who cancel... but then there will also be tons of people who wanted to wait until the car was fully finished before signing up to get one. They'll be fine.

This is the car version iphone, with people queuing up at the store days before the product is seen. I would believe they would stop production exactly at 400K cars, the current waiting list and start a new Model 4 waiting list. They have an air of exclusivity now with their current models. People still gawk at the sight of a Tesla. They would want to maintain that awe factor with Model 3 as well.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#216

Post by smogcutter »

w8vY7ER wrote: post #173
smogcutter wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A related concern is how well their repair and service operation scales. There are already repair horror stories all over internet for the relatively tiny number of cars already on the road. The model S is a beautiful car, but it's a luxury toy. I'll venture that most Model S owners have at least one additional car. If you're in the market for a 35k sedan though, you're looking for a commuter and family car that need…

It is worth noting that Jon McNeill (Pres. Global Sales and Service) took the time to post on a user forum in direct response to service delays and spoke with a fair bit of detail about how they are fixing the problem. Whether or not you are a fan, I think everyone can agree that this level of engagement is a strong positive for their cause. https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/2004525/

That's really interesting. Seems like the answer is they need a lot more third party shops - the problems that McNeill describes sound like the kind of thing that happens when there isn't enough competition. If I'm a model 3 customer, I don't really care about your service record in Palo Alto. What can you do for me in Skokie?

Very interested to see how all this plays out. The success or failure of the Model 3 could decide whether Tesla is the next Ford or the next Delorean.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#217

Post by astrange »

timr wrote: post #84
greglindahl wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm having a hard time connecting the facts with the discussion. Are you saying that GM should have made a crossover instead of the Volt/Bolt? Are you saying that Tesla doesn't have a crossover?

"I'm having a hard time connecting the facts with the discussion. Are you saying that GM should have made a crossover instead of the Volt/Bolt? Are you saying that Tesla doesn't have a crossover?" GM already has a crossover line. In fact, it has a bunch, and they sell really well : http://www.gmfleet.com/vehicle-search/by-body-style/suvs-cro... Point out Tesla's crossover SUV with the range of a gasoline vehicle and…

How large are those cars? No wonder traffic is so bad.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#218

Post by greglindahl »

agumonkey wrote: post #214
hueving wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or withdrawals from people. The deposits are non-committal so people can cancel without losing anything.

Curious, did Tesla published updated stats ? or anyone else for that matter. The announcement numbers were way above expectations, but it's not much if half of that evaporated after the hype.

Apparently Tesla has not published an update. This article https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/14/teslas-model-3-res... guesses that the number hasn't changed much, due to the "Customer Deposits" line on Tesla's quarterly balance sheet.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#219

Post by mikeash »

vvanders wrote: post #211
mikeash wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Non-Tesla fast charging stations also tend to be broken a lot, and are installed in small numbers, often single units. It's tough to plan a trip where you need a charge at a particular location when you could be screwed if a single spot is occupied or out of order. Most Tesla locations are 6 spots or more, and they're much better about fixing them when they break.

Yup, and the just added real-time status on the nav map so you can see how many slots are available and re-route if needed.

Have you made use of that feature yet? I've poked at it on the nav system, but haven't had to use any Superchargers since it came out.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#220

Post by koreyb »

smogcutter wrote: post #216
w8vY7ER wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is worth noting that Jon McNeill (Pres. Global Sales and Service) took the time to post on a user forum in direct response to service delays and spoke with a fair bit of detail about how they are fixing the problem. Whether or not you are a fan, I think everyone can agree that this level of engagement is a strong positive for their cause. https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/2004525/

That's really interesting. Seems like the answer is they need a lot more third party shops - the problems that McNeill describes sound like the kind of thing that happens when there isn't enough competition. If I'm a model 3 customer, I don't really care about your service record in Palo Alto. What can you do for me in Skokie? Very interested to see how all this plays out. The success or failure of the Model 3 could…

Ford doesn't do batteries, solar, supercharging stations, autopilot tech, etc. Delorean produced 8,583 vehicles. :) But I get your point.
Post reply on HN