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Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

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Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#301

Post by pmorici »

radiorental wrote: post #263
jaimex2 wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dont know... Tesla is currently training their driving AI using the existing fleet in shadow mode. How do you skip this step and go straight to level 4? They need months of tuning outside a lab, worldwide. A lot of car manufacturers still refuse to build an EV from the ground up. They are reusing an ICE platform and converting them to EVs. Mazda don't even acknowledge that they need to build EVs. https://electrek.c…

I see car companies getting off the shelf solutions from companies like Nvidia, which is what is being trained in Tesla's today. And Nvidia have their own demo. I genuinely wonder who owns the algorithm... It actually makes sense to jump to level 4 from both a liability & design/platform perspective. The fact that Tesla is bleeding through the first few stages with driver-in-the-loop doesn't necessarily mean they get…

That is no longer true with respect to Mazda.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#302

Post by srtjstjsj »

artursapek wrote: post #131
laurent123456 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't short the stock but I can understand why someone would. They are expected to generate over 90% of their value after 2020 [0]. There's the expectation that Elon Musk will definitely deliver, that Tesla market share will not be eaten up by other carmakers when they seriously start releasing electric vehicles. The expectation that electric and not another form of energy, such as hydrogen, will dominate, etc. Th…

> ...that Tesla market share will not be eaten up by other carmakers when they seriously start releasing electric vehicles Tesla has been around long enough that it can no longer be replaced by a large company that just throws a ton of money and talent at it. They're too far ahead. There's no substitute for the raw amount of time Tesla has spent developing its product.

ahead of who? There are several low-end electric cars already on the market (Chevy, Nissan, BMW), and one high-end (Tesla). They are meeting in the middle

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#303

Post by dtparr »

slg wrote: post #239
rco8786 wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you vastly underestimate how much demand is represented by 400,000 people willing to part with $1k before a product even exists. Refundable or not.

I am not questioning the demand. I am questioning the commitment of people who put down a refundable deposit on a product they had very little information about. I am one of those people who threw down my $1000 before any of the presentations. I am still not sure whether I will purchase one. My interest has actually waned with recent leaks like the complete lack of any dashboard readouts. However I am still perfectly…

You're not the only one. I'm nearly identical. Losing access to $1k for a year or two (with the ability to get it back within a few weeks) is completely a non-factor, and since it increases my chance of a $7500 rebate, seems like a pretty good investment, actually.

Also, same feeling of 'meh' based on leaks so far. I was really hoping for a scaled down S with fewer amenities, lower performance, etc. rather than something from scratch. The no dashboard instrument cluster thing bugs me, as does the fact that AWD won't be available initially (hurting the chances of the rebate if I want AWD), but I'll wait until at least the final reveal if not later to make my decision.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#304

Post by ryanmonroe »

jkchu wrote: post #262
NeutronBoy wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Which other car is 400,000 people waiting patiently to buy for two years, even putting down a $1,000 deposit? None, but I would hazard a guess that's because if you want to buy a BMW, a Mercedes or an Audi, you don't need to. You can simply go and buy one!

But the closest thing to a $35k electric car from BMW, Mercedes, or Audi is BMW's i3 - which I think is targeting a different market.

Mercedes has the $40k B-Class electric car.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#305

Post by reanim8ed »

broodbucket wrote: post #252
elgenie wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fifty Cent got a minority stake in Glaceau instead of a payment for endorsing their Vitamin Water. When Glaceau sold to Coca-Cola, that equity was worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million.

Pretty sure 50 is bankrupt now.

> Pretty sure 50 is bankrupt now.

It was fake: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3470122/He-s-far-bro...

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#306

Post by kayoone »

jaimex2 wrote: post #261
radiorental wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Tesla is doing to traditional car manufacturers what Apple did to Nokia. Sincerely, and with all due respect, this is a false analogy. What happened to Nokia was pretty much self inflicted. Mismanagement, competing empires, complacency. Apple did not start shipping low end brick phones and eat Nokia's market. Post '08 bailout automotive manufacturers are lean and hungry (for the most part) Furthermore, the 'traditi…

I dont know... Tesla is currently training their driving AI using the existing fleet in shadow mode. How do you skip this step and go straight to level 4? They need months of tuning outside a lab, worldwide. A lot of car manufacturers still refuse to build an EV from the ground up. They are reusing an ICE platform and converting them to EVs. Mazda don't even acknowledge that they need to build EVs. https://electrek.c…

The german manufactures are not asleep at the wheel, get into the newest E-Class and despite it being a lot cheaper than a Model S, the self driving capabilities are impressive. Don't even let me start on the interieur quality, which is my biggest gripe with Tesla considering their price segment.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#308

Post by jrockway »

hacktothefuture wrote: post #161
mikeash wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EVs are unpopular because cheap ones aren't very good yet. You have to choose between almost unusably short range, or a very high price. Something like the LEAF is affordable, but only useful as a city car. A Model S is a great car, but extremely expensive. The cost is coming down. Chevy is now selling the Bolt, which has pretty good range, for under $40,000. Tesla's Model 3 is coming soon. More will follow. The high…

100% agree but they have to be careful with the idea that "It's smart to invest in what sells right now... "! The story is so reminiscent of Kodak. Huge 'titanic' of a ship that saw the writing on the wall, actually released digital cameras but the bulk of their infrastructure, employees and expenditures were in traditional film cameras. Once the industry fully shifted they still couldn't change course and died a slo…

Kodak was a chemical company that was expected to start making semiconductors or consumer electronics. It's all "photography" but the film and digital industries are very different.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#309

Post by taneq »

jd20 wrote: post #205
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…

One thing I've wondered about this: exactly what data is Tesla able to collect from the vehicles on the road? I've not found this on their website, nor any way to opt-out of data collection. For a vehicle with an always-on camera and cellular connection that can't be shut off, you'd think more people would be concerned about this.

This is my primary concern about Teslas. I'd love one from a pure tech and driving point of view, but I'm not willing to submit to a panopticon just to get one.

My second concern is aftermarket serviceability. I would never buy a car that the manufacturer could later remotely disable (leaving me with no recourse) just because they feel I've breached their ToS or something. Tesla is far too much like Silicon Valley software companies in that regard - 99.9% of the time "you'll be fine", but the other 0.1% of the time you're screwed and there's no way to fix it.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#310

Post by martinko »

reverend_gonzo wrote: post #108
Afforess wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why you should purchase put options instead of short selling. Exposure to short selling is theoretically infinite. Exposure to put options is just the price you paid for the option. Shorting generally should only be for companies whose solvency is in doubt.

This is wrong. You should not be trading options if you only have a directional view of a stock, as you will get eaten alive. Options pricing involves much more than just the underlying stock. Most importantly, as another poster said, there is implied volatility. There is also time risk and interest rate risk priced into the option. With options, you could be right on direction, and still lose money.

If your strategy is to hold them in order to exercise them you do not need to worry about their pricing.
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