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Tesla Q1 2020 Update

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Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#311

Post by nickik »

cma wrote: post #271
tbrock wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There would be no Tesla brand without him. The brand is quite literally "We are building electric cars, get the fuck out of our way!" so I think it's pretty on brand for him to be saying what he's saying. The man demands action, if he didn't he wouldn't be running the most ambitious companies on the planet.

"There would be no Tesla brand without him." > Founded as Tesla Motors, Tesla was incorporated on July 1, 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.

Before Elon Tesla was 2 guys with a piece of paper saying 'we should build Electric cars'.

Elon provided most of the funding, and it wouldn't have gotten of the ground without him.

Next Eberhard ran the company straight into the ground and Elon had to take over.

Then Elon had to invest even more money to save the company.

From there he made it one of the most valuable car companies in the world.

Thus, anybody who thinks Tesla would actually exist without Elon is just a fool.

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#312

Post by nickik »

slg wrote: post #18
chollida1 wrote: post #2

Since, things are slow, my notes.... Misc: - Fremont plant idle since March 23rd - raised 2.3B in February, which seems really well timed now - Musk venting with "FREE AMERICA NOW" tweet makes him seem almost crazy - can see why Elon is going crazy on twitter, he'd almost turned around Telsa and now they may be in the worst cash crunch of their long life - Shanghai Giga reopened on Feb 10th, showing the importance of…

>- Musk venting with "FREE AMERICA NOW" tweet makes him seem almost crazy Musk is on the verge of a three quarter of billion dollar windfall if Tesla's six month average market cap exceeds $100b. I would guess that motivates his desire to open as soon as possible. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-stocks-musk/teslas-...

Or it might be the fact that he doesn't want a government to ruin his business when he believes the reasons for the lockdown are not good enough.

He has to keep these stocks for 5 years and to get even more money he need to hit even higher targets. Short term trying to hit one of those points is not really productive and that is not how he has ever operated.

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#313

Post by anoncareer0212 »

ramblerman wrote: post #306
anoncareer0212 wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, what's 'crazy' is having to read a mind-numbing comment claiming anyone is 'locking up people in their homes', in service of defending an out-of-touch billionaire who flies twice a day on his private jet, 200,000 miles in just the last 3 months. https://twitter.com/evdefender/status/1252352769605791744?s=... Why out of touch? Because 74% of Americans support the quarantine https://thehill.com/changing-america/wel…

This isn't your typicial political argument where you pick a side and dig in your heels. It's more like a goldilocks situation where we need "just enough" measures. In that vein I don't think we should just silence the opposite side and dismiss people wanting to open up as "crazy".

Okay, but that conflicts directly with the idea we need to avoid labelling someone ranting about facism, locking people in their homes, and The Meaning Of America.

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#314

Post by nickik »

kenhwang wrote: post #144
save_ferris wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He might be more concerned about the sales prospects instead of operational expenses. Automakers are getting hit really hard by this pandemic, and they need a healthy economy to sell cars. Many economic forecasts are saying that a full recovery is 2-4 years away, although there are many different opinions.

Tesla relies on high volume to make money; the other automakers are pricing EVs based more on margin. An economic slow down hurts volume much more than it hurts margins. Tesla also relies heavily on first-mover advantage to grow. With the virus stalling everything, all the more cash rich automakers get time to catch up on R&D, while Tesla is stalled from being unable to physically expand. Tesla also becomes more cash…

> Tesla relies on high volume to make money; the other automakers are pricing EVs based more on margin.

This is just wrong. Tesla relies on margin. The other automakers don't make money with their EVs for the most part. They make money with their ICE vehicles.

> all the more cash rich automakers get time to catch up on R&D

Actually all the other automakers are stripping their R&D programs and dropping new EV vehicles to survive.

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#315

Post by josefx »

jaimex2 wrote: post #257
awinder wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can see some of the even more colorful stuff Elon said on the investor call covered here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/04/29/tesla-e...

He's not wrong.

So we have a democratically elected government doing what both science and popular opinion agree on. Somehow that isn't democratic because it forces successful business owners to loose money. Doing what Musk wants in this case would be closer to the economic side of fascism and certainly not democratic.

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#316

Post by MPSimmons »

sjwright wrote: post #267
trianglem wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah for process but there’s no spacex without Elon.

I personally feel there's a big overlap between Jobs and Musk—but none more so than the fact that they had the key combination of sufficient intelligence, clear vision, high self-confidence and (most importantly) strong influence over corporate direction. One of my favourite Steve Jobs quotes is just after he returned to Apple and began dismantling the massive pile of legacy cruft. When asked about a particular (terr…

I differ, in that I don't think Steve Jobs had a clear vision that he could communicate to others. I think he was very, very gifted as someone who could see the right path forward, and he seemed to execute ruthlessly.

The evidence I would put forth is that, in the decade since Steve Jobs died, Apple has added a watch to their lineup, and changed virtually nothing else. Their supply chain efficiencies might be better, but without Steve to look at what the rest of the world was offering, and to say, "That is all shit, THIS is what should be next", Apple has merely been a high-end manufacturer of electronics.

Elon, on the other hand, has a very clear vision, and it can be communicated in simple statements: "Humanity needs to be a multiplanetary species". "Electric vehicles are the only viable, sustainable means of mass short range travel".

When you combine this with the drive he has to succeed, you get people lined up behind him, not because they want to emulate him, but because their goals are aligned. The people who work at SpaceX want humanity to go to Mars - not because Elon says so, but because they know it has to happen for us to survive, and because Elon's company is the best hope we have right now.

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#317

Post by [deleted] »

stronglikedan wrote: post #269
wilg wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it so much to ask for him to tweet responsibly so we can enjoy the fun future stuff without all the bullshit?

Ideally, yes, it's too much to ask - ever - since people should just brush off the bullshit and get on with their lives. However, society in general has developed a really thin skin over the past couple of decades, so realistically, no, it's not too much to ask - right now.

[deleted]

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#318

Post by [deleted] »

nickik wrote: post #311
cma wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"There would be no Tesla brand without him." > Founded as Tesla Motors, Tesla was incorporated on July 1, 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.

Before Elon Tesla was 2 guys with a piece of paper saying 'we should build Electric cars'. Elon provided most of the funding, and it wouldn't have gotten of the ground without him. Next Eberhard ran the company straight into the ground and Elon had to take over. Then Elon had to invest even more money to save the company. From there he made it one of the most valuable car companies in the world. Thus, anybody who thi…

[deleted]

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#319

Post by killjoywashere »

nickik wrote: post #309
rtsil wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Meanwhile Tesla and SpaceX have continued to succeed beyond expectations for over a decade now. I think people underestimate how essential Gwynne Shotwell is to SpaceX.

I love Shotwell, but there are a number of people who could do a fair job to run rocket operations. Its not like other rocket companies have major issues with running operations. The part that no other company can do is the part that Elon does, and that is ultimately why the operation side is so successful.

Yeah, I don't see Dave Calhoun, Tory Bruno, or Peter Ruddock sleeping on the factory floor. That said, they don't need to. I'd want to work for Elon in my 20s. I'm not sure I'd want Elon to be my CEO one year before my pension vests.

Re: Tesla Q1 2020 Update

#320

Post by leoh »

xeromal wrote: post #276
cma wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Investor fraud isn't just whimsy nonconformism.

That's not what OP is saying. OP is saying what makes Elon good at his job is always what makes him say a meme tweet that gets him in trouble with the SEC. You get both.

Though he might have visionary moments of non-conformity, it sets an awful precedent to allow people to violate common ethics in order to allow them to just "be themselves."
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