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

Tesla delivered 83,500 vehicles in the third quarter, more than expected

cnbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 123 posts

Re: Tesla delivered 83,500 vehicles in the third quarter, more than expected

#51

Post by cowmix »

compcoffee wrote: post #46
dgritsko wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget the Supercharger network; seems like that's another big part of Tesla's first-mover advantage that any serious competitor will need to address at some point if they want to "catch up".

> Don't forget the Supercharger network Part of the VW "Dieselgate" settlement requires VW to invest $2BB in charger infrastructure. Installing chargers is not rocket science, nor a huge advantage.

It is harder than you think and it is a HUGE advantage. I have a non-Tesla EV, trust me, the public charging network is pretty horrible.

Re: Tesla delivered 83,500 vehicles in the third quarter, more than expected

#52

Post by rcMgD2BwE72F »

kbutler wrote: post #9

Isn't "in line with our guidance" the key phrase here? How often does Tesla get to say that?

Who care about quarter to quarter guidance, except the investors and short sellers? What actually matters is how Tesla executes compared to their long-term plans. Despite all the delays and "failed" promises, they keep exceeding their multi-year goals.

Just check this out: http://www.autonews.com/article/20140113/OEM/301139981/audac... (or watch any JB Straubel's keynote)

They're killing it. In fact, the naysayers just keep moving the goalpost.

Re: Tesla delivered 83,500 vehicles in the third quarter, more than expected

#53

Post by electriclove »

lykr0n wrote: post #4

Impressive, but they are going to need to dramatically increase that number to if they wish to compete when the big car companies wake up.

Big car companies waking up.. easier said than done. It is ALL just talk right now. As Tesla succeeds, they will be forced to participate. But right now, there aren't many actual players (Tesla, Nissan, GM): https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/

Re: Tesla delivered 83,500 vehicles in the third quarter, more than expected

#54

Post by martin_bech »

lykr0n wrote: post #4

Impressive, but they are going to need to dramatically increase that number to if they wish to compete when the big car companies wake up.

Yeah.. just like when Nokia and Blackberry started releasing iPhone Killers.. ohh wait..

Re: Tesla delivered 83,500 vehicles in the third quarter, more than expected

#55

Post by mrfusion »

dgritsko wrote: post #14
sbradford26 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure it benefits Tesla to produce more cars to compete with the big auto companies. But I do not believe that suddenly any of them will be able crank out a cost competitive electric car with the same range in any large quantity. Sure your existing car companies are better right now at physically building the conventional parts of a car, but the most expensive part of an electric car is the batteries. Tesla's partners…

Don't forget the Supercharger network; seems like that's another big part of Tesla's first-mover advantage that any serious competitor will need to address at some point if they want to "catch up".

I think a cool start up idea would be to install fast chargers at peoples homes and they could then offer them up to travelers for a fee.

The startup would install the charger and split the fee with the homeowner.

Anyone want to work on that with me? Or feel free to critique. It’s sort of like air bnb for car charging.

Re: Tesla delivered 83,500 vehicles in the third quarter, more than expected

#56

Post by beamatronic »

jackhack wrote: post #32
wintercharm wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, there's a clear shift coming in the automotive industry. The auto makers who don't have plans for electrification right now are in big trouble. Thankfully, the VW group will actually be okay - they've tasked Porsche's engineers with electrification of all the companies owned by the group. The Taycan will be built on the J1 platform (Porsche controlled/built). Porsche is developing 3 different packages for other…

And just for completeness, Porsche "only" sold 55,000 cars in 2017. Tesla shipped 30%+ more automobiles in one quarter, yet there is debate about whether Tesla is a viable company and no-one is predicting the imminent demise of that tiny car company, Porsche. Bias + old thinking dies hard, it seems.

I feel like Porsche has much room to grow. Tesla has made a car that is both sensible and sexy. In the past you had to choose. Anyone in the market for a Tesla might also consider an electric or electrified Porsche. Like a plug-in hybrid Macan.

Re: Tesla delivered 83,500 vehicles in the third quarter, more than expected

#57

Post by jccooper »

brisance wrote: post #16

From their press release: "We also want to thank all of our customers who volunteered to help us with deliveries, and our new customers who are showing their faith in Tesla by purchasing our products in such large numbers." Isn't it illegal for a for-profit company like Tesla to make use of "volunteers"/unpaid labor? There are only narrow exceptions e.g. interns for school credit. https://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/whd/fl…

FLSA prohibits employees volunteering at their employer, to avoid that becoming "volunteering". Customers showing up to help other customers is not really contemplated by the law, and is probably just part of the "brand experience".

Re: Tesla delivered 83,500 vehicles in the third quarter, more than expected

#58

Post by kemiller »

lykr0n wrote: post #30
MrEfficiency wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But I do not believe that suddenly any of them will be able crank out a cost competitive electric car with the same range in any large quantity. This is ignorant and downplays the companies that have existed for decades. Tesla isnt profitable, the rest of the auto companies are profitable. These auto companies have already developed electric vehicles(see Bolt and Leaf) but demand doesnt cause them to produce Tesla…

This. Ford makes 1.6 million cars (worldwide) per quarter. Tesla, while impressive, cannot keep up when someone else enters their market segment. If tomorrow Ford/Chevy/Toyota announces a model 3 like car for 2020 release with something close to the 3's specs, Tesla is dead unless they can pull a rabbit out of their hat. Tesla can do what- 350k to 400k cars a year based on current numbers? The big players can do that…

The battery is not an afterthought. The big players do not have an answer to the gigafactory at this point. They can build all the cars they want but without batteries they won’t be electric.

Re: Tesla delivered 83,500 vehicles in the third quarter, more than expected

#59

Post by bluedevil2k »

josefresco wrote: post #42
jackhack wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And just for completeness, Porsche "only" sold 55,000 cars in 2017. Tesla shipped 30%+ more automobiles in one quarter, yet there is debate about whether Tesla is a viable company and no-one is predicting the imminent demise of that tiny car company, Porsche. Bias + old thinking dies hard, it seems.

Fun fact: Porsche almost bought VW*. From memory (don't hold me to this) I believe the recession of 2008 nuked these plans, and instead VW bought out Porsche! https://www.automobilemag.com/news/porsche-and-volkswagen-wh...

There was a lot of interesting things going on between VW and Porsche 10 years ago. First Porsche silently tried to buy VW by accumulating shares and call options. They ended up with 42% of the shares and call options for another 32%. Since the German state of Lower Saxony owns 20% and would never sell, only 6% of the shares were floating and it created a short squeeze. For a short time, VW was the most valuable company in the world. (1)

Just a year later, after the global recession and the resulting decrease in Porsches sold, they were facing problems repaying debt and ended up being purchased by VW.

(1) https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/business/worldbusiness/30...

Re: Tesla delivered 83,500 vehicles in the third quarter, more than expected

#60

Post by cam3ham »

onion2k wrote: post #35
jackhack wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And just for completeness, Porsche "only" sold 55,000 cars in 2017. Tesla shipped 30%+ more automobiles in one quarter, yet there is debate about whether Tesla is a viable company and no-one is predicting the imminent demise of that tiny car company, Porsche. Bias + old thinking dies hard, it seems.

Volkswagen is the world's seventh-largest company by revenue. Porsche isn't going to disappear overnight because they're backed by a massive corporation. They're at "too big to fail" scale; if they have problems the German government will have to bail them out. Tesla, even with Elon's ability to raise money, does not have that sort of back up.

They will fail if people no longer want their cars. Too big to fail doesn't mean anything. Blackberry.
Post reply on HN