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Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

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Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#61

Post by jowiar »

ctdonath wrote: post #49
netule wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They changed their name this year from Tesla Motors to Tesla Inc. to indicate a wider focus on technologies, not just cars (solar panels, batteries). How do they not qualify as a tech company?

Knowing the company's core competency is very important. Stray from that, bad things happen. Is Tesla an electric car company? or an electric supply chain company? or what? If EV manufacturing, then focus on the car construction & experience, doing what's needed to power the thing (battery production, home solar services) but realize those can/should be ejected when better solutions arise. If a "tech" company, then w…

Interesting sidenote -- after reading the keyboard.io adventures-in-manufacturing emails, what really jumps out at me are the extent to which Apple's true brilliance these days is on the manufacturing/supply chain end of things.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#62

Post by samstave »

laurent123456 wrote: post #33
jpeg_hero wrote: post #2

Tesla shorts can't get a break. First a smooth $1B+ capital raise without a stock hiccup and now this.

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…

The year is 2051, SpaceX has made significant progress on building out infrastructure on mars. In the last 25 years we have seen the explosion of Musk's empire across the solar system. Starting with the seed efforts on earth, robotic rockets have been flowing to Mars in droves. The exceptional thing is how they have delivered the infrastructure to the planet once there.

These rockets are far superior to their ancestors. With orbital factories around earth, and regular deliveries of colonization supplies, the network is vast, complex and efficient.

Starting with battery manufacturing on earth, all the colonization components required of earth are delivered to the orbital factories where humans and robots work in a beautiful synchronized effort to prepare each packet to Mars. Batteries and other components are delivered to orbit. They are then constructed into the various machines to be delivered to mars on the massive Falcon-33s that will haul them to Mars.

The autonomous Tesla Landers are quite complex, they have impressive batteries, but its their job which is more impressive.

Once orbiting Mars, the payload shall be unpacked and deployed to the surface, where they will continue the construction of the massive solar arrays which already have a large contingent of batteries to slurp up the solar energy and store it for all the other needs of the build-out.

The project has been going on for decades, but we are starting to see some serious results in this phase...

The original idea was laughed at, but it was all backed by sound science and a simple phased approach:

* Develop seed infra at home; Batteries, rockets, robots

* Consumerize these to fund later phases

* Proof-out orbital autonomous delivery services via the ISS

* Commoditize space tourism, popularize it with celebrities

* Exploratory missions to Mars

* Develop orbital manufacturing capabilities, where supplies can be delivered autonomously

* Build Ultra-heavies in orbit, modularly to avoid launch costs from surface (required tethering technology to be developed)

* Deploy communication relay probes between spatial bodies

* Deliver initial robots to surface of Mars, they prep for solar install

* initial solar install to feed robot population already on surface

* Add batteries

* further infrastructure to follow, but with a working autonomous robot service group ready to build out

We are now at the deployed battery stage, the Organization is now preparing the life support systems for long-term human colonization, and within the next 25 years, we will have a permanent Human Civilization2 on the planet Mars... perhaps, Again?

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#63

Post by cmrdporcupine »

Robotbeat wrote: post #46
spyspy wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> when they seriously start releasing electric vehicles They've been "serious" for a long time. Chevy has been selling the Volt since 2010. If they were going to muscle out Tesla they would have done it by now. And it's not just about technology. Tesla has the customer reputation that companies like GM will never have again.

I own a Volt. Best car I've ever driven. GM doesn't care much for it. The only advertising they really do for it basically is trying to steal EV customers from Nissan's Leaf. Really dumb. And the dealers don't like it because 1) they don't know how to service them and especially 2) they almost never need servicing. If you run almost exclusively on electric, you only need like 4-5 oil changes in the entire life of the…

I'm about to buy a Volt as soon as VW buys my dieselgate car back from me. I have had to go through a few different dealers to find someone who is serious about selling the thing.

The platform looks amazing. It boggles my mind in all the years this vehicle has existed that they haven't made more vehicles based on it.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#64

Post by Robotbeat »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #63
Robotbeat wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I own a Volt. Best car I've ever driven. GM doesn't care much for it. The only advertising they really do for it basically is trying to steal EV customers from Nissan's Leaf. Really dumb. And the dealers don't like it because 1) they don't know how to service them and especially 2) they almost never need servicing. If you run almost exclusively on electric, you only need like 4-5 oil changes in the entire life of the…

I'm about to buy a Volt as soon as VW buys my dieselgate car back from me. I have had to go through a few different dealers to find someone who is serious about selling the thing. The platform looks amazing. It boggles my mind in all the years this vehicle has existed that they haven't made more vehicles based on it.

Agreed. A pickup based on the Volt technology would be fantastic. Electric can allow crazy good torque. And you have a nice big battery, backed by a quiet and efficient built-in generator that only needs to run occasionally, to run power tools off of.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#65

Post by timr »

Robotbeat wrote: post #60
timr wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, the reason GM "doesn't care" about the Volt (I'm exaggerating here; they obviously care a little bit ) is because they're rational: electric cars are not popular with mass-market consumers, and it's far from clear that they're going to become popular. GM is investing in what sells, and right now (i.e. for the last decade or two), that's SUVs and light trucks. Which doesn't bode well for Tesla, at least in t…

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 influence consumers' affinity for brands and perception of product quality. It can't change economics.

"Tesla will be perfectly fine on the demand front."

I'm sure there's a market. After all, Lamborghini is "perfectly fine on the demand front", too. But will the demand for electric vehicles justify a valuation on par with General Motors? That's the rub.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#67

Post by lightbyte »

reilly3000 wrote: post #38
sah2ed wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A battery/renewable energy company.

I think the key distinction is hard costs. Tech companies have server costs. Tesla has manufacturing and contractor expenses.

Tesla has plenty of server architecture, their cars are constantly talking to it for data collection and updates.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#69

Post by chrishacken »

timr wrote: post #56
vvanders wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, which is why any entrenched player is going to have to both build an incredible car and fight against their dealerships to sell it.

Actually, the reason GM "doesn't care" about the Volt (I'm exaggerating here; they obviously care a little bit ) is because they're rational: electric cars are not popular with mass-market consumers, and it's far from clear that they're going to become popular. GM is investing in what sells, and right now (i.e. for the last decade or two), that's SUVs and light trucks. Which doesn't bode well for Tesla, at least in t…

Close to 200,000 Prius's are sold each year. While that's no where near the "best selling" car, their Camry (400,000 cars a year), that's substantial.

Re: Tencent buys 5% of Tesla

#70

Post by koolba »

jcfrei wrote: post #59
Robotbeat wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I own a Volt. Best car I've ever driven. GM doesn't care much for it. The only advertising they really do for it basically is trying to steal EV customers from Nissan's Leaf. Really dumb. And the dealers don't like it because 1) they don't know how to service them and especially 2) they almost never need servicing. If you run almost exclusively on electric, you only need like 4-5 oil changes in the entire life of the…

Very interesting points. So as the other comment has pointed out, traditional automakers will have difficulties selling through their dealerships. Do any of the established players have any plans for their own dealerships / showrooms?

They can't as the rights to having local dealerships has already been split out. They'd have to buy out their dealers and probably change a bit of State law to accommodate that.
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