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

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

#71
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After seeing the recent Audi and Mercedes efforts, consensus seems to be that making EVs is not as easy as everyone thought and the big car companies still have a long way to go before they catch up "UBS says Audi's new electric car shows industry has a long way to go to catch Tesla" https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/18/ubs-says-audis-disappointing...

I'm very interested to see what Ford is coming out with in the 2020 time frame, with their fleet of "electrified" vehicles. I have a strong feeling that gas/electric hybrids which get decent electric-only range will be where the market is at (however they need to be targeting more than the 20-mile electric range they currently have). And I also like what I've read in some Ford interviews, where they aren't pushing el…

Plug-in hybrids appear to be pretty much a failure in the marketplace[1], I don't think that releasing more models is going to help. BTW boosting performance with a hybrid has been done for a long time now.

1: https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/

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

#72
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 ju…

Next year (March 2019) they will show the model Y, the smaller SUV based on the model 3 platform, but I doubt they'll start making them. The next year after that is the roadster. It's their secret plan that has been out on the web for years.

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

#73
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Audi/VW are not considered very good companies. They used to have Best In Class interiors which gave them a boost in the luxury markets, but they are average in 2018.

VW is the largest car manufacturer in the world

They are among Toyota and GM. Not that popular=quality.

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

#74
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And Google is going to be in big trouble when IBM releases their search engine. It always seems like it should be easy for legacy companies to stamp out disrupters but it almost never works out like that. It is very hard to refocus giant companies.

Tell that to Netscape. Point being, there's anecdotes in both directions. Only time will tell if Tesla's brand is truly industry defining or if it's just the vanguard of a broader industrial shift.

Tesla may or may not survive, but in some ways tesla vs gasoline auto manufacturers is similar to the web vs Microsoft. Car dealers make most of their money on maintenance after the sale, and electric vehicles (not just Tesla's cars but all of them) need a lot less maintenance than gas cars. My car in point, 35,000 miles drive, 3.5 years old, all I have done is get new tires. I didn't even take it in for annual maintenance, but I will do that before my non-drivetrain warranty runs out.

This is a big disincentive for bmw, etc (ice makers), in kind of the way that the web was a challenge to windows dominance - if microsoft supported the web too well in a standards compliance way, it would hurt their future prospects. There wouldn't be a viable ev market with customer pressure without tesla.

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

#75

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".

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.

Fast chargers need a high voltage electric hookup, which is expensive and often unavailable in residential neighborhoods.

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

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can imagine you never took a long road trip (say 600+ miles) with your Leaf. Then you'll understand the value of a fast charging network like Tesla has.

Agreed. I worried after I got my Tesla 2 years ago that it would just be a toy, only usable for short range trips. But 2 weeks after we got it we went on a 2,300 mile each way road trip, and it worked great. I was sold on the super charger turning the car into a truly useful thing instead of just a toy. And the new ~3.5x faster chargers are going to make it a gas-like experience.

[deleted]

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

#77

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".

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.

Capital costs seem rough. You can’t use a normal wall plug for a supercharger. How many amps do they pull, 200? You would need a new breaker box and the super charger hardware.... say 10k per house.

Who is going to spend 10k to get a charger in their driveway strangers can stop by and pay you $20 to use?

Uber works because people already own the car. Even EV people don’t already own a supercharger, they have a much simpler one.

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

#78
post #45

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".

Couldn't the mainstream auto manufactures install chargers at each of their dealers? It seems that for any major car brand, there are more dealerships than there are Tesla chargers.

Dealerships aren't in the right locations to make long-distance travel work out. You'd have huge holes in the network.

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

#79
post #7
post #2

“53,239 Model 3 vehicles, which was in line with our guidance and almost double the volume of Q2.”

The 13 weeks by 5,000 per week making 65,000 still seemingly stand: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18094836 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18095198

Hmmm, queer the downvoting on a simple multiplication...

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

#80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The supercharger network is one of the main reasons I bought a Tesla, rather than a competing car like a Leaf or a Bolt. Without the Supercharger network, road-trips become charge-seeking adventures. I recall reading a story about somebody who drove their Bolt across a few states, and how they had to stop for hours at Chevy dealers, and scrounge charging wherever they can. With my Tesla, I stop for 30-45min every few…

"Infrequently-used feature Z is why I bought the $80k car instead of the $40k car." Really? Unless you do road trips every week, you'd be way better off buying the Bolt or Leaf and then renting an ICE for whenever you go on a road trip.

My minivan is a road trip machine. Until we have EV minivans, my electric car would be in region only. Further trip is to a nearby airport.

Maybe if I replace my minivan with an EV minivan I would care.

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