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Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

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Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#93

In the electric space it seems like it's going to be Tesla and GM for the foreseeable future. None of Tesla's other competitors are putting out anything remotely close to the Volt and Bolt.

What about Nissan? The Leaf seems to be doing well even though it gets ignored in these conversations.

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla lost ~$2B last year, owes ~$10B in debt, and owes >$400M in interest payments per year alone. Moody’s downgraded Tesla’s bond rating because Tesla will need to raise more money this year, at least $2B (which is an extremely conservative figure), to avoid Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Elon Musk also owes >$600M in personal debt that he financed using Tesla stock as collateral. This means that if Tesla stock dips below…

All the major players operate under a debt and profit cycle. It's just that nobody else is also building a new car company and one that is a paradigm shift. https://simplywall.st/stocks/us/automobiles/nyse-gm/general-... On top of the fact they were bailed out.

Calling Tesla a paradigm shift is laughable. It's an electric car company and they put a fancy touch screen HUD in the dashboard. Revolutionary!

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Toyota embraced Deming/Kaizen, it wasn't their idea. Beyond that Tesla is a more extreme version of those ideas. Toyota doesn't need to, but it's likely they also wouldn't, build an entirely new line to meet a goal. That would be out of the focal range of their 'softer' implementation of continual improvements. Musk on the other hand is not averse to continual improvements that are on the extreme end of the spectrum.…

> For example when Consumer Reports identified a braking issue with the Model 3 Tesla had an OTA software fix in days. What other manufacture would do that, let alone could? Why should that be a good thing? Consider what this means: * Safety-critical systems are not air-gapped. (Granted, Tesla is far from the only offender here). * The fact that the fix was turned around in such a short time would seem to suggest tha…

- As you said, not the only offender here, I would even say air gapped would be the exception - This is wrong, the fact that is was quick to fix does not mean it was easy to find, or even easy to fix. Many softwares have suffered critical problems for ages without being detected, and yet when they are detected they are fixed in a day? - Sure, you can wonder, but this is purely speculative as we have no evidence of any problem of the sort here.

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#96

The way I see it, logistics aside, Tesla has awesome cars that are loved by those that manage to get one delivered, customers are actually lining up to buy them to the extent of paying just to get in line for that years ahead of time, and they are pretty much guaranteed to sell anything they ship for the foreseeable future. Better still most of their would be competitors are either not shipping at all right now, year…

Tesla lost ~$2B last year, owes ~$10B in debt, and owes >$400M in interest payments per year alone. Moody’s downgraded Tesla’s bond rating because Tesla will need to raise more money this year, at least $2B (which is an extremely conservative figure), to avoid Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Elon Musk also owes >$600M in personal debt that he financed using Tesla stock as collateral. This means that if Tesla stock dips below…

OK, all of this is true, and concerning to me, despite that I would never buy a Tesla (when there are perfectly good used Nissan Leafs out there!). This is part of the reason I never invest in individual stocks: I have no tolerance for the risk, and no confidence that I can interpret all these facts to come up with a coherent estimate of whether the price will go up or down.

I guess my question right now is: if the situation is so dire, and the facts are all out there, why is TSLA not priced lower? Is it that there's enough dumb money holding/buying it propping up the price? Or are investors confident in Musk's ability to raise money and eventually turn the corner? Or something else entirely?

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#97
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you believe that there is not much of competition for Tesla right now, you should read this: https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/10/17096608/tesla-jaguar-por...

Not right now: "One car alone doesn’t crowd the field. But Geneva was a showcase for a rush of coming EVs and hybrids." The i-Pace is almost out. The others... aren't. I'm particularly skeptical of Audi's gigantic marketing machine.

The Geneva expo was on March 1st, by now the i-Pace has arrived in the showrooms. The E-Tron Quattro is said to go in production in the upcoming months and to be deliverable by the end of the year.

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#98

In the electric space it seems like it's going to be Tesla and GM for the foreseeable future. None of Tesla's other competitors are putting out anything remotely close to the Volt and Bolt.

What about Nissan? The Leaf seems to be doing well even though it gets ignored in these conversations.

It's because the range has always been so low that it wasn't a practical option except as a 2nd car. It does look like they had a big jump in range this year to get it up to 151 miles, so it's improving.

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#99
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would Tesla fold ?

Because they’re cash flow negative and would eventually run out of runway without either a change in financials or raising a new round.

Someone else would certainly buy them. The brand is too good to let it vanish. So it's just a matter of price -- the more indebted is Tesla the more likely someone would buy it.

Re: Tesla opens the Model 3 reservation floodgates

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All the major players operate under a debt and profit cycle. It's just that nobody else is also building a new car company and one that is a paradigm shift. https://simplywall.st/stocks/us/automobiles/nyse-gm/general-... On top of the fact they were bailed out.

Calling Tesla a paradigm shift is laughable. It's an electric car company and they put a fancy touch screen HUD in the dashboard. Revolutionary!

You underplaying the importance of Tesla is laughable. 5 years ago electric/autonomous cars-as-computers were not on the road map (or were an afterthought) for major OEM's, now you go to auto shows and every manufacturers is featuring an upcoming electric vehicle. It absolutely changed the industry.
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