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he is sexist?
or blind?
maybe just a negative person?
lutz is a Putz. He's no dummy, he's just defending his old employer. As the force behind the volt, He secretly wishes he had the stones to be like musk.
lutz is a Putz. He's no dummy, he's just defending his old employer ...
No, his current employer in the sense that he is chairman of VIA Motors, maker of PHEV vans.
He also got the Volt built.
Many people don't know that Kodak tried hard to make a digital camera, and had some major commercial imagers. They just never had the electrical engineering skills of the Japanese.
Most large automakers outsource most of their electrical engineering and software. The heart of car manufacturing culture is engine and drivetrain. ICE engines have achieved far more in price/performance than any engineer would have believed forty years ago. This success lays the foundation for failure.
He also got the Volt built.
I'm still not sure what these three comments are supposed to mean.
"If Elon says he's bought up every Country (Company?) that controls lithium and now controls the global supply of lithium, maybe there is a chance"
Plenty of Lithium in the world
America finds massive source of lithium in Wyoming | MINING.com
"The price of the battery is not the assembly line, it's the raw material which has to be procured and everybody pays more or less the same price."
The argument made by Bob is ..."The price of the battery is not the assembly line, it's the raw material which has to be procured and everybody pays more or less the same price."
"The price of the battery is not the assembly line, it's the raw material which has to be procured and everybody pays more or less the same price."
The assertion that Tesla is hemorrhaging cash is either moronic, deceitful, or completely ignorant. Tesla is investing to double their production capacity every 18 months or so. When did GM double anything other than their idiotic car designs? I think Lutz should go back to Lutz farm to enjoy his retirement without embarrassing himself
Bob wasn't saying this in context of Elon needing to secure more sources of Lithium in order to be able to make batteries. The question was about the competitive edge of the Gigafactory, and whether it leaves other competitors unable to catch up.
The argument made by Bob is that Lithium batteries are very easy to make with automation, and the existence of a Gigafactory doesn't give Tesla so big an advantage that the competitors can't catch up. "The price of the battery is not the assembly line, it's the raw material which has to be procured and everybody pays more or less the same price."
Now if Elon were to secure all the Lithium sources in the world, that would put competitors in trouble, and unable to catch up.
Same with the "Boy, I don't see it" argument. The direct context is that he doesn't believe that the mere existence of a Gigafactory would give Tesla an unsurmountable competitive advantage. I don't see it either. Anybody can build one - and even Elon thinks there needs to be hundreds of Gigafactories. It's necessary, and it's the next step, but the winner isn't going to be who owns the first Gigafactory or where it's located.
Actually the reverse is true, mining companies sell product direct at a Premium to the commodity market. (particularly Nickel) There are valid reasons to deal direct with the mine, but reduced cost is not one of them (primary reason is security of supply, and matching grade closely to requirements, price stability.) If someones wants cheaper product from a mine, then that requires partial ownership/financing.He clearly hasn't done his homework. Tesla is the only battery company talking directly to mines to get their elements/ores required. Everyone else pays basically the same price - in commodity markets - where the price is higher.
Except it isn't.
Not sure how that applies to the lithium carbonate market. Tesla right now is talking directly with local mines in Nevada and the mines there have indicated they are the first to do so. I would imagine buying at a mine directly (and shipping everything yourself) would have some cost savings vs. buying in the commodity market from a supplier (that has its own margins built in).Actually the reverse is true, mining companies sell product direct at a Premium to the commodity market. (particularly Nickel) There are valid reasons to deal direct with the mine, but reduced cost is not one of them (primary reason is security of supply, and matching grade closely to requirements, price stability.) If someones wants cheaper product from a mine, then that requires partial ownership/financing.
Exactly. The same way that SpaceX makes rockets a whole lot cheaper than anyone else, all of whom have access to the same raw materials. There's more to making a product than the price of the raw materials.