General Discussion: 2018 Investor Roundtable

[Icer]

Red Flags.
"Danger Will Robinson"

The last week brought the Reveal hit, done with an NPR Radio outfit;
quick follow up instant investigation by the state of CA;
the Rooting for Elon piece under the "Class and Equality" banner at Boston Review;
and Tesla's Fatal Crash, by Bryant Walker Smith of the
Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School

(Because there are no other important problems to solve)
(Probably)

Not
*
Elon the capitalist/industrialist/billionaire and Tesla owners as "The Rich",
plus entrenched union/pension structures,
their loving fondness for regulation,
and the flyweight Blumenthal "on the case"...
give me reasons to believe this is a coordinated attack.
From the left.
So heads up people.

This new and unwelcome development is something to watch out for,
and push back against.
*
The lines are blurring, and right now remarkably, Trump may be Elon's best friend.
Reminds me that I wanted Elon to build in Texas.
That cheap Fremont building may prove to be a costly error.

specific example of general incoherence:

 

[Waiting4M3]

Maybe I missed it, but I did not see this article here:
Tesla Quietly Raised the Price of the Powerwall

It was done quietly, reddit reported it on March 1st.

 

[Buddyroe]

Few people buy premium gas and even fewer cars can utilize it.

Really? I think you have it backwards. You can put a higher octane gas in cars that only require 87, but many cars these days are requiring 91 - in those cases you can't use 89 or 87 octane. And there are many people who only require 87 octance who will occasionally run higher octane gas because they believe it will clean their engine due to higher level of detergents (not so sure I believe that).

Here's a list of cars between 2011 and 2017 that require premium gas.

Cars Requiring Premium Fuel

 

[Yggdrasill]

The lowest octane gas you get in Norway is 95. Would be a shame if cars couldn't use it.

 

[ggr]

The lowest octane gas you get in Norway is 95. Would be a shame if cars couldn't use it.

Different measuring system. See Octane rating - Wikipedia. Yet another case where the US is out of step with most of the world.

 

[Yggdrasill]

Different measuring system. See Octane rating - Wikipedia. Yet another case where the US is out of step with most of the world.

Didn't know that, but I see US 91 is the same as EU 95, so the argument still applies. The lowest octane rating you can get in Norway is US 91.

 

[MikeC]

Elon the capitalist/industrialist/billionaire and Tesla owners as "The Rich",
plus entrenched union/pension structures,
their loving fondness for regulation,
and the flyweight Blumenthal "on the case"...
give me reasons to believe this is a coordinated attack.
From the left.
So heads up people.

This new and unwelcome development is something to watch out for,
and push back against.
*
The lines are blurring, and right now remarkably, Trump may be Elon's best friend.
Reminds me that I wanted Elon to build in Texas.
That cheap Fremont building may prove to be a costly error.

specific example of general incoherence:

I have noticed that Slate had three negative articles in the past week or so on Tesla. This is a progressive news outlet that is anti-Koch, global warming, etc. but these articles could've just as easily been from the WSJ or Kolodny. I think it has to be due to the UAW union push. Getting it from both sides now, I can see why Elon said he is half-Democrat, half-Republican.

 

[K_Dizzle]

I have noticed that Slate had three negative articles in the past week or so on Tesla. This is a progressive news outlet that is anti-Koch, global warming, etc. but these articles could've just as easily been from the WSJ or Kolodny. I think it has to be due to the UAW union push. Getting it from both sides now, I can see why Elon said he is half-Democrat, half-Republican.

Elon should not speak politically at all. But my hunch is that he’s 100% republican

 

[JRP3]

But my hunch is that he’s 100% republican

Pretty obvious that he's not.
Elon Musk Helps California Rank No. 1 for Hillary Clinton Fundraising

 

[JRP3]

Dana Hull and her "neutral" reporting again Another Safety Probe Hits Tesla After Subcontractor Breaks Jaw

 

[Curt Renz]

I have noticed that Slate had three negative articles in the past week or so on Tesla. This is a progressive news outlet that is anti-Koch, global warming, etc. but these articles could've just as easily been from the WSJ or Kolodny. I think it has to be due to the UAW union push. Getting it from both sides now, I can see why Elon said he is half-Democrat, half-Republican.

Dana Hull and her "neutral" reporting again Another Safety Probe Hits Tesla After Subcontractor Breaks Jaw

Indeed, inspiration by the UAW is likely behind many of these reports of relatively unnoteworthy Tesla workplace incidents by CNBC's Kolodny and Bloomberg's Hull. CNBC TV today announced a "Market Flash" about the California OSHA investigating safety at the Fremont plant, without mention that it involved an injured worker of an independent contractor performing a procedure developed by the contractor and under its supervision. The contractor reported the injury to the state, apparently leaving Tesla feeling it was unnecessary to also do so. At worst, we're talking about a fine of a few thousand dollars.

Countless workplace incidents like this happen across America every day that we never hear about. Yet it appears that the UAW wants to make sure that the media cover every one involving Tesla. Their motive is to influence Tesla workers into supporting UAW unionization, but it affects the share price to a degree far beyond what is rational. In any event, I doubt Tesla employees will vote for a union.

 

[Krugerrand]

Dana Hull and her "neutral" reporting again Another Safety Probe Hits Tesla After Subcontractor Breaks Jaw

I most enjoyed the leap of logic that because Tesla missed some production targets that’s why they are being more closely scrutinized by OSHA. Normally I’d assume badly worded English...

Inspection’s Significance

Auto plants operate heavy machinery and safety audits spurred by serious injuriesaren’t unusual. But Tesla is under special scrutiny now because of the pressure the company is under after missing several targets to produce its most affordable car yet.

 

[Time]

I most enjoyed the leap of logic that because Tesla missed some production targets that’s why they are being more closely scrutinized by OSHA. Normally I’d assume badly worded English...

Inspection’s Significance

Auto plants operate heavy machinery and safety audits spurred by serious injuriesaren’t unusual. But Tesla is under special scrutiny now because of the pressure the company is under after missing several targets to produce its most affordable car yet.

As I said the other day, Dana Hull is a sensationalist. She thinks she is more than what she is...she has progressively, over time, become the "Tesla Police Officer" of the internet, acting like it is her job to decide what IS and what IS NOT important, then to publish a piece on Bloomberg with an over-the-top title and complete nonsense like "Tesla no make cars fast enough, so OSHA investigate, my name Dana Hull, give me clicks".

Hopefully Elon never replies to her ridiculous tweets again.

 

[Oil4AsphaultOnly]

Dana Hull and her "neutral" reporting again Another Safety Probe Hits Tesla After Subcontractor Breaks Jaw

“This injury involved a worker who had been hired by an independent contractor and was performing a procedure that had been developed by and was under the supervision of that contractor,”

The news cycle will probably miss this detail in their effort to "report the news". Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

 

[SteveG3]

recommended reading, or at least glancing through (not kidding), some very interesting background

Fear, uncertainty and doubt - Wikipedia

I thought FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) was a term coined in light of political attack ads. Turns out, it first became widely used to describe campaigns by computer hardware and software incumbents (i.e, IBM, Microsoft) to try to avoid new products from smaller companies from gaining sales.

I also very much like the alternative definition of FUD, Fear, Uncertainty and Disinformation.

 

[Starno]

[/QUOTE]

Dana Hull and her "neutral" reporting again Another Safety Probe Hits Tesla After Subcontractor Breaks Jaw

Is there any Tesla bull left among reporters from major newpapers ?

Maybe Tom Randall is the only one left standing ?

 

[Krugerrand]

“This injury involved a worker who had been hired by an independent contractor and was performing a procedure that had been developed by and was under the supervision of that contractor,”

The news cycle will probably miss this detail in their effort to "report the news". Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Not just that point but early on in the article it states the accident wasn’t reported but later on it says it was reported.

 

[stef]

Not just that point but early on in the article it states the accident wasn’t reported but later on it says it was reported.

I am generally a very measured person, but every time a read BS like this I feel more and more angry. Well, it looks like FUD is turning me in a Tesla fanboy...
I really hope a good chunk of readers feels the same with time.
May your BS bite you in your youknowwhat, FUDsters !!

 

[SteveG3]

It takes effort to find many of these stories (i.e. the "Reveal" piece, Kolodny's articles, though in that case, the effort was likely done by Mark Spiegel, or a mutual "friend of Kolodny's and Mark's, at least with the first "article" we noticed a few months back)

It takes effort to frame stories in these ways.

It also takes effort for the hosts on CNBC and Bloomberg not to question statements from guests that are obviously false (~"Tesla will run out of money within 4 months," ~"I tell you, I saw a Model 3 with panel gaps... Tesla is below the standards of the cheapest cars from the '80s," ~"there is nothing behind bulls other than 'Elon, Elon, Elon' " ~"Tesla loses more money with each additional S and X they sell", etc)

It takes effort to almost never do reporting that puts a spotlight on reporting from others that is based on falsehoods and disinformation. By contrast, about a year ago, there was a report that mistakenly stated something that looked bullish for Tesla (I believe it said the Model Y would be produced substantially earlier than actual guidance). Within a couple of days, this error was noticed, and pointed out and corrected in a considerable number of articles from other media outlets.

This is not to say that there aren't interests at media outlets for "clicks" and they may well see "negativity" as an easy product to sell... but, it just seems extraordinarily unlikely that there isn't more going on here than those dynamics.

 

[sweter]

Tesla Model 3 modules are comparable to F-35 flight controller, says expert

But this won't make the news at all ofc.