Model X Online Configuration by September.

[jeffro01]

This is how I explain that.

They want to do a proper reveal for this car before taking the studio online. What is very likely in my mind is that the Founders have already configured and even some Sigs (khm.. Bonnie and her Friday shenanigans... khm) have been asked to do so in person. They are also about to bring the production line online (Elon`s Tweet), meaning that in about 2 weeks we could expect a Founders` delivery event streamed online followed by the studio going live that evening.

Than again I wouldn't hold my breath (or keep my fingers crossed) waiting for the X. They may just randomly surprise us with a Tweet at any time.

Then simply stop saying on conference calls with investors listening that the Model X Design Studio will be online by the end of July, then the end of August, then... Just launch the damn thing already. I want to order my Model S but will not do so until the X Design Studio launches. The longer Tesla takes to do this, and the more Elon continues to mislead and\or fail to meet his own deadlines announced publicly, the thinner the ice gets.

Jeff

 

[mrdoubleb]

Then simply stop saying on conference calls with investors listening that the Model X Design Studio will be online by the end of July, then the end of August, then... Just launch the damn thing already. I want to order my Model S but will not do so until the X Design Studio launches. The longer Tesla takes to do this, and the more Elon continues to mislead and\or fail to meet his own deadlines announced publicly, the thinner the ice gets.

Jeff

Just to be fair, he never said the design studio will be live in 2-3 weeks. He said something like "we are going to ask people to configure in about 2-3 weeks", which he could have technically meant to be Founders and early sigs - which -at least in my theory - may already be under way. Also, all of those calls and ER releases have disclaimers about forward looking statements, current plans and so on for a reason.

Having said that, i think Elon really needs to be more careful in situations like that as he may lose credibility. He very well knew what the analysts meant by those questions about Model X configuration and reveal, but he danced around it to avoid revealing too much of his plans or nail himself to something when there was still so much uncertainty. Still, he should be careful not to become too much of a politician.Half his charm is his straight shooter, tell it like it is, no corporate BS style (the other half being his brains).

 

[franz]

Just to be fair, he never said the design studio will be live in 2-3 weeks. He said something like "we are going to ask people to configure in about 2-3 weeks", which he could have technically meant to be Founders and early sigs - which -at least in my theory - may already be under way. Also, all of those calls and ER releases have disclaimers about forward looking statements, current plans and so on for a reason.

Having said that, i think Elon really needs to be more careful in situations like that as he may lose credibility. He very well knew what the analysts meant by those questions about Model X configuration and reveal, but he danced around it to avoid revealing too much of his plans or nail himself to something when there was still so much uncertainty. Still, he should be careful not to become too much of a politician.Half his charm is his straight shooter, tell it like it is, no corporate BS style (the other half being his brains).

This is from Seeking Alpha's transcript from the Q2 earnings call:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/340...arnings-call-transcript?page=2&p=qanda&l=last

Ben J. Kallo - Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc. (Broker)
Hi. Thanks for taking my question. As far as the Model X goes, last time, Elon, you talked about configuration in July and I understand with the slippage. But when can we start thinking about configuring cars – we have orders out there? Customer have orders. And then with about a month away from deliveries, when do you expect to show it to people?

Elon Reeve Musk - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
We're probably into upper configuration and two or three weeks of the X. So that should go live on the website before the end of August. In terms of the initial deliveries of the X, that's sort of consistent with what we predicted on the last call, which is end of September.

 

[timf]

Just to be fair, he never said the design studio will be live in 2-3 weeks. He said something like "we are going to ask people to configure in about 2-3 weeks", which he could have technically meant to be Founders and early sigs - which -at least in my theory - may already be under way. Also, all of those calls and ER releases have disclaimers about forward looking statements, current plans and so on for a reason.

Having said that, i think Elon really needs to be more careful in situations like that as he may lose credibility. He very well knew what the analysts meant by those questions about Model X configuration and reveal, but he danced around it to avoid revealing too much of his plans or nail himself to something when there was still so much uncertainty. Still, he should be careful not to become too much of a politician.Half his charm is his straight shooter, tell it like it is, no corporate BS style (the other half being his brains).

He specifically said it "should go live on the website before the end of this month". The old quote about configuring in July could have been interpreted the way you suggest, but this is pretty clear cut. The key word here is "should", which suggests an amount of uncertainty. Something could still appear before the day is over but I'm not expecting it. I agree that he would be better off not answering these questions rather than setting false expectations.

 

[TEG]

Burning Man festival is Aug 30 - Sep 7, 2015

Elon and others from Tesla usually go, I think.
I wonder if that puts a hold on some activities for the week?

 

[donv]

Just curious-- why does opening the design studio on the website require some big announcement, or event, or something?

They already did a big "reveal" event a few years ago for the X. Presumably, they will film the first delivery or two and post them on YouTube.

Why should anything more be expected?

Burning Man festival is Aug 30 - Sep 7, 2015

Elon and others from Tesla usually go, I think.
I wonder if that puts a hold on some activities for the week?

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Burning Man festival is Aug 30 - Sep 7, 2015

Elon and others from Tesla usually go, I think.
I wonder if that puts a hold on some activities for the week?

What better place to unveil the X. Just kidding!

Honestly though, it would be nice if they put something up on the website. Anything! Other companies, such as Volvo with the new XC90, have done a great job building up the suspense for a new car about to be unveiled. Yes, the suspense has been building for the X for years but it would be nice to have an updated image on the site...even if the car was in the shadows or covered up. The current site still shows cameras instead of the side mirrors...but I think we're 99% sure it won't look like that.

 

[jeffro01]

Burning Man festival is Aug 30 - Sep 7, 2015

Elon and others from Tesla usually go, I think.
I wonder if that puts a hold on some activities for the week?

I sincerely hope that with all that's going on at Tesla & SpaceX that Elon would not take time out to waste precious time at such an event.

Jeff

 

[mrdoubleb]

This is from Seeking Alpha's transcript from the Q2 earnings call:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/340...arnings-call-transcript?page=2&p=qanda&l=last

Ben J. Kallo - Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc. (Broker)
Hi. Thanks for taking my question. As far as the Model X goes, last time, Elon, you talked about configuration in July and I understand with the slippage. But when can we start thinking about configuring cars – we have orders out there? Customer have orders. And then with about a month away from deliveries, when do you expect to show it to people?

Elon Reeve Musk - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
We're probably into upper configuration and two or three weeks of the X. So that should go live on the website before the end of August. In terms of the initial deliveries of the X, that's sort of consistent with what we predicted on the last call, which is end of September.

He specifically said it "should go live on the website before the end of this month". The old quote about configuring in July could have been interpreted the way you suggest, but this is pretty clear cut. The key word here is "should", which suggests an amount of uncertainty. Something could still appear before the day is over but I'm not expecting it. I agree that he would be better off not answering these questions rather than setting false expectations.

Ok, ok, I get it, I am getting old and the 2 earnings calls got mixed together in my head. Well, this certainly doesn't make things look any better. One has to wonder though what would be better:
- openly coming out and saying there is a delay and living with the consequences (share price)
- going live with the configurator anyway, just delaying deliveries
- not communicating anything on the topic

I am pretty sure no communication is the worst option, though the tweet about production line 2 is encouraging.

 

[TEG]

What better place to unveil the X. Just kidding!

Burning Man doesn't allow any commercial entities to advertise in any way.
Tesla once brought a Roadster buck there, and removed all the logos, and didn't mention what kind of car it was. Basically just a piece of art.

- - - Updated - - -

I sincerely hope that with all that's going on at Tesla & SpaceX that Elon would not take time out to waste precious time at such an event.
Jeff

Apparently Solar City came out of a discussion related to Burning Man.
SolarCity’s Burning Man roots - Fortune
One could look at it as an opportunity for intense creative pondering of the next big thing... Seeds of inspiration.

 

[ecarfan]

I just received an email from Tesla, subject line "Tesla Updates: August 2015", with this text in it:

"We are building and testing Model X prototypes and on track for first deliveries in late Q3 of this year. We have made significant progress on the installation of a new body shop, a new paint shop and new stamping presses that will establish new capacity for both Model X and Model S."

Note: I am not an X reservation holder. The email had a lot of other text in it on a variety of Tesla-related topics, none of which was new info to me.

 

[Gwgan]

This from the TM email today "Model X We are building and testing Model X prototypes and on track for first deliveries in late Q3 of this year. We have made significant progress on the installation of a new body shop, a new paint shop and new stamping presses that will establish new capacity for both Model X and Model S.”
July = early
August = middle
September = late
so 9/30, right?

 

[Cattledog]

This from the TM email today "Model X We are building and testing Model X prototypes and on track for first deliveries in late Q3 of this year. We have made significant progress on the installation of a new body shop, a new paint shop and new stamping presses that will establish new capacity for both Model X and Model S.”
July = early
August = middle
September = late
so 9/30, right?

Well, if it's a Leap Month, it'll be September 31st.

 

[anticitizen13.7]

Then simply stop saying on conference calls with investors listening that the Model X Design Studio will be online by the end of July, then the end of August, then... Just launch the damn thing already. I want to order my Model S but will not do so until the X Design Studio launches. The longer Tesla takes to do this, and the more Elon continues to mislead and\or fail to meet his own deadlines announced publicly, the thinner the ice gets.

Jeff

I've said many times that it is a mistake for Tesla (usually referring to Elon as the final spokesperson for the company) to keep throwing out dates and deadlines that are almost never met.

It would be far better for Tesla to simply say "It's ready when it's ready", and issue substantive quarterly updates on progress, rather than set unrealistic expectations for engineering projects where things often do take much longer than expected. This constant failure to meet deadlines is damaging to the credibility of the company and damaging to the brand.

Tesla can get away with this now to some extent because they have no competition in high-end EVs, and a loyal fanbase that is willing to tolerate delays because they believe in the cause of transport/storage electrification. Tesla will not be able to get away with this in a mainstream car like Model 3. Regular customers will simply buy something else (like a Honda or a Ford or a Mercedes) if they aren't willing to put up with constant delays and aren't really bought into the whole electrification mission.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Better for who? By teasing us, he's doing a good job at keeping the stock price up. If it was radio silence, the stock price would take a hit...

 

[anticitizen13.7]

Better for who? By teasing us, he's doing a good job at keeping the stock price up. If it was radio silence, the stock price would take a hit...

Better for customer relations.

Also, if Tesla loses credibility by constantly promising and never delivering, some investors will bail, and demand for the stock will fall. I don't think this is having any good effect on the stock price, which by my quick look at the charts hasn't really moved since early 2014.

It's shipping product (the Dual Motor models) and high gross margins that are keeping investors on board. This is Tesla backing it's words with great product. Model X is essentially a no-show, although the final looking test vehicles at least prove its not vaporware.

 

[Blip]

Just discovered a new picture of a black Model X on my profile (not the old grey one...). How old is this picture? Must admit that I don't log on to my Tesla account very often...

 

[lucy]

It's new since sometime between 2200 yesterday & 0200 today CDT.
woo!

 

[Blip]

How can you tell?

 

[hobbes]

Cool, and the doors align nicely ! Can´t take the suspense any more though I don´t even have a reservation...

Just discovered a new picture of a black Model X on my profile (not the old grey one...). How old is this picture? Must admit that I don't log on to my Tesla account very often...

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