Official: TSLA Shareholder Meeting 2016 Questions

[SBenson]

With the benefit of hindsight, would it have made sense to wait for model X ramp to stabilize and produce solid financial results before doing a capital raise?

 

[SBenson]

What is the status of Model X ramp?

 

[Haxster]

What are your thoughts on the Apple car program?

 

[Haxster]

When does the Gigafactory plan to transition from just assembling battery packs to also manufacturing the cells?

 

[MitchJi]

Do you expect the model 3s first produced in Q4 2017 to be hardware equipped for true autonomous driving with only government regulations and software validation holding up implementation?

I don't think he will answer that question, maybe if it's phrased like this:
It sounds like Tesla doesn't want to announce full autonomy for M3 because doing that would impact MS-MX sales. Tesla probably needs to wait for sensor prices to drop, before you adding the sensors to the cars. As soon as you know which sensors are required would you consider installing the wiring harness and announcing that fact?

It should be pretty easy to make provisions for the sensor installation when they become available at an affordable price if the wiring harness is in place. As soon as sensor pricing becomes the main obstacle to adding full autonomy hardware providing that possibility to the MS and the MX would be a compelling reason to purchase for potential buyers, instead of a reason to canabalize sales.

 

[MitchJi]

I wanted to clarify the question in bold.

Stock holders who bought TSLA stock in the years from the IPO up until 2012-2013 bought stock in the electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors. As of today these stock holders are owners of a company that also hosts a growing energy storage component, Tesla Energy, which will be responsible for a yet unknown percentage of revenue going forward. How should investors think about the future of Tesla in regard to the total percentage of revenue going forward?

Is it likely that Tesla Energy will bud off from Tesla Motors or should we expect both businesses to remain under the same brand, leadership and financial entity for the foreseeable future?

IMO the second question is unnecessary (but I don't mind it being asked) because I believe that the synergy between the two entities is so strong that it wouldn't make sense to divide them.

 

[mrdoubleb]

How flexible is your supply chain and manufacturing process to shift production within the weekly rate of 2k cars between S and X "at will" based on demand for each model? If demand of one or the other will outgrow forecast, would Tesla require additional lead time or investment to shift production?

 

[SW2Fiddler]

Is the "Gigafactory As A Product" product line going to broaden to non-battery factories as products?
Best manufacturer of complex objects intent, suggests this. Important for growth and valuation expectations.

 

[SW2Fiddler]

Third-party Superchargers.
If a business or a chain wishes to capitalize on the obvious draw of fast charging by licensing Supercharger technology, what type of business, what type of access model would Tesla favor and what conditions would be non-negotiable (to ensure a positive experience for the drivers)?

 

[MitchJi]

Since the Gigafactory is critical to a successful Model 3 launch, would Tesla please provide updated Gigafactory capacity in terms of GWh's including how many Model 3's can be built with the pilot phase?

Maybe, given the limited opportunities to ask questions, it's better to ask GF related questions at the GF event at the end of July?

I'm more interested in the capacity in GWh's of the pilot phase.

The first phase completion is irrelevant because Tesla has stated repeatedly that they will have sufficient capacity. A better question might be how quickly they expect to be able to complete the additional phases?

They have already stated that a major reason for the cost reductions is the use of custom cell manufacturing equipment. I think it's obvious that they are not only building the custom cell making equipment but they are making , or at least designing the equipment to produce that equipment more quickly and affordably.

 

[sdtslafan]

What progress has been made in establishing the supply chain for the gigafactory? In particular, do you have firm commitments for the price and volume of Lithium and other raw ingredients from suppliers? Are your suppliers domestic (e.g. Nevada) or international and are they established or new entrants?

 

[sdtslafan]

Have you performed tests to assess the long term reliability of the falcon wing doors for the Model X? Is there any evidence you can provide to investors and potential owners that these will not be a long term liability? (example FWDs in laboratory have been opened and closed X number of times without warping or misalignment, etc.)

 

[MitchJi]

The challenges we've seen with the Model X ramp up (quality control, supplier issues, etc.) resulted in delayed deliveries and some unsatisfied early adopter customers. The service centers were also suffering heavy burdens due to the repairs needed for early Model X vehicles delivered. Although Model 3 would have a much simpler design and supposedly not be plagued with as many issues as the early Model X, there is a risk of a similar situation happening with Model 3 in late 2017, given the much higher production volume. How is Tesla planning to improve the launch of Model 3 in late 2017/early 2018?

You should listen to the last conference call. Elon devoted several minutes to answering that question.

 

[brian45011]

Does Panasonic compete with Tesla Energy's goods and services?

 

[MitchJi]

Given Mr. Musk is the CEO of two high-profile and rapid growing companies (not to mention other ventures he is taking), does Tesla see the need of installing a COO to improve the efficiency of management within Tesla? CEO bringing a sleep bag adjacent to the production line is commitment to solving current production issues, but as a shareholder I would rather not having the need of this type of "commitment" in the first place.

Why do you want to repeat the same questions that were just asked on the CC?

 

[MitchJi]

In the past, Tesla Motors has had issues with the quality and/or availability of supplier-made components for Model S and Model X.

With Model 3 production now on such an aggressive schedule, what will Tesla do differently to ensure nominal volumes of high-quality components in order to meet its production deadline and units delivered goals?

Please (everyone)! We have an extremely limited number of opportunities to ask questions.
Listen to the last CC! He explained that exact issue in detail.

 

[MitchJi]

Considering the now shortened Model 3 manufacturing ramp, how will this effect the Tesla energy product ramp/growth while the gigafactory is still under construction? (limited resources for battery production)

This was answered on the CC!

 

[Cosmacelf]

Is Tesla planning on continuing to use Mobileye technology for future AP functionality, or are you planning on transitioning away to your own compute platform?

 

[MitchJi]

"Do you anticipate Model 3 margins exceeding 10% in the first year of production? "

I like the question but:
What do you anticipate for the M3 margins in the first year of production?

 

[LargeHamCollider]

I like the question but:
What do you anticipate for the M3 margins in the first year of production?

I considered that phraseology but decided it was unlikely to be anwered with specificity.