Press Conference—July 17

[ev-enthusiast]

Elon is vey grateful to mercedes for saving him from bankruptcy, mercedes will seek a partnership with tesla down the road,
and elon will return the favor.

Thanks for your kind words.

I agree, from retrospective what mercedes did for tesla some years ago was real help for tesla.
I have the impression that elon does not forget good things of such a magnitude as mercedes financial help for tesla some years ago.

What I think now is that there will be some talk during weekend about this incredible innovative company and their amazing products getting better and better quicker than others are able to catch up.

 

[SteveG3]

According to AP Elon said they will be updating battery sizes every year. As an investor I think this is a plus, both in terms of more regularly improving the product, and making the jumps in battery size smaller so people are less likely to wait for the next one, or give negative feedback if they just missed a new offering. I'd love to hear exactly what Elon said (I'd be surprised if he really pinned the company to something as regular as every year for any length of time), but it sounds like an improved way of making these changes.

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Thanks for your kind words.

I agree, from retrospective what mercedes did for tesla some years ago was real help for tesla.
I have the impression that elon does not forget good things of such a magnitude as mercedes financial help for tesla some years ago.

What I think now is that there will be some talk during weekend about this incredible innovative company and their amazing products getting better and better quicker than others are able to catch up.

exactly. The S is already compelling vs. ICE peers, and it's getting better faster than ICE (as will all Tesla's vehicles).

 

[RyanT]

I CERTAINLY would not pay $3K to add 5kWh.

I would, please take my money! $3k is pretty easy to stomach. I'm sure it's going to be far more for existing cars though.

If I was buying new I would get a 90D no doubt about it.

 

[EnergyMax]

I would, please take my money! $3k is pretty easy to stomach. I'm sure it's going to be far more for existing cars though.

If I was buying new I would get a 90D no doubt about it.

Agreed. I think the 85 will sell a lot less than 70 or 90.

 

[mejojo]

I would, please take my money! $3k is pretty easy to stomach. I'm sure it's going to be far more for existing cars though.

If I was buying new I would get a 90D no doubt about it.

Well, when buying a new car I would agree, but I wouldn't drive into a service center with my 85 and hand them $3K to put in a 90. I've only charged to full a few times, and that's about the only time you'd ever notice the 5kWh.

 

[aznt1217]

It would have been nice to see the 85 price drop by $3k and the 90 replace the 85 price point.

If you do the math it's $100 per mile for the upgrade. If you use an average price of 3.00 for gasoline and 30 MPG. You only need to drive 30,000 miles for it to pay off... which is basically like 2/3 years for the "average" American. Plus the psychological buffer. It's pretty worth it.

 

[SlyWombat]

It would have been nice to see the 85 price drop by $3k and the 90 replace the 85 price point.

Once the inventory of the older chemistry batteries is depleted, then you will get the 90 for the price of a 85

 

[Krugerrand]

Once the inventory of the older chemistry batteries is depleted, then you will get the 90 for the price of a 85

Yeah, this is just a transition period. Gives Tesla a chance to see how popular the 90 will be/becomes. Gives Tesla a chance to ramp production of it accordingly. Blah, blah, blah.... Bu-bye 85.

 

[stoebs]

let's not sort all this out through the fun house mirror of the media... we can tweet TM, Elon, or email Tesla investor relations, and ask that they put a recording of today's call on their website.

here's Tesla's form to email IR

Contact Investor Relations | Tesla Motors

Done. Thanks for the link.

 

[jhm]

Once the inventory of the older chemistry batteries is depleted, then you will get the 90 for the price of a 85

Yep, I think this is just a way to feather in the new feature.

Nine months ago you could buy an S60 for $70k, now you get an S70 for the same price. This is a real improvement on affordability. Also note that dropping the price $5k from S70D to S70 may well double the addressable market for the Model S line.

So along with Ludicrous Speed at the top end, Tesla has made the whole line much more sellable.

BTW, does anyone know if Ludicrous increase the max speed. It seems that going from 1300 to 1500 Amps ought to help.

 

[30seconds]

"While working on our goal of making the power train last a million miles"

I really can't see how anyone can continue to compare Tesla to any other automaker with goals like this.

 

[Quant]

I was not on this call...but based on reporting and an actual quote, Elon mentioned that some of the improvements in 0-60 acceleration and the battery pack came as part of a long-term project to make the drive train last 1 Million Miles!

In my opinion, with the continued battery pack energy density improvements and cost reductions. coupled with improvements in technology for the spark plugs etc.....IF and when TESLA even gets to Half a Million Miles Drive Train Warranty would be big, big deal.

Partcularly with the Model 3......price, quality, all electric and a half million mile warranty....along with aggressive leases....on air software updates and semi-autonomous driving will surely create havoc for the big manaufacturers from BMW, MB, and Lexus on down! 2018 is not too far away! They are screwed!

Put all this stuff together and it would all just be TOO TOO much for the traditional automakers to match!

They would be really be sucking their thumbs! They would be too confused!

 

[TexasEV]

Spark plugs?

 

[SteveG3]

according to Forbes Tesla will offer 5-10% more range every two years... AP had reported bigger batteries once a year. I suspect Forbes makes more sense just in terms of reality of having to switch cell production less frequently, but we have people on the forum with considerable knowledge about batteries who would know more.

if this is correctly reported in the Forbes story this is pretty big as well,

"The improved battery packs would be available in new cars and as upgrades for existing vehicles. Musk said he wouldn’t recommend an upgrade every time a new pack comes out because it might not make financial sense.
“I wouldn’t recommend that people upgrade every year unless they are on the edge of the range,” Musk said. An upgrade every 3-4 years should suffice, he said."

I've heard Musk in the past almost say that exiting vehicles could upgrade to improved packs, but it seems we have the first solid statement that this will be possible.

I really want to hear this call directly. Here's the Tesla IR link again, tweets to Elon or TM are good too,

http://ir.teslamotors.com/contactus.cfm

 

[NuclearPowered]

Half a Mil? Drivetrain warranty is already unlimited miles for 85s.

 

[mershaw2001]

Spark plugs?

I think they might be improving the gas tank too.

 

[RobStark]

Spark plugs?

He means "smart fuse" which allows 1500 amps vs 1300 amps. And probably more amps in the near future.

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Half a Mil? Drivetrain warranty is already unlimited miles for 85s.

It is 8 years unlimited mileage

If Tesla warrantied the powertrain for 500k miles regardless of age that would be huge for most people.

I know there are a handful of traveling salesman that put over 100k miles per year on their cars but that is rare.

 

[brianman]

Drivetrain warranty is already unlimited miles for 85s.

... for 8 years.

 

[mmccord]

... for 8 years.

I will probably do 500k on my 85D if I keep it for 8 years. I've had it since May and have 10k miles already.

Of course, if there is really a new roadster in 2019 I may not be keeping the 85D...

 

[brianman]

I will probably do 500k on my 85D if I keep it for 8 years. I've had it since May and have 10k miles already.

That's fine. My point was that the unlimited miles has a duration cap on it. If they changed the warranty to 1 million miles period (even after 8 years) that would be a big deal.