thx1139
Active Member
Late on Friday is traditional time to announce bad news.
Then it would just be a Press Release after market close.
You can install our site as a web app on your iOS device by utilizing the Add to Home Screen feature in Safari. Please see this thread for more details on this.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Late on Friday is traditional time to announce bad news.
One more added thought, what about a partnership with another (car) company to share the supercharger network? It is regional and doesn't require showing anything.
That is a really good point. Whether he will offer some cooperation with mega dealers such as AutoNation who've been supportive of Tesla or at least not obstructive is an interesting question, not least because they and their ilk have fixed prices and fixed tradein terms, based on flat wholesale purchase terms. Thus a number of them have quite Tesla-like business practices, at least on the new vehicle purchase side. Interestingly too, although not disclosed Tesla F&I is obviously a profit centre, just as it is for other car dealers pretty much worldwide. The big unknown is how Tesla would approach service both in and out of warranty. The last manufacturer-initiated dealer innovation in the US was with the introduction of Lexus and Infiniti back in 1989, Even that did not do anything about the industry secret dealer pricing negotiations with buyers. The single obviously compatible partner for Tesla is probably AutoNation, which is fulfilling the promise that Lexus and Infiniti wanted but could not achieve of predictable consistent purchase and service terms. Mike Jackson personally has diverged from the traditional car dealer absolute opposition to tesla's direct model. Not really surprising because AutoNation has itself had a battle with traditional dealer groups.Just to mix it up a bit ... during the February earnings call when answering a question about the strength of Model S demand, Elon said he wasn't concerned about buyers stepping up, followed by:
We've never really speculated as to what that might have meant.
My prediction: It's going to be something underwhelming that doesn't live up to any of the hype at all. Not Model X, not autopilot. *shrugs*
As for not living up to hype... that is not always a fair statement. We create a lot of hype and excitement (exhypement?) that no company can live up to without a time machine.
My logic is that I cannot imagine beating Texas and Michigan in direct attack on their very wealthy and politically active dealer groups. Those two states are also crucial to Tesla mid-term plans. Almost all other states have less concentration among a small number of traditional state-dominant political contributor dealers. Both of those states also have long histories of deference to local corporate interests. Both also have major traditional car industry ICE-age preservationists from Exxon-Mobil to GM, Ford, VWoA and Fiat-Chrysler. Can all those guys outmanoeuvre Tesla?
As a Michigander, I unfortunately doubt that the legislature will cave to the people on this one. One of the legislators I know personally is an extremely hard-core free-market libertarian, and even he caved to the dealers. The only legislator who voted against the Tesla ban was a person who had run out of terms and was stepping down from politics. I think it's going to take a federal court order to get any traction here. (Or possibly, Tesla threatening to require that all its suppliers manufacture their goods in states that let them sell -- that *might* be enough leverage once Tesla is the size of one of the major manufacturers.)Don't agree. Texas and Michigan will fall to the pressure of the people when Model 3 gets rolling. Tesla won't have to do anything. In the meantime, there will be plenty of people wanting Model 3 and Tesla will be sold out of it for at least the first few years.
13 pages of random speculation and counting. Let's ramp it up, guys, only a few hours left!
Just to mix it up a bit ... during the February earnings call when answering a question about the strength of Model S demand, Elon said he wasn't concerned about buyers stepping up, followed by:
We've never really speculated as to what that might have meant.
Frankly I think we need a specific thread for the recidivist states. I agree about Michigan, and think Texas is in the same condition despite Rick Perry making optimistic statements when bidding for the Gigafactory. He would not have managed it anyway.As a Michigander, I unfortunately doubt that the legislature will cave to the people on this one. One of the legislators I know personally is an extremely hard-core free-market libertarian, and even he caved to the dealers. The only legislator who voted against the Tesla ban was a person who had run out of terms and was stepping down from politics. I think it's going to take a federal court order to get any traction here. (Or possibly, Tesla threatening to require that all its suppliers manufacture their goods in states that let them sell -- that *might* be enough leverage once Tesla is the size of one of the major manufacturers.)
Just to mix it up a bit ... during the February earnings call when answering a question about the strength of Model S demand, Elon said he wasn't concerned about buyers stepping up, followed by:
"I have a secret weapon on the demand side and might release a good weapon against the dealers."
We've never really speculated as to what that might have meant.
Just to mix it up a bit ... during the February earnings call when answering a question about the strength of Model S demand, Elon said he wasn't concerned about buyers stepping up, followed by:
We've never really speculated as to what that might have meant.