aznt1217
Active Member
Elon said 30% cost reduction on batteries by 2020. I think he previously said 30% cost reduction in battery cost by 2017 just due to economies of scale. Technological improvement is additional.
I am not sure what is Elon thinking today but instead of fighting the industry with bold statements, it seems he gave in and eventually became defensive. Believe it or not, he cares for the stock price.
It's called speaking off the cuff and covering for regulatory purposes. 30% + cost improvements expected by 2017 with Gigafactory beginning. Notice today's off the cuff comment was ABSOLUTELY certain at least 30% cost improvement. This is extremely conservative and he needs to be conservative with forward looking statements. I think he made bold statements today. He said they didn't move fast enough and still aren't. He also said that even with cheap gas you still need to invest. He absolutely cares about stock price but in the long term not the short term ebbs and flows.
http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/blog_attachments/gigafactory.pdf