Starving for News...

[Iz]

Nissan has claimed 50000+ reservations for Leaf. They have advertising, a much lower reservation fee and deliveries begin Q4 2010. The vehicle price is 1/2 of Model S and Nissan has brand name recognition.

Given that however, I would have thought almost one year later Model S reservations would have been somewhat higher; not by a factor of 10. Also note that 1712 represents "P" reservations and does not include Signature or International. Total number of reservations is probably closer to 2000.

 

[Cobos]

Nissan has claimed 50000+ reservations for Leaf. They have advertising, a much lower reservation fee and deliveries begin Q4 2010. The vehicle price is 1/2 of Model S and Nissan has brand name recognition.

Given that however, I would have thought almost one year later Model S reservations would have been somewhat higher; not by a factor of 10. Also note that 1712 represents "P" reservations and does not include Signature or International. Total number of reservations is probably closer to 2000.

Also keep in mind that for the International customers we don't even have anything close to a final price. The Model S doesn't really compete in the very price sensitive market, but at least for Norway due to good EV incentives it sort of does. Assuming you want a big family sedan $60000 is sort of normal price for like a Toyota Camry (or Avensis) but $85000 as listed in another thread is not, so the devil is definately in the details...

Cobos

 

[dpeilow]

The very fact that Nissan has 50,000 reservations one year out from the Leaf launch should tell you something.

Can you imagine if all those customers were clamouring for information at the rate some of the people on this forum were :biggrin: Even if one in ten of them were like that, and of those another one in ten were emailing once per week, that's still 100 enquiries per week that they would have to deal with.

Perhaps that is ok for Nissan, but for a small company like Tesla that would be a large overhead to deal with. Far better to say nothing until much closer to the launch date, when I am sure the advertising and PR budget will increase to approaching Nissan levels.

 

[Lush1]

All it would take to satisfy our group, or the Leaf people or virtually any sized group would be to throw our a couple pictures, tease a new feature, something, anything every week, or two, or three. How about an update to the newsletter once a month just so we know they are still working on it? TM feels like an abandon website these days on the company side. I know some people will never be happy but the total cone of silence is akin to solitary confinement for a bunch of pent up fanatics.

 

[vfx]

Treat the newsletters like work. Have deadlines. Assign subjects. Give employee rewards for contributions. Don't be afraid to repeat subjects.

Most niche magazines only have at most 2 years worth of articles. They pad with new products but the same topics get repeated year after year. Electric Cars are new. There is much to teach and repeat.

 

[waltoninn]

One thing that Tesla Motors does have to be careful about and that is: arrogance. I am not saying that they are, but there is a tendency for all such companies that produce higher end products to play too close to the edge in thinking that they have such a great product, and that people will just have to wait or need less attention. That would be a terrible mistake. Especially when I start to see the ads for the Leaf on regular, commercial television, one can start to get a little worried. One may also start to get a little worried when there is little news about the factory and the site. Unfortunately, I know that government regulation slows everything down, which is all the more reason they had better get moving on establishing the shop floor pretty quick.

Anyway, I know there is so much more going on behind the scenes, and most everything is more complicated than it looks, but a good Public Relations department will keep the fire going and under good control.

 

[Iz]

Excellent point waltoninn. I also have seen several Leaf ads and immediately wonder about TMs future marketing efforts.

Even with the IPO there should be some information "leaks" with regard to factory site and Model S progress.

 

[dsm363]

Treat the newsletters like work. Have deadlines. Assign subjects. Give employee rewards for contributions. Don't be afraid to repeat subjects.

I agree. Monthly newsletters on the progress would be nice. Even if it's just an update on something small a planned feature (solar panel on roof to cool car, keyless entry...etc). I guess it's so far out though they don't want to talk about something that they can't deliver.

 

[OwlsCat]

Still nervous...

I alternate between euphoria at being P1447 in line for the Model S, and wondering if it will ever truly come to pass that I will be behind the wheel of one, so I will be greatly relieved when the IPO happens and Tesla can be more forthcoming about production progress.

As far as advertising is concerned, everyone I know has heard about the Tesla Model S from me, so if word of mouth counts for anything, half of Santa Cruz county knows about it!

 

[Webbie]

My understanding is that they are waiting for two reasons. First, as several pointed out, they have to be very careful during the run-up to the IPO. They could easily be accused of trying to drive the price. Second, though I doubt the Nissan 50,000 number, imagine little Tesla trying to keep 17,000 of you happy while waiting. They will push it hard when they get closer to the actual launch.

In the meantime, the best bet is that hard core types like you all will hang on and wait, as many Roadster customers did ...and boy, are they glad!

Patience, and faith. ;-)

 

[PopSmith]

Even if it's just an update on something small a planned feature (solar panel on roof to cool car, keyless entry...etc).

If I remember right Elon mentioned keyless entry, where you carry the key in your pocket and when you touch the handle it unlocks, back at the Model S unveiling. However, I could be thinking of something totally different.

 

[vfx]

If I remember right Elon mentioned keyless entry, where you carry the key in your pocket and when you touch the handle it unlocks, back at the Model S unveiling. However, I could be thinking of something totally different.

It was, as you walk towards the car the handle (magically) pops out.

 

[T@oo]

It was, as you walk towards the car the handle (magically) pops out.

Yes. That feature alone is worth it. And that smooth, friendly, (fe)male voice when dropping into the seats that welcomes the master ... that was a suggestion to Tesla.

 

[Lush1]

Anyway, I know there is so much more going on behind the scenes, and most everything is more complicated than it looks, but a good Public Relations department will keep the fire going and under good control.

Bingo. At the moment there is no detectable public relations department working at Tesla. I would be happy if they said they are laying low during this important transitional period but will have many exciting announcements coming our was as soon as they can get back to putting a higher priority on customer feedback. Anything that says "we know you are anxious, keep your shirts on, we're working on it." A couple of fresh pictures of the Model S couldn't hurt either. I just have trouble accepting that they are forbidden from saying ANYTHING.

 

[Todd Burch]

I did read somewhere that Tesla said some announcements would be coming in early summer...I think...

 

[Webbie]

Unlike Lush1 who has only been in the advertising business for a mere 40 years ;-), I've just retired after 46 years of it in New York, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Chicago and ... (I hope you had as great a time as I did in the sandbox of the business world).

Anyway, I just checked back through the SEC regs on advertising and PR. They are extremely restrictive. Extremely! Even if Tesla PR sent the S list a newsletter, they might well have to limit their message to "Hello." Even if they said, "We haven't forgotten you," it could be misconstrued as salesmanship and the SEC would hit them hard. I'm sure they'd love to tell us more about the S. And the world. But, they can't. They must be bursting.

 

[AnOutsider]

Unlike Lush1 who has only been in the advertising business for a mere 40 years ;-), I've just retired after 46 years of it in New York, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Chicago and ... (I hope you had as great a time as I did in the sandbox of the business world).

Anyway, I just checked back through the SEC regs on advertising and PR. They are extremely restrictive. Extremely! Even if Tesla PR sent the S list a newsletter, they might well have to limit their message to "Hello." Even if they said, "We haven't forgotten you," it could be misconstrued as salesmanship and the SEC would hit them hard. I'm sure they'd love to tell us more about the S. And the world. But, they can't. They must be bursting.

Thanks for doing the legwork on that. Frustrating, but I suppose we will have to wait.

 

[Lush1]

Anyway, I just checked back through the SEC regs on advertising and PR. They are extremely restrictive. Extremely! Even if Tesla PR sent the S list a newsletter, they might well have to limit their message to "Hello." Even if they said, "We haven't forgotten you," it could be misconstrued as salesmanship and the SEC would hit them hard. I'm sure they'd love to tell us more about the S. And the world. But, they can't. They must be bursting.

Webbie, Thank you so much. I really wasn't getting that the restrictions were so stringent. I guess people have been trying to say that but you really went to the books and got the real story. I will happily zip up my yap now and try to chill out. In known as a patient person but in my 58 years I'm still like a kid at Christmas when it comes to my toys and this is a doozie. Gonna be a long couple of years. Then again, years seem to be clicking by too fast these days. I'm in the creative side of things and you know us "creative types" can tend to be like a ball of flubber sometimes, so the business side of things is foreign to me. Seriously, thanks for giving me something to mollify my scattered neurons. You got me off the ledge.

 

[waltoninn]

"ii. Comments on the Safe Harbor
Commenters supported the proposed safe harbor and suggested certain expansions
and clarifications.151 Commenters wanted us to clarify that information that was directed
to customers, suppliers, etc., would be covered by the safe harbor even if the information
became available to other persons, including investors or potential investors.152 As we
discuss above, the Rule is aimed at assuring that the communication is intended for use
by an audience that is other than an investor audience, not at ensuring that the
communication is not received by or available to an investor or potential investor. We
have modified the Rule to clarify this point. For example, a widely disseminated
communication (such as a press release) intended for use by a non-investor audience and
150 These issuers will still be able to rely on our interpretive positions for the release
of factual business information. See note 122. In addition, these issuers may still
be able to rely on Securities Act Rules 134 and 135 and new Securities Act Rules
163A and 164.
151 See, e.g., letters from ABA; NYCBA; NYSBA; and Reuters.
152 See, e.g., letters from ABA and NYSBA.
71
otherwise meeting the conditions of the safe harbor will not lose protection if it is
available to or received by investors or potential investors."

From: http://www.sec.gov/rules/final/33-8591.pdf

This seems to indicate that information can still be released, even if it is received by investors or potential investors, so long as it is directed to customers.

And I would go so far as to say that not releasing information about the product could also be considered a liability, since we can see that there is interest. After all, Tesla did get some pretty hefty funding to actually build the Model S production line, so someone wondering and questioning what is happening is consistent with the need for more information, not less.

I know it might be a slippery slope, but the above rule seems to indicate that if the information is directed towards customers, there is a little more leeway, even if that information ends up in the hands of potential investors. Is this rule in effect?

Just wondering.

 

[Todd Burch]

Waltoninn,

I suspect that many lawyers could argue that we reservation-holders are not yet customers, but indeed are investors at this point.

I suspect it could be argued that one is not a customer until the good or service is delivered.