Surprise R and D project

[AudubonB]

So far,
I like my answer best.
As all other
Posts here do attest.

Hearken back
to Answer Number Twenty.
And contemplate
That energy a-plenty.

 

[yobigd20]

They've invented a flux capacitor. And lighted vanity mirrors.

 

[jeff_adams]

Someone in another thread mentioned he had talked to a former Tesla engineer and had been told that Tesla is working on a AWD Supercar and a truck. They certainly don't want to reveal anything this early because they are very supply constrained with S & X. Why build more anticipation for something they can't deliver until the GigaFactory and Chinese factories are built?

 

[gym7rjm]

Someone in another thread mentioned he had talked to a former Tesla engineer and had been told that Tesla is working on a AWD Supercar and a truck. They certainly don't want to reveal anything this early because they are very supply constrained with S & X. Why build more anticipation for something they can't deliver until the GigaFactory and Chinese factories are built?

I interpreted the supercar to be based on the Model S platform with AWD, and probably a bigger battery and more aggressive styling. This path makes a lot of sense IMO; to roll out new features that will eventually make it down stream to all Model S variants. Without a ton of complication the cars could be built on the same line and be priced like a Supercar with excellent GM.

 

[jhm]

Someone in another thread mentioned he had talked to a former Tesla engineer and had been told that Tesla is working on a AWD Supercar and a truck. They certainly don't want to reveal anything this early because they are very supply constrained with S & X. Why build more anticipation for something they can't deliver until the GigaFactory and Chinese factories are built?

This makes sense. I appreciate that there is a rationale for keeping it under wraps. It is important to keep demand and execution focused on products that can be delivered within a sensible time frame.

 

[RationalOptimist]

Whatever it is, R and D spending seems to be ramping quite dramatically... Apologies if this has already been posted or noted, but based on the quotes below, in a single 9-day period, the Q3 estimate was moved higher by $10m. S&G also moved higher. I guess it could just be that there's a need to be more conservative in a 10Q.... but it is surprising.

Q2 Shareholder letter dated 7/31
Q3 operating expenses are expected to grow sequentially by about 20% for R&D and 15% for SG&A. Despite a higher count of leased vehicles, investments in R&D, and geographic expansion, we expect to be marginally profitable in Q3 on a non-GAAP basis.

Q2 10Q dated 8/8
R&D expenses for the third quarter of 2014 are expected to grow sequentially by approximately 30% as compared to the second quarter of 2014. Our SG&A expenses will continue to grow in absolute terms as we expand our customer and corporate infrastructure globally. SG&A expenses for the third quarter of 2014 are also expected to grow sequentially by approximately 20% as compared to the second quarter of 2014.​

 

[eepic]

Whatever it is, R and D spending seems to be ramping quite dramatically... Apologies if this has already been posted or noted, but based on the quotes below, in a single 9-day period, the Q3 estimate was moved higher by $10m. S&G also moved higher. I guess it could just be that there's a need to be more conservative in a 10Q.... but it is surprising.

Q2 Shareholder letter dated 7/31
Q3 operating expenses are expected to grow sequentially by about 20% for R&D and 15% for SG&A. Despite a higher count of leased vehicles, investments in R&D, and geographic expansion, we expect to be marginally profitable in Q3 on a non-GAAP basis.

Q2 10Q dated 8/8
R&D expenses for the third quarter of 2014 are expected to grow sequentially by approximately 30% as compared to the second quarter of 2014. Our SG&A expenses will continue to grow in absolute terms as we expand our customer and corporate infrastructure globally. SG&A expenses for the third quarter of 2014 are also expected to grow sequentially by approximately 20% as compared to the second quarter of 2014.​

nice find, that is quite significant in a short period of time. the only obvious thing that could cause this outside a new development program is a sudden match with a wave of new engineering talent (thus adding them to payroll).

 

[WarpedOne]

Someone in another thread mentioned he had talked to a former Tesla engineer and had been told that Tesla is working on a AWD Supercar and a truck.

How do you really know that you can do something noone before had done? By doing it and not failing.
Those internal projects are there to explore current state of tech, engineering and estimate the size of yet unsolved problems.
Is some engineering path worth taking or not yet?
When a product is announced publicly there is no way of undoing the announcement. Deliver or be considered a failure.

 

[Robert.Boston]

How do you really know that you can do something noone before had done? By doing it and not failing.
Those internal projects are there to explore current state of tech, engineering and estimate the size of yet unsolved problems.
Is some engineering path worth taking or not yet?
When a product is announced publicly there is no way of undoing the announcement. Deliver or be considered a failure.

Which is why many start-ups are in "stealth" mode initially. Likewise, most industrial R&D is done in stealth mode: in part to protect IP, but also to avoid setting expectations that can't be met. Tesla should only be talking about things it knows it can and will deliver. Those projects are already extremely ambitious!

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

They've invented a flux capacitor. And lighted vanity mirrors.

If they were going to invent a flux capacitor, they'd have invented it years ago.

 

[LakeForest]

From the Credit Sussie report....
"2) Improve the car to consume less energy per mile, which reduces battery size: Wind resistance, friction, motor / gearbox efficiency, climate / heat management are the key issues. Tesla believes all can improve. Development of a custom tire they are working on can reduce friction by 20%-30%, Model X motor / gearbox is more efficient, and Model 3 will have better aerodynamics due to smaller size and more efficient battery integration. We assume 5% annual improvement going forward."

I feel like a tire would not cost that much or be that exciting, but in a nerdy sense its pretty cool. Any one know the effects on range this could have? I would guess in the lower single digits

 

[eepic]

From the Credit Sussie report....
"2) Improve the car to consume less energy per mile, which reduces battery size: Wind resistance, friction, motor / gearbox efficiency, climate / heat management are the key issues. Tesla believes all can improve. Development of a custom tire they are working on can reduce friction by 20%-30%, Model X motor / gearbox is more efficient, and Model 3 will have better aerodynamics due to smaller size and more efficient battery integration. We assume 5% annual improvement going forward."

I feel like a tire would not cost that much or be that exciting, but in a nerdy sense its pretty cool. Any one know the effects on range this could have? I would guess in the lower single digits

Do they mean increase friction in tires (not sure you want a low friction tire)? In any case, I would guess that the talent base at Tesla is probably not geared towards breakthroughs in tire technology. Who knows though, perhaps they are literally reinventing the wheel

 

[The Blue Owl]

Do they mean increase friction in tires (not sure you want a low friction tire)? In any case, I would guess that the talent base at Tesla is probably not geared towards breakthroughs in tire technology. Who knows though, perhaps they are literally reinventing the wheel

Presumably, they want to decrease rolling resistance without compromising the braking ability of the car.

 

[LakeForest]

The comment was geared as one of their pieces of decreasing battery costs. I would guess you are spot on with the lower rolling resistance equating to longer ranges.

 

[chickensevil]

I've always wondered what would happen if you coated a windshield in something like Neverwet. Could you remove the need for windshield wipers?

After that you would only need to tackle the problem of tires and you could have a car which never needs regular replacement of any parts.

This is so AWESOME!

and yes, I think they could put it on the windshield... and the rest of the car... never need to wash the car again.

- - - Updated - - -

From the Credit Sussie report....
"2) Improve the car to consume less energy per mile, which reduces battery size: Wind resistance, friction, motor / gearbox efficiency, climate / heat management are the key issues. Tesla believes all can improve. Development of a custom tire they are working on can reduce friction by 20%-30%, Model X motor / gearbox is more efficient, and Model 3 will have better aerodynamics due to smaller size and more efficient battery integration. We assume 5% annual improvement going forward."

I feel like a tire would not cost that much or be that exciting, but in a nerdy sense its pretty cool. Any one know the effects on range this could have? I would guess in the lower single digits

Oh no, one of us owners (don't remember who) found out first hand how much rolling resistance impacts your range of your car. I do not recall which tires he used but it was causing a 10% hit on his range for using them. It was so noticeable that he had contacted Tesla, and their engineers were pouring over his car and somehow it got brought up what tires he was using. When he said the tires, he said the engineer nearly died. It was apparently a tire they had tested in the development of the car, and they were well known by the engineers at that point that it was just a terrible tire and is why it isn't on their recommended list of "Tesla approved" tires.

 

[kcveins]

This is so AWESOME!

and yes, I think they could put it on the windshield... and the rest of the car... never need to wash the car again.

Unfortunately, this, from the website...

9. Can NeverWet be applied to glass?

Yes, but the glass will no longer be transparent. NeverWet dries to a Flat Frosted Clear color, therefore, it should never be applied to windshields or automobile windows. NeverWet will work on any glass that you want to have superhydrophobic properties, but don’t need to see through.

 

[mershaw2001]

Do they mean increase friction in tires (not sure you want a low friction tire)? In any case, I would guess that the talent base at Tesla is probably not geared towards breakthroughs in tire technology. Who knows though, perhaps they are literally reinventing the wheel

They could have a dynamic tire, one that has lower rolling friction but has higher static/slip friction, or maybe with an electrical impulse the properties of the tire change so that if you hit the breaks hard it changes the friction of the tire.

 

[chickensevil]

I think that information is dated because if you look at the things that people have sprayed recently there is no discoloration on any of the stuff. Clothes, money, sponges, I even saw some chicken nuggets... And the people doing the testing couldn't even tell the difference visually until he bit into one of the nuggets and it clearly didn't taste right.

In any case, I am getting a hydrophobic application put on my car from some European company (sorry i really dont remember the name of it off hand) when I get my car detailed here in two weeks, so even if neverwet isn't the right way forward for Tesla, there are other hydrophobic products out there which do work on glass.

 

[Jack6591]

Tesla+Apple+MobilEye

Pure speculation on my part.