Tesla name drop in the State of the Union speech!

[bonnie]

If you watch the movie, "Revenge of the Electric Car", it covers this period of time and there is a scene in the movie where Elon describes receiving this call from the EPA on Christmas eve telling him the loan had been granted... he describes how Tesla is about to go bankrupt and thinks all is lost and that the government loan wouldn't possibly come through during the holidays... but it does.
You really should watch it... it's very good.

I think you really should watch it again. Doug_G is correct. (And yes, we all know it is very good. Glad you liked it, too.)

 

[Zroiron]

Thank you!!

Here's my policy on that:

Since this thread is about politics and Tesla I will allow some political content - relevant to Tesla. However I don't think there's a lot to discuss on this topic, and when it degenerates into partisan bickering I will move all offending posts to the Political Quarantine.

There are already a couple of posts that are borderline if not already over the edge; please don't rise to the bait. Otherwise I'll dump the whole thing. You have been warned.

 

[flankspeed8]

Sadly too many are politically aligned with big oil, climate change denial etc... Otherwise Tesla would be something all sides would naturally rally around. Right now, Tesla is a symbol of saving the environment,

Lets not be too simplistic. I would argue it is hard for the average Joe to rally around a car with an ASP of over $100k. This is a car that is really out of reach of 95% of the population. Sentiment is not going to change until this reality changes.

 

[Krugerrand]

I would argue it is hard for the average Joe to rally around a car with an ASP of over $100k.

When able and willing to understand what the car stands for and where it can take us there's no longer any reason not to rally around it, even for the average Joe who can't afford it.

 

[evme]

If you watch the movie, "Revenge of the Electric Car", it covers this period of time and there is a scene in the movie where Elon describes receiving this call from the EPA on Christmas eve telling him the loan had been granted... he describes how Tesla is about to go bankrupt and thinks all is lost and that the government loan wouldn't possibly come through during the holidays... but it does.
You really should watch it... it's very good.

Are you sure? I did not watch the movie but there is something off.

The story you describe sounds like the story Musk mentions about getting a call from NASA that he won the contract on Christmas.

The second issue is, the EPA does not give loans. The ATVM loan program came from the DOE.


Edit:

Found the quotes

But flight four was flawless and in Musk's world, it lit the darkness.
Then, as often, the week of Christmas became a time when little boy dreams are answered.
Elon Musk: NASA called and told us that we'd won a $1.5 billion contract. And I couldn't even hold the phone, I just blurted out, "I love you guys."
Scott Pelley: They saved you.
Elon Musk: Yeah, they did.
Scott Pelley: Financially and maybe even emotionally.
Elon Musk: Well, I'll tell you that was, that was definitely helpful, yeah.
Two days later, on Christmas Eve, Tesla's investors decided to pour in more money.

Scott Pelley: So you were saved in the period of three days by two completely unexpected events.

 

[Doug_G]

Found the quotes

Right - that was about SpaceX, NOT Tesla, and it was a contract to provide flights, NOT a bailout.

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Moving one post to http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/18447-Politics-Quarantine-Thread/page25 for being too partisan.

 

[mspohr]

Are you sure? I did not watch the movie but there is something off.

The story you describe sounds like the story Musk mentions about getting a call from NASA that he won the contract on Christmas.

The second issue is, the EPA does not give loans. The ATVM loan program came from the DOE.


Edit:

Found the quotes

Right... I was seriously confused between SpaceX and Tesla... Elon has too many companies on the edge.
Back to the loans/investments...
From the Tesla Wikipedia page, Daimler invested $50 million in May 2009 and received the $465 million loan from the DOE in June 2009.
It's probably fair to say that both of these helped Tesla to survive and prosper, achieving overall profitability in July 2009 and, of course, (automobile) world domination by 2020.

 

[dsm363]

the fear of political talk seems unique to TMC

it's worth noting that cars are politics. renewables are politics. musk himself plunges himself in political arena.

anyways. hopefully tesla gains more bipartisan support.

No. It's just that look at the comment section on CNN, Politico or any other site where politics is discussed. Terms like Left wing radical, right wing nut, communist...get thrown around. People's favorite news Organization gets made fun of in their feelings you hurt. People can get pretty nasty very quickly. We try and avoid that here. There are plenty of forums to discuss politics. We do here at times but only when it relates to cars, Tesla and the environment to some degree.

 

[bxr140]

I wonder how Tesla FUDsters will react to the President mentioning the company by name. Will they redouble their efforts or finally realize that Tesla has made it and is here to stay?

They will probably bring up Solyndra...

 

[Krugerrand]

... and received the $465 million loan from the DOE in June 2009.

That is incorrect. They may have been 'accepted' to the program at that time, but they did not 'receive' the money at that time. Indeed, Tesla never received the $465 million in a lump sum. They were given chunks as they showed proof of their application objectives for the money. That information is in their financials if you care to peruse.

Elon has gone on record many times in saying that it was Daimler's investment that 'saved' Tesla and that the DOA loan money simply allowed Tesla to accelerate their plans along the way, that Tesla would have been fine without the DOA money but would have had to go slower. Maybe that seems like semantics to you, but he's always been quite clear about the distinction and that people understand it.

 

[mspohr]

That is incorrect. They may have been 'accepted' to the program at that time, but they did not 'receive' the money at that time. Indeed, Tesla never received the $465 million in a lump sum. They were given chunks as they showed proof of their application objectives for the money. That information is in their financials if you care to peruse.

Elon has gone on record many times in saying that it was Daimler's investment that 'saved' Tesla and that the DOA loan money simply allowed Tesla to accelerate their plans along the way, that Tesla would have been fine without the DOA money but would have had to go slower. Maybe that seems like semantics to you, but he's always been quite clear about the distinction and that people understand it.

You are very persistent in pressing your point.
Of course the loan guarantee money was not received in a lump sum. Corporate loans are rarely taken all at once but they are a "line of credit" to be drawn on as needed (and may be tied to performance goals). The important fact is that they could count on the money to implement plans.
You may want to credit Daimler with "saving" Tesla but there is not much time between the Daimler $50 million in May and the DOE $465 million in June. I think, in fairness, you would have to credit both for saving Tesla and allowing them to move forward.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Guys, as I posted upthread, it was January 2010; here it is straight from the horse's mouth:

January 2010: Tesla Motors | Department of Energy

 

[mspohr]

Guys, as I posted upthread, it was January 2010; here it is straight from the horse's mouth:

So... what is this story from June 2009?
Tesla gets long-awaited government loan
Jun 24, 2009,
Tesla gets long-awaited government loan - Pacific Business News
Are we to assume that it took them six months to "issue" the loan arrangement?

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

So... what is this story from June 2009?
Tesla gets long-awaited government loan
Jun 24, 2009,
Tesla gets long-awaited government loan - Pacific Business News
Are we to assume that it took them six months to "issue" the loan arrangement?

Interesting. I distinctly remember waiting for the loan approval before putting my deposit down in Feb 2010.

Anyways, it'd have been nice if the sedan actually cost $45k after incentives

 

[Krugerrand]

You are very persistent in pressing your point.

Nope, just making sure the facts are known.

The important fact is that they could count on the money to implement plans.

I'd think the important fact would be having the money in hand to use as needed.

You may want to credit Daimler with "saving" Tesla but there is not much time between the Daimler $50 million in May and the DOE $465 million in June. I think, in fairness, you would have to credit both for saving Tesla and allowing them to move forward.

Has less than zero to do with me. It's what Elon Musk has said on multiple occasions. He gives Daimler all the credit for saving Tesla and has clearly stated the DOA loan came much later (2010 is what I think he just said in a recent interview) and allowed Tesla to progress quicker, but wasn't needed.

 

[dmckinstry]

When able and willing to understand what the car stands for and where it can take us there's no longer any reason not to rally around it, even for the average Joe who can't afford it.

Hey. I've had people on parking lots driving clunkers and people working in thrift stores ask "Is that a Tesla?" They were quite enthusiastic about it.

 

[StephenM]

Krugerrand is absolutely correct. Elon has in fact said many times that it was Daimler that saved the day at the companies' darkest hour, and that the Tesla would have been fine without the government loan, though it did help to accelerate the timeline of the roll out of the Model S.

 

[Canuck]

Krugerrand is absolutely correct. Elon has in fact said many times that it was Daimler that saved the day at the companies' darkest hour, and that the Tesla would have been fine without the government loan, though it did help to accelerate the timeline of the roll out of the Model S.

Just because Elon said it, doesn't mean it's true. I'm not saying he's not telling the truth, but truth is perspective, and perspective can be skewed. Elon said on 60 minutes that he expects many of his ventures to fail, but he does them because he believes in them, and when they succeed he is surprised. Or something like that. I am going from memory and not verbatim. But that's the main point and I admire him immensely for such a perspective.

I think the only answer to this question is no one knows what would have happened. Probably, Larry Page would have provided the funds if the gov't did not, and then he likely wouldn't have even needed the Daimler loan at all. But the moral of the story should be that the Obama administration did provide the loan, so there was no uncertainty, and kudos to them for that!

 

[Krugerrand]

Hey. I've had people on parking lots driving clunkers and people working in thrift stores ask "Is that a Tesla?" They were quite enthusiastic about it.

That's it exactly. Average people who take an unbiased moment to comprehend the Model S immediately and instinctively know it's a very good thing.

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I think the only answer to this question is no one knows what would have happened. Probably, Larry Page would have provided the funds if the gov't did not, and then he likely wouldn't have even needed the Daimler loan at all. But the moral of the story should be that the Obama administration did provide the loan, so there was no uncertainty, and kudos to them for that!

I'm not sure why you or anyone else wants to change the story. There were a handful of people involved in Tesla at that time and Elon was in the middle of it, so he'd know exactly what was going on. He'd spent his last dime and was borrowing money from friends to pay living expenses. Nobody was handing out money because of the global situation. It was the last hour of the last day in which Tesla could be saved and Daimler, for whatever reason, came through with the money. That's it, that's all, that's how it happened. What might have been does not matter.

 

[NigelM]

....and Daimler, for whatever reason, came through with the money.

Reason is clear. They made a boatload of profit on that transaction.