Tesla, TSLA & the Investment World: the Perpetual Investors' Roundtable

[JRP3]

Is it really worth not buying out all the major news networks and magazines for a drop of 10-20 billion in market cap while having your brand being damaged with false information?

Paying for advertising would negatively impact the bottom line which would negatively impact the stock price, with no guarantee that they would suddenly get enough positive articles to counteract the FUD. Tesla cant outspend the established industries rallied against them.

 

[Krugerrand]

Tesla's mascot has got to be a Lemur.

Or a hedgehog or a ram or just the critter I chose because of the irony.

 

[MarcusMaximus]

Is Tesla selling every Model S/X it can ?

Was it a mistake to take 400K Model 3 preorders ?

Is creating pent-up demand really a problem to avoid ?

No, yes and yes.

No indication of trouble selling S/X Ravens but they do need to work through older inventory.

Crazy long backlog of Model 3 orders did, in fact, cause a lot of problems and lost sales(as people got annoyed/angry at the long delays) as well as hurting the stock with production “delays” since they couldn’t hit the accelerated rates.

And creating pent up demand that they can’t actually fill does create a problem for the reason above.

EDIT: some nuance on #2: I wouldn’t say it was a mistake to take preorders, and Tesla couldn’t really control how many people wanted the 3, but the situation did hurt them

 

[Singuy]

Paying for advertising would negatively impact the bottom line which would negatively impact the stock price, with no guarantee that they would suddenly get enough positive articles to counteract the FUD. Tesla cant outspend the established industries rallied against them.

Money is money. I am sure these media outlets will be softer on Tesla(at least stop reporting blatant lies) since then they can threaten to pull advertisements.

This gives you the chance to control the information too vs letting the haters run with it. I think it's worth the 200-500k per major news outlet.

So they don't need to spend what gm spends because gm is looking to compete with Toyota. Tesla just needs to spend enough to get these news outlet to shut the hell up...which is probably not much.

 

[JRP3]

Detailed look at Tesla batteries and discussion of Maxwell. Nothing new to those of us obsessed with batteries but interesting none the less, worthwhile for the more casual yet curious observers

 

[JRP3]

So they don't need to spend what gm spends because gm is looking to compete with Toyota. Tesla just needs to spend enough to get these news outlet to shut the hell up...which is probably not much.

I doubt a small amount of spending will be enough for them to stop the full on well funded FUD campaign.

 

[Krugerrand]

So about advertising. Is it really worth not buying out all the major news networks and magazines for a drop of 10-20 billion in market cap while having your brand being damaged with false information?

Why not just put up with the necessary evil? It's better for the mission even though it's worst for the soul.

Once Tesla is big enough with enough fan base then they can tell these major outlet to go F themselves.

The brand isn’t being damaged. That’s a false perception.

Some people are going to be slow to get it. Meh. Some people are only happy if they’re complaining about something, anything. Meh. Some people are impatient. Meh.

The necessary evil isn’t actually necessary. That’s the beauty of what Tesla has done and is doing.

Some people just can’t let go of the status quo. Meh.

 

[Singuy]

I doubt a small amount of spending will be enough for them to stop the full on well funded FUD campaign.

You never know. Last thing you want companies to think is that the news outlet is willing to spread lies about your company even when you are paying customer. I am thinking it's more of company culture thing and a small amount of money may just buy you some good will.

 

[Singuy]

The brand isn’t being damaged. That’s a false perception.

Some people are going to be slow to get it. Meh. Some people are only happy if they’re complaining about something, anything. Meh. Some people are impatient. Meh.

The necessary evil isn’t actually necessary. That’s the beauty of what Tesla has done and is doing.

Some people just can’t let go of the status quo. Meh.

My coworker are asking me if I feel safe having my Tesla park in my garage due to spontaneous combustion. My dad is advising me to not us AP due to it killing people. The brand is being damaged. In fact elon's going private email specifically said the reason to go private is because teslas brand is being damaged.

 

[GeoX750]

Paying for advertising would negatively impact the bottom line which would negatively impact the stock price, with no guarantee that they would suddenly get enough positive articles to counteract the FUD. Tesla cant outspend the established industries rallied against them.

If there is no demand problem, why are we worried about FUD ?

FUD is our friend. Its keeping Tesla from having a pent-up demand problem. (sarcasm)

 

[traxila]

My coworker are asking me if I feel safe having my Tesla park in my garage due to spontaneous combustion. My dad is advising me to not us AP due to it killing people. The brand is being damaged. In fact elon's going private email specifically said the reason to go private is because teslas brand is being damaged.

Your points are valid. The easiest answers we have for not advertising: Tesla still has not exceeded demand with its production. Tesla can not afford it right now.

 

[Pras]

Your points are valid. The easiest answers we have for not advertising: Tesla still has not exceeded demand with its production. Tesla can not afford it right now.

Don’t miss the forest from the trees. As long as they can sell all the cars they can build, we don’t need to divert the cash.

 

[Singuy]

Don’t miss the forest from the trees. As long as they can sell all the cars they can build, we don’t need to divert the cash.

Misconceptions last a long time. The news make it seem like Tesla's and electric cars catch on fire more. This misconception is not easy to undo. Just like how all misconceptions are hard to undo. Infact the president is literally governing the US with misconception and call facts "fake".

 

[KSilver2000]

SMH at everyone who talked up Tesla possibly having China 3 reservations in the 100,000’s—yet, saying it was not a good move having taken 400,000+ preorders for the US 3 because the supply wasn’t there to meet demand.

Can’t argue it both ways.

Can Tesla benefit from taking in huge reservation numbers even though it cannot meet demand for some time? Yes! It will help towards shutting down critics who use the demand argument.

Can Tesla benefit from having a (better) PR and advertising/marketing plan? Holy Yes!

 

[Zaxxon]

Is Tesla selling every Model S/X it can ?

Judging by the lack of movement on my Raven X order from weeks ago that had a May delivery estimate which is now missed, likely yes. They're incentivizing inventory non-Ravens as of course they are, but there are a lot of us with pending orders and long (for 2019) waits. Tesla's certainly selling every Raven they make currently.

 

[RobStark]

The Chinese rules have changed for all automakers,not just Tesla.

BMW to Take Control of China Joint Venture in $4 Billion Deal

 

[Zaxxon]

The brand isn’t being damaged. That’s a false perception.

Of course the brand is being damaged. Don't be obtuse. The legions of people who think Tesla is on the verge of bankruptcy, or that the cars spontaneously combust, or that Musk is a bumbling fool/evil billionaire/asshole who calls people pedos exist. They grow by the day with the relentless FUD out there and Tesla's incompetent response to it.

That's clear and obvious on its face. The fact that many folks know better is not a refutation of damage being done to the brand. Nor is the idea that Tesla will pull through and people will eventually see through the madness any sort of pushback to the fact that the FUD is damaging the brand on a daily basis.

 

[Zaxxon]

The Chinese rules have changed for all automakers,not just Tesla.

BMW to Take Control of China Joint Venture in $4 Billion Deal

That's still a joint venture, though. Are there others apart from Tesla that are not JVs?

 

[Buckminster]

OT

Hypnotising - you're gonna love it.

 

[EVNow]

Judging by the lack of movement on my Raven X order from weeks ago that had a May delivery estimate which is now missed, likely yes.

What is your order - SR/LR/P ? Wondering whether they are just prioritizing highly priced orders first - or there are just a lot of orders compared to their production.