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

[capster]

Better get 'em while their hot. I have seen a couple of different videos that bring up an interesting thought. At what point does Tesla not sell cars to the public anymore? Granted this is based on several rather large assumptions, but if true Level 5 is achieved, and the Tesla Network truly does come to pass, and Tesla has created a huge fleet of corporate owned cars through lease returns, and their profit margins on the network use is what Elon claimed they could be at the Autonomy Day, then why would they want the hassle and turmoil that surrounds selling cars to the public? The profits from the network would be so huge that it would seem beneficial to just make cars without pedals or steering wheel and just make them as they needed to supplement their network fleet. Same goes for the truck. Make a truck that is nothing but a rolling bed with no cab whatsoever and then just put them on the network so people could use them as they need to haul something, get lumber, whatever you do with a truck. Tesla Semi? Boy, what could that do to the trucking industry if there were just a bunch of Tesla Semis out there for rent as shipping companies, or even private people needed to use them.

Might not be able to buy a Tesla at some point. I know...crazy, but it could happen. Something to think about.

Dan

Ha ha, funny you should mention that, Dan!

Last summer I inadvertently bought my 3 with a new order instead of using my day 1 reservation. For a time I kept the reservation, thinking I might use it for a Y for my wife. Of course, Tesla turned out not to need reservations for the Y. They went directly to orders.

Last Friday I went to cancel the reservation and stopped before doing so with exactly the thought you describe in my mind.

Now, I might try to time another purchase with the rollout of the Tesla Network and just dedicate that car to the network.

 

[jerry33]

It's a big range increase. How is that nothing?

In the X it's a 10% increase (325/295=1.10). A nice increase and very welcome, but not the difference seen between 85 and 100.

 

[CorneliusXX]

Elon said at least twice during the presentation that the TN would be populated customer/owners. He said that Tesla would fill in the gaps with their own vehicles where necessary.

If they stop selling cars that gap will be very large.

 

[LytHka]

I believe the existing S/X get some bump (145KW-ish) via OTA update. The new re-design gets the full 200KW.

Not according to Motortrend:

"The Model S is built on an older architecture, so it can't support the full 250 kW of V3. But after an over-the-air update, the Model S and Model X will be able to juice up at a rate of 200 kW at a V3 Supercharger. Additionally, if you plug into a V2 Supercharger station you'll get 145 kW instead of the current 120 kW."

 

[Don TLR]

Morning heads-up:

Some of you have asked for a Model S refresh. You may or may not have seen these

On edit: Why the "funny"s? Am I late to a reveal party? Serious question - I'm ridiculously busy now and can be missing some things.

I love it with some refinements to the screen shape and steering wheel buttons but overall its a winner to me..

 

[RobStark]

Baby seats man, not booster seats. I agree it only covers one age band. For the non-walking phase of development,

My 2.5 year old niece has had the same seat from birth.

Used to be rear facing. Now forward facing since she is a big girl.

The seat is just the beginning of all the crap modern parents travel with.

 

[tivoboy]

It's a big range increase. How is that nothing?

A), its something, but more like an in car adjustment, as we've already seen on the Model 3. YES some optimization for sure and some hardware changes. I'll wait to actually see if the kWH usage for the big S and X are actually going to translate through.

b) but, for a car/s this old, when I see some refresh like this, it tells me I shouldn't be expecting anything REALLY new for a while. I think we're looking into 2021 for a true S update. That's not good IMHO.

 

[EVNow]

So, the market in all its wisdom has decided that on ER day, the right price is to oscillate between 263 and 263.50 ?

 

[Tslynk67]

I believe the existing S/X get some bump (145KW-ish) via OTA update. The new re-design gets the full 200KW.

If you read the Motortrend article - which was facilitated by Tesla - then it implies it's for all SuC-capable S&X via OTA: https://www.motortrend.com/news/2019-tesla-model-s-5-important-updates/

Tesla announced its faster V3 Supercharger tech for the Model 3 earlier this year, but if you owned a Model S and Model X you were sadly out of luck. The Model S is built on an older architecture, so it can't support the full 250 kW of V3. But after an over-the-air update, the Model S and Model X will be able to juice up at a rate of 200 kW at a V3 Supercharger. Additionally, if you plug into a V2 Supercharger station you'll get 145 kW instead of the current 120 kW. That will drop charge time from 37 minutes down to 26, which is a nice little bonus.

I agree that it could be a bit more clearly stated, also by Tesla - I've Tweeted Elon on this, see if he responds.

 

[ZeApelido]

Friday: Announce board downsizing
Monday: Autonomy presentation
Tuesday: S&X updates announced
Wednesday: Q1 earnings released
Thursday: SEC agreement announced
Friday: ZeApelido found passed out with 1,000 TMC tabs open

 

[Ad Astra]

Exactly.. that's it. A nothing burger.. So S or X true refresh I think it pushing further out. As the numbers fall, they are trying to add some enhancement and features to keep them stable at least. It's not much of an overall profit center at this point, in magnitude, assuming Model 3 continues to power the volume of sales they have. We'll see

You seem to be overlooking the fact that Tesla is always iterating on the core technology and seldom waits for some arbitrary date or announcement to push through product improvements. A power train enhancement is also trivial to implement on the assembly line relative to an overhauled interior. These improvements also serve to enhance the already incredible value of the S/X. The mantra at Tesla has always been “if you can do better today, don’t wait until tomorrow.” Sometimes I wonder how sentiment would’ve shifted about S/X if Fred hadn’t leaked the “imminent” interior refresh last year...

 

[ZeApelido]

Nobody worries about Europe? It's almost a month now no ship departed yet?

I was going to say I hadn't seen Model 3 carriers headed up 101 in a while, just saw a few this morning!

 

[Nocturnal]

A), its something, but more like an in car adjustment, as we've already seen on the Model 3. YES some optimization for sure and some hardware changes. I'll wait to actually see if the kWH usage for the big S and X are actually going to translate through.

b) but, for a car/s this old, when I see some refresh like this, it tells me I shouldn't be expecting anything REALLY new for a while. I think we're looking into 2021 for a true S update. That's not good IMHO.

Maybe, but if I wanted to limit the impact to customers/orders that is exactly what I'd do. Adjust battery and some tech now. In 6 months make an exterior change, 6 months later redo the interior.

 

[Dan Detweiler]

All those fancy venty looking things in the rear facia and behind the front wheel-wells. Hopefully they'll have black-plastic hexagonal inserts to make them look passingly functional just like a souped-up econocar.

Maybe an adhesive hood scoop option?

Personally I am waiting for the carbon fiber glue on tailpipes. Totally rad dude!

Dan

 

[Zhelko Dimic]

Fixed that for you.

I'm waiting for your example of a major, successful ICE luxury model's new, innovative engine being prototyped in a lower class vehicle, and then used in part in the higher class vehicle effectively as-is, while keeping the interior effectively unchanged.

...
...
...

... I'm still waiting for your example.

... Hello?

... Anybody there??

This is a nice example of one of my bigger issues with your non-stop, unchecked, uncritical skepticism regarding all things Tesla, which ~half of the time ends up being right by the law of large numbers, and the other half it ends up with you maligning Tesla without any TSLAQ person ever even thanking you for the effort.

Stop being bully please. @schonelucht has proven he's valuable contributor many times over

 

[Tslynk67]

Friday: Announce board downsizing
Monday: Autonomy presentation
Tuesday: S&X updates announced
Wednesday: Q1 earnings released
Thursday: SEC agreement announced
Friday: ZeApelido found passed out with 1,000 TMC tabs open

Honestly, I didn't sign up for this, I thought I was just supporting a great company and helping advance the cause

 

[ZeApelido]

Morning heads-up:

Some of you have asked for a Model S refresh. You may or may not have seen theseView attachment 400136 View attachment 400138

On edit: Why the "funny"s? Am I late to a reveal party? Serious question - I'm ridiculously busy now and can be missing some things.

Ewww, a Honda Civic Model S?

 

[Zaxxon]

Exactly.. that's it. A nothing burger..

lolz. It's not what you are looking for, but a 10% boost in range, much larger than 10% boost in charging mi/hour, and 4-corner suspension ain't nothing. It's further extending Tesla's already-gigantic efficiency/range lead. As someone in the market for an X, this may push me over the edge. I'd like the interior refresh that's been rumored, but these changes are far more important to me as they make a huge difference to the X's ability to road trip effectively away from interstates.

In the X it's a 10% increase (325/295=1.10). A nice increase and very welcome, but not the difference seen between 85 and 100.

It's more than just a 10% increase in range . It's a 10% increase in range with no corresponding increase to the pack size. In other words, the car is much more efficient, and coupled with the Supercharger max power increase means the effective charge time on road trips is greatly reduced.

Sure, this isn't a full refresh, and I'm not arguing that it should be treated as such. But I think it's more impressive/important than the news and much of the reaction here seems to suggest.

 

[Dan Detweiler]

Friday: Announce board downsizing
Monday: Autonomy presentation
Tuesday: S&X updates announced
Wednesday: Q1 earnings released
Thursday: SEC agreement announced
Friday: ZeApelido found passed out with 1,000 TMC tabs open

...and on the seventh day, he rested.

Dan

 

[Dan Detweiler]

Honestly, I didn't sign up for this, I thought I as just supporting a great company and helping advance the cause

Check the fine print. It's under the clause marked "Other duties as assigned "

Dan