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

[wipster]

Also don't tell me Tesla doesn't pay for product placement, I just saw a several minute clip in Big Little Lies with the Tesla T steering wheel smack dab in the middle of the screen.

On the contrary, they pay Tesla!

It is called Big Little Lies...

 

[Tslynk67]

Update on NYT article. I've been in touch with the reporter and he's agreed to chat with me on the phone. It's a constructive opportunity to discuss what I view are the shortcomings in the article and that it does not do a good job of informing the public of the current situation with EVs. We'll see how it goes.

Excellent work! As mentioned by others, get him to replicate the trip in an M3, then write an article about that and the differing experience.

 

[CorneliusXX]

I like that we see the community sprouting around the gigafactory in these videos. You can already see the secondary effects of this investment.

Also, you can see many of the locals wearing face marks. I hope they feel a sense of accomplishment knowing they are contributing to one of the solutions to air pollution. It must be back breaking work for many there.

 

[thait84]

Also, you can see many of the locals wearing face marks.

I think those people are just sick. In Asia they wear masks to not infect others.

 

[kengchang]

I think those people are just sick. In Asia they wear masks to not infect others.

Nope, it's very common to wear mask to protect yourself in Asia.

 

[Tslynk67]

The entire Top Gear segment. Man they are still the king of production quality.

Top Gear S27E02 - Tesla Model 3 Segment - Streamable

Thank's - never thought we'd get so much +ve coverage from TG given the history!

I wonder if they had Track Mode enabled, looked a bit too soft through the corners?

 

[LN1_Casey]

Nope, it's very common to wear mask to protect yourself in Asia.

Agreed; it's common not only to wear it if you're sick, but also to help you not get sick.

Although, I will note when I was in Japan and onetime wore a facemask (because I was sick), I had a notable wider berth around me. Haha, it's generally assumed that foreigners won't wear a mask unless they have reason.

 

[Yamantasdivar]

Turns out Leesburg FL is online.

Municode Library

...Bingo, it's Sec. 7-170 (a), sentence 2.

"Dwelling units obtaining electrical power fromNow, brian, don't delete your posts. I'd like you to leave up the record of your requests for other people to do your homework for free for you. I'd also like you to leave up your record of unjustified skepticism towards facts. People should know what sort of a person you are. I will, however, accept your gracious thanks for the work and apology for the skepticism.

Mod: enough. If this didn't have actual content I'd have moved it to snippiness. --ggr.

Oh, I love TMC

 

[UncaNed]

@brian45011

read the _entire_ 2 pages of the main link which is _titled_
"In Florida, USA, it is Illegal to be disconnected from the grid...."
In Florida, USA, it is Illegal to be disconnected from the grid....

note the two broken links are from
09-28-2017, 02:26 AM
21 months ago, and seem to go to newspapers (btw, my picture is almost 1/2 century old)

It is also dealing with FPL, Florida Power & Light whom are "pita's" for dealing with solar
(note FPL in the video and referenced)

(video)

If my electrical producer was FPL and not LCEC (lee county electric coop) i would be __highly__ __illegal__
since im making about 200% -225% of my needs and usage, way over FPL's 115%
View attachment 422519

So YES, it's ___ILLEGAL__ to not be connected to the grid in Florida.
No Grid connection, NO residency permit

Google is your friend

Unless i have battery?

 

[X Fan]

WSJ headline:
Daimler Cuts Outlook on Fresh Diesel Allegations

Daimler shares down 5% today as German car maker sees a “high three-digit million” euro hit in the second quarter.

 

[kbM3]

EXCLUSIVE: 2019 Tesla Model S Review: From SF to LA on One Charge? - MotorTrend

Includes some interesting info from the Raven engineers

 

[ZachShahan]

A big part of the problem with Florida is that Next Era controls large areas of the grid. Next Era brags of a 221% return to shareholders over the past decade, and they're focused on producing the clean power, distributing it, and making sure no one competes too much with them, including homeowners. It's all about making money for the shareholders and not servicing the customers. Florida has ridiculously low rooftop solar compared to locations where the sun shines so frequently and with such intensity. Next Era planned to buy Hawaii's largest electrical utility but fortunately the state stepped in and said, "take a hike, and don't let the door hit your okole on the way out."

This is super off topic, but it is quite interesting, so ...

We have a super long, in-depth series on this from an expert in the field who has worked on the topic for decades. If you want to see how messed up FL is on *this* topic, have a stroll: What About Florida? Archives | CleanTechnica

 

[LN1_Casey]

Whhaaaaat? A Tesla-positive article on Seeking Alpha?

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4271693-teslas-model-3-demand-high

 

[ZachShahan]

Also don't tell me Tesla doesn't pay for product placement, I just saw a several minute clip in Big Little Lies with the Tesla T steering wheel smack dab in the middle of the screen.

Teslas are cool.

Hollywood knows that.

So they stick Teslas in scenes for extra cool appeal from time to time.

 

[Fact Checking]

I think the new machine makes batteries, and I think its being built in Fremont.

BTW., in principle the prototype factory could be built at the mystery "parts distribution center" at Lathrop:

Tesla’s massive parts distribution center in Lathrop, CA is nearing completion​

If it's indeed basically a giant machine, then all it needs externally are loading bays for the incoming parts. Having it relatively close to Fremont would allow the use of all the automation and factory maintenance talent of Tesla.

Note that Tesla always had parts manufacturing facilities at Lathrop, and characterized them the following way in the recent 10-K for 2018:

                     Approximate                               Lease
                     Size (Building)                           Expiration
Location             in Square Feet        Primary Use         Date
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lathrop,             496,888               Manufacturing       Owned building
California

In the 2017 annual report they characterized the new Lathrop facility as:

                        Approximate                              Lease
                        Size (Building)                          Expiration
Location                in Square Feet    Primary Use            Date
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lathrop, California     338,564           Warehouse and          February 2030
                                          manufacturing
Lathrop, California     276,228           Warehouse and          September 2024
                                          manufacturing
Lathrop, California     271,075           Manufacturing          May 2025

Pure warehouses are reported by Tesla the following way:

                     Approximate                               Lease
                     Size (Building)                           Expiration
Location             in Square Feet        Primary Use         Date
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sparks, Nevada       632,445               Warehouse           December 2019 -
                                                               December 2020

But in the 2018 10-K they consolidated the new building into a single reported unit:

                     Approximate                               Lease
                     Size (Building)                           Expiration
Location             in Square Feet        Primary Use         Date
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lathrop,             885,867               Warehouse and       September 2024 -
California                                 manufacturing       February 2030

Note that 885,867 square feet is exactly the sum of the three entries from the 2017 annual report.

Also note that while the new building is characterized as a 'warehouse', it is also characterized as a 'manufacturing' facility, which would be weird if it's solely a parts distribution center, IMHO.

So while the default guess is that it's a parts distribution center that might host some of the warehouse space that the Model Y production lines at Fremont will occupy, I think there's still a chance that the new Lathrop "parts distribution center" facility is a "Gigafactory hidden in plain sight", which might host the new "gigantic, gigantic, gigantic" Grohmann Machine that Jerome Guillen teased.

 

[Singuy]

Whhaaaaat? A Tesla-positive article on Seeking Alpha?

Tesla's Model 3: Demand Is High - Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) | Seeking Alpha

That guy will regret it. SA will block his account while getting relentlessly attacked by trolls.

 

[LN1_Casey]

That guy will regret it. SA will block his account while getting relentlessly attacked by trolls.

I did see that there was only 31 likes, and 200+ comments, haha. I didn't look, but man, that doesn't bode well.

 

[HG Wells]

Whhaaaaat? A Tesla-positive article on Seeking Alpha?

Tesla's Model 3: Demand Is High - Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) | Seeking Alpha

That guy will regret it. SA will block his account while getting relentlessly attacked by trolls.

To Boss Short:

Boss, Boss. Some buddy was asleep at SA yesterday.
Will spin it as proof Tesla is losing even more money.

After all, they are losing money on each car they sell !

Your Partner in Crime
Chief Editor
Shortsville Times

 

[madodel]

Obvious false assumption is false: while crappy brands have to pay for product placement, premium brands like Apple, frequently featured in movies, didn't pay for most of their product placement - they at most paid for the device - and Apple is obviously mass advertising while Elon is against deceptive advertisements.

I'm pretty sure that for many of those movies Microsoft would have paid a pretty sum to see a Windows laptop, a Windows phone and a Zune instead of an iPhone, in addition to a free device for the whole cast and their family members, but Apple products are shown so often because they are status symbols and are indicative of a cool lifestyle.

Just like Tesla cars.

 

[Christine69420]

Two Gigafactories building batteries planned in Europe. I have this info from a radio broadcast I randomly caught in my car.
Edit: NB These are not Tesla factories. They call themselves Gigafactories.

Comparable in size to Tesla in Nevada newcomers Freyr in Norway and Northvolt in Sweden are the only two battery cell factories planned in Europe. There are other battery factories planned - but they assemble batteries from cells they buy from existing producers. These new factories will make the actual cells needed.

Northvolt has completed it's first equity capital raise for their factory in Skellefteå. Volkswagen and BMW are among their investors.

Freyr started later and have announced plans for a factory in Mo i Rana. SINTEF partner announces plans to build a battery cell giga-factory in Norway - SINTEF
The local government in Mo i Rana has prioritized this project: Full sal da Freyr presenterte sine planer for batterifabrikk og vindmøllepark på Helgeland

In the Radio interview Freyr gründer Torstein Dale Sjøtveit - Wikipedia said that Northvolt and Freyr wasn't competitors in the traditional sense. The potential market for battery cells is so huge they will complement each other and develop a world class battery production environment in Scandinavia.

Torstein Dale Sjøtveit estimated the market to be 400 GWh or enough to supply 6 mill cars per year. And both factories plan to start with 16GWh capacity with room to expand.