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

[Pezpunk]

On a related note, yesterday was the first time I'd seen S3X here in the UK. A Model S, Model 3 and Model X all on the same day (on a short trip to town, not near a Supercharger).

just got back from lunch in my Model S .. parked in between a Model 3 and a Model X! Location was the Mod Pizza in Gainesville, VA.

 

[Pezpunk]

Why would you do it if you don't have a demand problem and can't build cars&batteries fast enough?

improving demand improves the bottom line in multiple ways. it reduces the number of incentives and price reductions you have to offer, and increases the percentage of high-margin performance models as well as S/X sales.

I think it's pretty obvious Tesla would like to be selling more Model S/X.

 

[Chocochip]

Gates is driving a Model X during his interview with Neal Stephenson in 2016.

Based on the interactive youtube video, it would seem the Model X is Neal Stephenson's. The license plate is 7eves (same name as the book they're discussing), and when he first gets in the car Gates seems confused about how to put it in drive.

 

[BriansTesla]

Any argument to the contrary is emotion-based ("wahhh i dont want Tesla to give money to mean old magazines") or deeply ignorant of how advertising works ("i mistakenly believe i don't pay attention to ads, therefore ads aren't effective").

I believe that there are far better places than advertising for Tesla to spend money now and well into the future.

 

[traxila]

absolutely. you play by the rules as written, not by how you WISH they were written. to do otherwise is only punishing yourself out of anger at someone else. it's fundamentally irrational.

Tesla wants to succeed in transitioning the world to sustainable transportation.

Advertising would help that mission, period.

Any argument to the contrary is emotion-based ("wahhh i dont want Tesla to give money to mean old magazines") or deeply ignorant of how advertising works ("i mistakenly believe i don't pay attention to ads, therefore ads aren't effective").

If Tesla and Musk had played by the so called rules they would be extinct.

Pissing a couple of billion away over the past few years would hardly have helped the situation and would not have helped them sell any more cars. They are maxed out on battery supply and ramping as fast as they can.

BTW, just how many billions per year would qualify Tesla to be out of the media doghouse? Because the legacies are giving them TENS of billions annually. Sounds like an endless rathole to me.

It would have ensured that TSLA never had a profitable quarter.

Perhaps we should agree to disagree and go back to discussing and rooting for the company itself.

 

[lafrisbee]

He has most certainly accomplished a lot but limited study on him
1. Tried to sell DOS to IBM for 50,000. That would have been the story. His only product —-no clear vision of future
2. I remember him buying huge stake in Kodak when everyone saw it going bk. At that point their salvation was to make an ink jet printer
3. Totally missed the internet which even he said was his largest space
It’s nice what he has done with his foundation but how I would not follow him as an investor

The altruism of Gates is nice. His Foundation exacerbates the problems of the region.

 

[Eugene Ash]

improving demand improves the bottom line in multiple ways. it reduces the number of incentives and price reductions you have to offer, and increases the percentage of high-margin performance models as well as S/X sales.

I think it's pretty obvious Tesla would like to be selling more Model S/X.

I have not got any incentives, there were none when i was buying my s. They were quite crafty with packages, so i couldn't resist a few of them, pushing margins up. They have since discountinued low margin versions like s40, s60, s75, so how much margins are they loosing on these?

Nor did I look for printed ads or tv. It is our 7th year without one.
Elon gets has enough of free press coverage because he pushes the boundaries, not marketing crap.

 

[StealthP3D]

Advertising would help that mission, period.

Any argument to the contrary is emotion-based ("wahhh i dont want Tesla to give money to mean old magazines") or deeply ignorant of how advertising works ("i mistakenly believe i don't pay attention to ads, therefore ads aren't effective").

I disagree. The magazines are that way because companies are willing to pay them off. It's a toxic culture that's bad for the country and bad for the world. Saying "Yeah, but everyone does it" is no defense at all.

While I strongly support Tesla's mission to transition the world to sustainable energy, I even more strongly support them doing it while simultaneously showing that advertising is not as powerful as innovation and grass-roots marketing by bankrupting those companies who think bribery is the way to successful sales.

BTW, that's what led to the demise of the US auto industry by the 1970's - the big three put more money and resources into advertising than product development. Tesla doesn't advertise with big media and they are still selling every car they can make. Because their cars are demonstrably superior - people like that.

 

[Chickenlittle]

Interesting low volume of course but close in Frankfurt down 0.2% from close of tsla on Friday despite the angst on this forum

 

[sandpiper]

Interesting way to avoid Osborning. Don’t announce/unlock improvements until several months after they have been implemented.

Tesla has done this before... coming out after the fact that all vehicles made in the last two months actually have a bigger battery that can be software upgraded. Or, for the S 2.0 refresh, they didn't announce it until all of the new ones coming off the line were the new version. It's the only thing they can do to avoid getting torpedoed with a major sales blip.

They've been blasted a few times for making these changes announced, upsetting people who just missed it. But I honestly don't know what else they can do.

 

[Prunesquallor]

absolutely. you play by the rules as written, not by how you WISH they were written. to do otherwise is only punishing yourself out of anger at someone else. it's fundamentally irrational.

Tesla wants to succeed in transitioning the world to sustainable transportation.

Advertising would help that mission, period.

Any argument to the contrary is emotion-based ("wahhh i dont want Tesla to give money to mean old magazines") or deeply ignorant of how advertising works ("i mistakenly believe i don't pay attention to ads, therefore ads aren't effective").

So, you think Tesla should pay extortion to advertisers “because you play by the rules that are written”? OK, then Tesla should finance a troll factory to spread lies about its competitors, cook up some software to make its batteries appear more efficient than they really are and manipulate the stock of rivals. The ends justify the means, right?

 

[azaz]

Fred Lambert has confirmation from Porsche it was a Taycan

 

[traxila]

Tesla has done this before... coming out after the fact that all vehicles made in the last two months actually have a bigger battery that can be software upgraded. Or, for the S 2.0 refresh, they didn't announce it until all of the new ones coming off the line were the new version. It's the only thing they can do to avoid getting torpedoed with a major sales blip.

They've been blasted a few times for making these changes announced, upsetting people who just missed it. But I honestly don't know what else they can do.

Become a legacy. Stop pushing the innovations, design a car that they intend to produce identical models of for three years straight at a minimum, use those three years to make two or three incremental improvements for the next ‘new’ model that they announce one year pre release for the masses to come to terms with who then look for discounts on inventory sitting in lots, approach all their outsource suppliers with the three year plan and the orders for millions of identical parts which they use as leverage to bring down the price as much as possible but god forbid anything has to change in the production process or there will be hell to pay up and down the totem poles of both companies, god I am mentally gagging at this crap I am writing hope this never happens.

Don’t think it will. Unfortunately, every day that goes by I am more convinced and concerned that the disruption will be brutal and blood red. I know that there will be many bankruptcies and liquidations. And Tesla will be a huge winner as I hope we all are and the future of our clueless species as well.

 

[Prunesquallor]

again, this is an irrational rebuttal based on anger and emotion rather than logic.

Please point out my defect in logic. I think we could agree that extortion is unethical, even if it’s a common practice in the advertising industry. Where do you draw the line in unethical behavior?

If Tesla has determined that traditional advertising would be beneficial (new product announcement, lagging sales), sure I have no problem. To do it to avoid damaging lies from being published - no.

 

[dc_h]

France, really???

Yeah, they don't protest in France!

 

[rsm287]

An interesting article:

Tesla Is the Rock Star of the Automobile World For 1 Reason

 

[Chickenlittle]

Fred Lambert has confirmation from Porsche it was a Taycan

I love Porsche comment that fires occur more often in gas cars. Tesla can say that but only 130 taycans deliver Porsche with a fire in 1/130 cannot. Saw the video of pictures. Given intensity of fire (car burned to nothing) garage damaged but still standing. I’m surprised it did so well

 

[Fact Checking]

"Apple says it won’t meet March revenue guidance due to constraints created by coronavirus."

this will probably impact market as a whole tomorrow

Mark Gurman on Twitter

Correct, especially since AAPL is about 11% of the Nasdaq index.

 

[dw4ngg]

One reason I am long TSLA is that I believe Elon Musk has the necessary negotiation skills.

Recent CV entry: GF3 is first first auto factory in China owned by a foreign company.

If anyone can get GF4 going ASAP then it is Tesla w. Elon Musk.

Yes, you can call my a fanboy now...

Elon Musk is the reason 99% of us are shareholders of TSLA.

edit: it may be closer to 85-90% now, b/c the main obstacles have been overcome, and someone like Tim Cook could probably derive value from Tesla at this point of its legacy.

 

[azaz]

Correct, especially since AAPL is about 11% of the Nasdaq index.

also probably have more companies come out now and revise guidance