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

[mongo]

Third, floor thickness, there is no reason for the floor to be that thick and in level with the door sill, if Tesla could make it thinner they would, that would mean the overall shape can be less tall, which means less drag, less batteries and cheaper to make

A structural pack would benefit from more thickness. However, it would also benefit from being single layer (less points of force transfer/ shear planes).
Therefore, look for 46120 (50% more energy) or 46150 (double the energy) cells out of Austin.

 

[Singuy]

The most amusing bit is how BAD they are at advertising EVs as well. Take the Super Bowl commercials. Dodge decided to advertise their EV truck by talking about how much EV trucks suck. Then they filmed a Jeep and mentioned something vague about electric.

GM really wanted customers to know that EVs must be great if they were willing to pay Netflix to show them off.

Why? Well, I can't remember who but a few years ago I read someone call out Mary Bara on her commitment to EVs vs Elon. Elon drives an EV every single day. Mary drove around in an ICE Cadillac. (at least at the time) I'm sure legacy auto execs are all in the same position. They don't live EVs. If you don't live and breath EV, how the heck can you build and market them?

Want to sell EVs?

Spoiler

Show a mom going out into the garage to take her kids to school. "Tank" is full, car warmed itself automatically from the programmed schedule. Kids are sitting in the car waiting patiently watching Netflix while she finishes making her coffee. Make sure to include a scene where she unplugs her phone, and then show her unplugging her car. Make that connection.

Then show a man, a hard working man leaving work. It's a hot day and he is sweaty and tired. Show him take out his phone before leaving the jobsite and turning the AC on. He get's to the car and it's ice cold in there so he breathes a sigh of relief. Then he is on the highway and throws lane keeping on and you see him melt into the chair and whistle along with his favorite song while the camera zooms out and shows rush hour traffic, he doesn't care so much anymore.

See they can't advertise too hard. They just want a "we have EVs too!" kind of commercial because in their mind, they are gaining sales from those from want Teslas or other EVs.

It's more of a brand positioning. The "Teslas are nothing special because we can provide you those as well". This is why they are copying every feature Tesla has except the charging network. I mean Ford's head of sales even go on twitter and trolls like Elon, or some of the commercials have rocket launches for whatever reason?.

 

[JusRelax]

First V4 supercharging stalls are now open!

"First V4 Supercharger stalls now open in Harderwijk! Stalls are equipped with a longer cable, providing easy access for all EVs."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1636015536969760769

 

[bkp_duke]

First V4 supercharging stalls are now open!

"First V4 Supercharger stalls now open in Harderwijk! Stalls are equipped with a longer cable, providing easy access for all EVs."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1636015536969760769

Wow, no curb stops to prevent people from backing into the stalls? Here in the states those would not last long.

 

[jeewee3000]

Wow, no curb stops to prevent people from backing into the stalls? Here in the states those would not last long.

No worries, Tesla has the best parking object detection on the market.

Oh wait. (Yes, I'm disgruntled with my no-USS-Model Y)

 

[jerry33]

Wow, no curb stops to prevent people from backing into the stalls? Here in the states those would not last long.

AFAIK, Europeans (at least some countries) have actual driving tests.

 

[bkp_duke]

No worries, Tesla has the best parking object detection on the market.

Oh wait. (Yes, I'm disgruntled with my no-USS-Model Y)

USS never prevented my wife from hitting objects . . . it was always "optional equipment" to her.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Anyone that bought a decent amount of TSLA up until mid 2019 and held even now could probably not have to work again...

Unless, of course, one used MARGIN to buy even more shares when it was 25% or 50% off the ATH, only to have to sell a huge majority of the total package to meet those damn margin calls due to the ~75% drop in SP from the ATH . . . because one could easily foresee a ~75% drop in SP from the ATH.

What an expensive "tuition of life" moment that was.

 

[Nocturnal]

Unless, of course, one used MARGIN to buy even more shares when it was 25% or 50% off the ATH, only to have to sell a huge majority of the total package to meet those damn margin calls due to the ~75% drop in SP from the ATH . . . because one could easily foresee a ~75% drop in SP from the ATH.

What an expensive "tuition of life" moment that was.

Many expensive lessons happened in 2022.

 

[wtlloyd]

Unless, of course, one used MARGIN to buy even more shares when it was 25% or 50% off the ATH, only to have to sell a huge majority of the total package to meet those damn margin calls due to the ~75% drop in SP from the ATH . . . because one could easily foresee a ~75% drop in SP from the ATH.

What an expensive "tuition of life" moment that was.

You're not alone. It was a minor amount, for me, but a disagreeable lesson, all the same.

 

[Max Plaid]

Unless, of course, one used MARGIN to buy even more shares when it was 25% or 50% off the ATH, only to have to sell a huge majority of the total package to meet those damn margin calls due to the ~75% drop in SP from the ATH . . . because one could easily foresee a ~75% drop in SP from the ATH.

What an expensive "tuition of life" moment that was.

Well yes, essentially taking on debt to buy a volatile asset is a dangerous game. I don't have a margin facility, I don't want one, I dread to think what may have transpired had I utilised such a mechanism, was bad enough as it was...

 

[Fred42]

This article from The Economist says that what was believed to be an EU decision to ban ICE sales by 2035 has been derailed and might be difficult to get back on track. Germany started the resistance out of concern for its auto industry, but getting Germany back on the wagon might be insufficient as other nations might also be reconsidering.

Germany is letting a domestic squabble pollute Europe’s green ambitions

A fight over cars turns ugly

www.economist.com

 

[bkp_duke]

Munro is looking at the Toyota bZ4X:

TL;DW summary:
- $52,000 MSRP (as reviewed)
- co-developed EV platform with Subaru
- 2 electric motors (80kw each)
- 72.8 kWh battery pack (CATL or Panasonic)
--- AWD gets CATL, limited to 100kW charging speed
--- FWD gets Pana, limited to 150kW charging speed
- 222 EPA rated miles (AWD)
- 6.5s 0-60 time (AWD)
- 10 year battery warranty
- no frunk
- has a heat pump
- 5-star JNCAP and EUNCAP crash ratings


The competition is coming . . . /s

 

[MartinAustin]

TSLA is falling a lot less than Ford, GM and Stellantis stock today. I wonder if this is connected with the amount of debt those companies carry. Gotta feel like they are more closely connected with the affairs of banks than Tesla is.

 

[generalenthu]

A structural pack would benefit from more thickness. However, it would also benefit from being single layer (less points of force transfer/ shear planes).
Therefore, look for 46120 (50% more energy) or 46150 (double the energy) cells out of Austin.

A double layer pack will also reduce rotational moment of inertia, resulting in better handling. Probably more important for gen2 roadster.

Would have loved it, but will now have to pass on the cybertruck as 5 seats is a deal breaker.

 

[Nocturnal]

This article from The Economist says that what was believed to be an EU decision to ban ICE sales by 2035 has been derailed and might be difficult to get back on track. Germany started the resistance out of concern for its auto industry, but getting Germany back on the wagon might be insufficient as other nations might also be reconsidering.

Germany is letting a domestic squabble pollute Europe’s green ambitions

A fight over cars turns ugly

www.economist.com

But I've been told that the German auto industry will crush Tesla once they make EVs. Weird!

 

[Right_Said_Fred]

This article from The Economist says that what was believed to be an EU decision to ban ICE sales by 2035 has been derailed and might be difficult to get back on track. Germany started the resistance out of concern for its auto industry, but getting Germany back on the wagon might be insufficient as other nations might also be reconsidering.

Germany is letting a domestic squabble pollute Europe’s green ambitions

A fight over cars turns ugly

www.economist.com

The German and Italian governments are fighting a lost battle. They may succeed in adding an addendum to the ban, leaving an opening for the sale after 2035 of cars which run on synthetic fuel (not gas or diesel). But many German and French car manufacturers have already reiterated their decisions to phase out combustion engines by 2030 or 2035. More important: it takes 6-7 times more electricity to produce the synthetic fuel needed to travel the same distance as an electric car, making synthetic fuel not only very environmentally unfriendly but also very expensive. So even if the sale is still allowed, no one will buy this fuel nor the cars which are able to use it.

 

[jeewee3000]

This article from The Economist says that what was believed to be an EU decision to ban ICE sales by 2035 has been derailed and might be difficult to get back on track. Germany started the resistance out of concern for its auto industry, but getting Germany back on the wagon might be insufficient as other nations might also be reconsidering.

Germany is letting a domestic squabble pollute Europe’s green ambitions

A fight over cars turns ugly

www.economist.com

In the worst case the ban might be delayed by say 5 more years, which is a shame for the planet, but $TSLA is fine either way. Even without a ban legacy OEMs cannot compete with Tesla vehicles, especially when the next generation Tesla vehicle comes to market.

If the ban were to be delayed, it's actually worse for OEMs in my opinion since it decreases their motivation to invest in BEVs. It would only be a bonus for those OEMs that are planning to keep selling ICE as long as possible and then declaring bankruptcy. Their reign will have lasted slightly longer. But either way, those companies (with no serious BEV plans) are living on borrowed time already.

 

[2daMoon]

But I've been told that the German auto industry will be crushed by Tesla once they make EVs. Weird!

Those telling that story have simply misunderstood.
FTFT (fixed that for them)

 

[Webeevdrivers]

Coming up on end of quarter soon and haven’t seen anything recently on Semi production. Does Pepsi have their hundred trucks yet? Are they still building them? Seems quiet regarding the semi production.