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

[mongo]

I'm so confused...Tesla has billions in cash, so why does every factory not have enough solar/battery storage for outages like this?

Because they install it when Giga is finished like Giga Texas that's now received powerpack

The Megapack site at Giga Texas is its own entity known as "Giga Texas Energy, LLC". It is classified as a "Generator".
Through both the primary and secondary switching networks, it can power the factory in the absence of the grid. And, if need be, completely bypass the main LCRA switchyard.
The rooftop solar installation only reduces the factory power load, it isn't used to (directly) charge the Megapacks.

Seriously? Run the numbers, and tell us how many megapacks they'd need. TIA.

Seriously, solar capacity is insufficient to run the factory. However, the 131 MW combined output power is likely sufficient to run most, if not all, of the plant for 2hrs+.

At 20% efficiency, 131 MW of solar would cover 655,000 m². The main factory (sans extension) is (no joke) about 420,000 m² (1.2km * 0.35km).

 

[uscbucsfan]

Henry Ford: notably and notoriously eccentric. Refused homogenized milk, promoted belief in vast Jewish conspiracies, accepted award from Hitler. How much damage to Ford?
John J McCloy: (outside of banking and historians, not a household name. Supported IG Farben in early Nazi years, later still became Chairman of The Chase Manhattan Bank and Assistant Secretary of War. Zero consequences for him! He did oppose Nuclear bomb on Japan, so was a bit nuanced.
Thomas Edison: quote Forbes; Thomas Edison Was A Cranky Dude (And Other Reasons You Should Follow His Lead)

These are poor comparisons. They didn't live in a divided social media age. Everything is hyper scrutinized. Everything is politicized due to social media and everyone is divided to a level that we've never seen before.

Not arguing that Elon is bad for the company, but those examples aren't comparable in the current climate we are in now.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I suppose it depends on how they define “physical controls”. The article seems to imply that the lack of stalks will be a problem for Tesla, but I also know better than to trust an article. Does the non-haptic turn signal button in the Highland 3 count as a “separate physical control?” What about the haptic buttons in the S/X?

Actual buttons are physical controls. The main thing is about penalizing moving controls to touchscreens.

The principle is that anything essential for safe driving should be able to be found by memory and feel only. A key question is whether buttons on the steering wheel that change position as the wheel is turned would be considered safe.

 

[uscbucsfan]

I'm not gonna dispute the merit, but I'll just say that this is the social media era, where everyone has a computer in his pocket and many platforms to express their opinions, and pretty much all those platform function on dopamine and AI in such a vicious cycle that the more a reaction is immediate and visceral the more viral it will become.
If Henry Ford was alive today you can bet there would be consequences (in either directions) for Ford.
Culture wars are a thing.

Beat me to it.

 

[Artful Dodger]

As of yesterday's close, Tesla has again fallen out of the top 10 in the S&P 500 Index. Here's the top 15:

Rank:​	Name:​	Symbol:​	Weight:​
1​	MICROSOFT CORP​	MSFT​	7.142224​
2​	APPLE INC​	AAPL​	5.928829​
3​	NVIDIA CORP​	NVDA​	4.875866​
4​	AMAZON.COM INC​	AMZN​	3.740192​
5​	META PLATFORMS INC CLASS A​	META​	2.561067​
6​	ALPHABET INC CL A​	GOOGL​	1.827749​
7​	BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CL B​	BRK.B​	1.699851​
8​	ELI LILLY + CO​	LLY​	1.463231​
9​	BROADCOM INC​	AVGO​	1.425556​
10​	JPMORGAN CHASE + CO​	JPM​	1.249955​
11​	TESLA INC​	TSLA​	1.204575​
12​	VISA INC CLASS A SHARES​	V​	1.035665​
13​	UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC​	UNH​	1.032247​
14​	EXXON MOBIL CORP​	XOM​	0.968278​
15​	MASTERCARD INC A​	MA​	0.898602​

 

[mongo]

Actual buttons are physical controls. The main thing is about penalizing moving controls to touchscreens.

The principle is that anything essential for safe driving should be able to be found by memory and feel only. A key question is whether buttons on the steering wheel that change position as the wheel is turned would be considered safe.

If my hands are on the wheel, and I turn the wheel, is it not the stalks that have changed position relative to my hands?

 

[unk45]

These are poor comparisons. They didn't live in a divided social media age. Everything is hyper scrutinized. Everything is politicized due to social media and everyone is divided to a level that we've never seen before.

Not arguing that Elon is bad for the company, but those examples aren't comparable in the current climate we are in now.

To everyone who objected; true, the times have changed. Still each of my examples generated severe reactions contemporaneously, perhaps von Braun and Ford the most. We they to have lived today I suspect none but, perhaps, Einstein, could have survived the onslaught.

Elon Musk has the unique disadvantage to be challenging the established interests in multiple areas simultaneously . Then of course social media cuts multiple ways for him.

 

[FreqFlyer]

Incredible, those „climate activists“. Loosing their last bit of credibility…

Hmmm., they don't think Tesla is green? Did anyone blow up the power pole for VW, BMW or Mercedes?

All hypocrites in my opinion.

 

[OrthoSurg]

What is going on with the SP?
Did Tesla stop selling cars? Cybertruck orders all for canceled? Lunar years extended to February in China lowering delivery numbers and we get -10% in 2 days?

 

[Mengy]

Would have been nice if you had shared this prophecy with us when the price was closer to $300.

Hah, a year ago I had no idea Tesla would drop prices so drastically cutting their margins at the knees and suffocating the Tesla Growth Story. I also honestly felt the Gen3 car was much closer to production than early 2026, it still floors me we have two years until the compact comes out.

I truly did not expect this enormous lull in Tesla's growth story. I wish I had a crystal ball too, I could have easily doubled my number of shares!!!

 

[elasalle]

“In terms of underwriting performance, Tesla Property & Casualty and Tesla General Insurance reported a combined underwriting loss of $30 million in 2023”

Prepare to be told how this is somehow a 4-d chess move from Elon.

As with all business ventures - in 1st innings isn't there lots of sunk capital and over head costs? We are in just like year 2.

2 items from the article:

Tesla Insurance ended 2023 with $497 million in written premiums, a 115% YoY increase.
Tesla Insurance Services, which sells insurance in CA, OH, AZ, and IL through a fronting arrangement with State National, has produced $387 million in written premiums, a 78% YoY increase.

In terms of underwriting performance, Tesla Property & Casualty and Tesla General Insurance reported a combined underwriting loss of $30 million in 2023. Tesla General Insurance, which offers coverage in NV, OR and VA, had a combined ratio of 145% in 2023. Tesla Property & Casualty, which offers coverage in CO, MD, MN, TX, and UT, had a combined ratio of 139.4% in 2023.


I think there will be improvements and more profitable as it moves along. More states added, more volume, better margins.
Also, what % of insurance claims related services $$ go back to Tesla Services? as most Tesla cars are serviced by Tesla itself? cheers!!

 

[JustSaying]

It is still early days for Tesla insurance. Is it at all surprising for an upstart company in insurance to show some losses? (I don't know, that's why I ask)

Seems like not too long ago there was a car company facing similar challenges. Then, after several years they reinvented how to build and sell cars profitably, much to the chagrin of the naysayers.

I wonder what could a company like that do with insurance when given time to apply first principles to the challenge?

A 10% increase in my Tesla car insurance rates would still be 1/3 less than the other insurance quotes I got...

 

[Cult Member]

OT: Last post for the arson attack that destroyed the power supply of Giga Berlin. I've got the complete Letter of confession of the extremists now. This is part of it:
Shut down volcano group Tesla! : Attack on power supply
We sabotaged Tesla today. Because Tesla in Grünau eats up earth, resources, people, manpower and spits out 6000 SUVś, killer machines and monster trucks per week. Our gift for March 8 is to shut down Tesla.
Because the complete destruction of the Gigafactory and with it the cutting off of "techno-fascists" like Elend Musk are a step on the path to liberation from patriarchy.
...
With our sabotage, we have set ourselves the greatest possible blackout of the Gigafactory as our goal. We have ruled out endangering our lives and the lives of others. The shutdown of production in the automotive industry is the beginning of the end of a world of destruction. Our bonfire of liberation was aimed at supplying Tesla with electricity. We wanted to hit the overhead line of a high-voltage pylon in the connection to the underground cables at the watertight cable sleeves and short-circuit the six 110 kV cables inside. To do this, we opened the shaft to the cable joints, half of which was under water. We still flamed the exposed power cables and, in combination with the water, may have caused a short circuit. Damage to cable joints is often time-consuming and expensive to repair. At the same time, we set the fire large and high with lots of car tires to weaken the steel structure and cause the mast to become unstable.
A steel mast only melts at around 1300 -1500 degrees. As we were working with a heat development of around 900 degrees, the aim was to change the mechanical properties of the mast. As a steel structure under load, a rapid, large fire from 500 degrees upwards can lead to a loss of strength and change the stiffness, yield strength and elasticity of the metal. This can lead to buckling effects, twisting or deflection. That was our intention.
...
FYI: March 8 is international womens day. They never write Elon, "Elend" is german and means miserable. The complete text covers Starlink, refers to Nazis, Imperialism, Teslas with Samsung cameras, accidents at GIGA, lack of Unions, and much more.

 

[SOULPEDL]

picked up 25 shares premarket @ $183.50 ... Tesla /Elon FUD seems to be at all time high " Elon Bad" to the extreme

Best price is now $182.898. Anyone? Hey, it's not a contest. (Waiting for my other buying friends to wake up... Hello!!!)

I'm in this whole run, and again this AM for 25 more. Can't keep doing this...

 

[2daMoon]

If my hands are on the wheel, and I turn the wheel, is it not the stalks that have changed position relative to my hands?

If only Tesla would develop steer by wire so the relative position of the buttons to the thumbs remained more constant as the wheel never makes a full rotation.

Maybe someday.

 

[M|S|M MYP]

Best price is now $182.898. Anyone? Hey, it's not a contest. (Waiting for my other buying friends to wake up... Hello!!!)

I'm in this whole run, and again this AM for 25 more. Can't keep doing this...

View attachment 1024831

Jeezus, i thought it was just good for yesterday, gimmie a few to find my glasses!!

 

[Stretch2727]

Elon response to the Berlin attack.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1764998660406845620

 

[2daMoon]

As with all business ventures - in 1st innings isn't there lots of sunk capital and over head costs? We are in just like year 2.

2 items from the article:

Tesla Insurance ended 2023 with $497 million in written premiums, a 115% YoY increase.
Tesla Insurance Services, which sells insurance in CA, OH, AZ, and IL through a fronting arrangement with State National, has produced $387 million in written premiums, a 78% YoY increase.

In terms of underwriting performance, Tesla Property & Casualty and Tesla General Insurance reported a combined underwriting loss of $30 million in 2023. Tesla General Insurance, which offers coverage in NV, OR and VA, had a combined ratio of 145% in 2023. Tesla Property & Casualty, which offers coverage in CO, MD, MN, TX, and UT, had a combined ratio of 139.4% in 2023.


I think there will be improvements and more profitable as it moves along. More states added, more volume, better margins.
Also, what % of insurance claims related services $$ go back to Tesla Services? as most Tesla cars are serviced by Tesla itself? cheers!!

You have no aptitude for spinning data into the most negatively possible interpretation, do you?

Thank goodness.

No worries, it seems there are plenty of others to take up the slack.

 

[GhostSkater]

OT: Last post for the arson attack that destroyed the power supply of Giga Berlin. I've got the complete Letter of confession of the extremists now. This is part of it:
Shut down volcano group Tesla! : Attack on power supply
We sabotaged Tesla today. Because Tesla in Grünau eats up earth, resources, people, manpower and spits out 6000 SUVś, killer machines and monster trucks per week. Our gift for March 8 is to shut down Tesla.
Because the complete destruction of the Gigafactory and with it the cutting off of "techno-fascists" like Elend Musk are a step on the path to liberation from patriarchy.
...
With our sabotage, we have set ourselves the greatest possible blackout of the Gigafactory as our goal. We have ruled out endangering our lives and the lives of others. The shutdown of production in the automotive industry is the beginning of the end of a world of destruction. Our bonfire of liberation was aimed at supplying Tesla with electricity. We wanted to hit the overhead line of a high-voltage pylon in the connection to the underground cables at the watertight cable sleeves and short-circuit the six 110 kV cables inside. To do this, we opened the shaft to the cable joints, half of which was under water. We still flamed the exposed power cables and, in combination with the water, may have caused a short circuit. Damage to cable joints is often time-consuming and expensive to repair. At the same time, we set the fire large and high with lots of car tires to weaken the steel structure and cause the mast to become unstable.
A steel mast only melts at around 1300 -1500 degrees. As we were working with a heat development of around 900 degrees, the aim was to change the mechanical properties of the mast. As a steel structure under load, a rapid, large fire from 500 degrees upwards can lead to a loss of strength and change the stiffness, yield strength and elasticity of the metal. This can lead to buckling effects, twisting or deflection. That was our intention.
...
FYI: March 8 is international womens day. They never write Elon, "Elend" is german and means miserable. The complete text covers Starlink, refers to Nazis, Imperialism, Teslas with Samsung cameras, accidents at GIGA, lack of Unions, and much more.

And people say Germans are no fun, how else could someone from there write that letter if they weren’t a clown?

Looking forward how authorities deal with it, and will shape the view we have on the country

 

[2daMoon]

And people say Germans are no fun, how else could someone from there write that letter if they weren’t a clown?

Looking forward how authorities deal with it, and will shape the view we have on the country

Eventually, these groups' ties to big oil or legacy auto will be revealed and it will surprise no one, as the story will not be picked up by the major outlets.