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TSLA Market Action: 2018 Investor Roundtable

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...they even have significant marketing expenses (mostly related to the referral system I suspect).
Tesla said that they do not want to do advertising - mass advertising in particular.
Referral Program OK:
  • YouTube channels
  • Informational & fan websites
  • Social media sharing"

Marketing Expenses in my opinion are mostly:
1- Tesla Stores and Staff
2 -Referral Program

Below is from SEC FORM 10K - you can easily find SEC docs at tesla.com - good to read for yourself.

Sales and Marketing Vehicles Company
Owned Stores and Galleries We market and sell our vehicles directly to consumers through an international network of company-owned stores and galleries which we believe enables us to better control costs of inventory, manage warranty service and pricing, maintain and strengthen the Tesla brand, and obtain rapid customer feedback. Our Tesla stores and galleries are highly visible, premium outlets in major metropolitan markets, some of which combine retail sales and service. We have also found that opening a service center in a new geographic area can increase demand. As a result, we have complemented our store strategy with sales facilities and personnel in service centers to more rapidly expand our retail footprint. We refer to these as “Service Plus” locations.

Marketing
Historically, we have been able to generate significant media coverage of our company and our vehicles, and we believe we will continue to do so. To date, for vehicle sales, media coverage and word of mouth have been the primary drivers of our sales leads and have helped us achieve sales without traditional advertising and at relatively low marketing costs.

The markets in which we operate are highly competitive, and we may not be successful in competing in these industries. We currently face competition from new and established domestic and international competitors and expect to face competition from others in the future, including competition from companies with new technology. The worldwide automotive market, particularly for alternative fuel vehicles, is highly competitive today and we expect it will become even more so in the future. There is no assurance that our vehicles will be successful in the respective markets in which they compete. Many established and new automobile manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Daimler, General Motors, Toyota and Volvo, as well as other companies, have entered or are reported to have plans to enter the alternative fuel vehicle market, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles, as well as the market for self-driving technology and applications. In some cases, such competitors have announced an intention to produce electric vehicles exclusively at some point in the future. Most of our current and potential competitors have significantly greater financial, technical, manufacturing, marketing, vehicle sales networks and other resources than we do and may be able to devote greater resources to the design, development, manufacturing, distribution, promotion, sale and support of their products. Increased competition could result in lower vehicle unit sales, price reductions, revenue shortfalls, loss of customers and loss of market share, which could harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. In addition, our Model 3 vehicle faces competition from existing and future automobile manufacturers in the extremely competitive entry-level premium sedan market, including Audi, BMW, Lexus and Mercedes.

Marketing, Promotional and Advertising Costs Marketing, promotional and advertising costs are expensed as incurred and are included as an element of selling, general and administrative expense in the consolidated statement of operations. We incurred marketing, promotional and advertising costs of $66.5 million, $48.0 million and $58.3 million in the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

You can find a few more details FORM 10K 2017 annual report:
http://ir.tesla.com/static-files/0fbefe56-326c-412e-a33c-aa1b342e9469
 
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When I saw what Azalia said about Elon, my first thought was if I were him I would get rid of anyone around me with so little regard for my safety and reputation. I am sorry for the man but Grimes was massively irresponsible.

i get what you’re saying. i don’t care what he does personally. and i don’t know anything about any of the people around him, girlfriends or friends, so i wouldn’t judge.
but sadly, he’s in a position where he can be exploited from those angles (meaning thats a target, by the sick people that are smearing him).
unfortunately, that’s just how big a deal it is what he’s trying to accomplish, across the board.
not saying that’s what happened/happening or even suggesting.
but i myself am paranoid enough that i’m worried about those kinds of things happening to him. it’s a tough spot to be in.
 
That is very interesting. I'd expect left wing is more associated with the democrats and liberal minded people. Those that generally comes from the counter culture and shunning large media outlets. It is the conservative and Trumpians that should align more with large news media companies.

Have the two switched their roles?

Both the left and right in America are not monolithic in their beliefs, and neither group is self consistent. The left is counter culture, until it wants to impose their kind of laws on everyone. The right is for law and and order but also for small government and the right to be left alone. It’s complicated. And should be discussed in a different thread.
 
Thanks for sharing your experience. Very informative.

Just to be clear, I do think Elon is going through a serious emotional rollercoaster. He has talked about this repeatedly in the past, the staring down the abyss while eating the glass sandwich. What I don't believe is that he is out-of-control and that there is nothing to report on the balancing side (they had no choice but to mention in passing Musk's remark that Tesla is close to being out of the woods). If you read the NYT comments, it is obvious that readers are all but convinced he is damaged goods.

I thank Elon for being almost too down right honest. It show others (I hope our kids too) that life has up and downs, what is really important in the long run - his kids, why do you think he got emotional? And that yes, you'll have problems, but if you are really committed you just might succeed. And it might well be worth it if you can brag to your kids about things other than money. Like making the world a better place for us all? And of course it bothers him his women bail out on him. No one gets married planning to get divorced, do they? (well maybe gold diggers do??). Who else do you admire more than Elon?
Just name them and tell us why? (non business people are just fine)
 
The lead New York Times author of the article (David Gelles) wasn't a known Tesla FUDster - in fact his last article that mentioned Tesla (back in 2017) mentioned Tesla in a factual (and positive) fashion.

So I can see why Elon took the interview (the NYT has a wide audience) - instead he was trapped viciously.

If I was Elon I'd be fuming - I'm glad he is not me and that he has not reacted to the interview on Twitter so far. He should ignore it - Tesla results will speak for themselves.

Would it have been legal for Elon to record the phone interview? Probably not if he called from California...
As long as you TELL PEOPLE you are recording - you can do it anywhere. Secretly not so much.
Didn't stop Nixon, but that was way back in the '70s.
The NSA has a copy anyway, I just don't know how you get it from them:(.
 
Well it's the weekend so I will go with the American motors theme and volunteer that I may be the only forum member to have actually slept in a 51 Nash that makes into a bed. Quite comfy for a 6 year old between mom & dad.
That is against the law now days, right?
Oh, maybe OK at WalMart?

Careful, HomeLand/FatherLand security won't like and the ICE
[U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement]
can get you up to 100 miles of the Border

Just how old am I? I remember when no one cared if you went into Canada.
And Canadians drove to US on the weekends to shop.
If you drove, they'd make sure you had no DUI - they didn't want drunks driving in Canada.

Now? Austrian immigrant in Maine, I think, walked into Canada and got "interviewed for 5 hours" when he tried to walk back into US. I guess he didn't have a passport nor an "Enhanced Driver's License".
I don't have either (4 outdated passports) and I can't buy a train/bus/plane ticket to Canada and warnings tell you if you don't have the Border Patrol will NOT let you into Canada. Ended my trip plans as 1 week not long enough to get either ID. Show us your papers! Feeling like a WWII movie:cool:.
 
That is against the law now days, right?
Oh, maybe OK at WalMart?

Careful, HomeLand/FatherLand security won't like and the ICE
[U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement]
can get you up to 100 miles of the Border

Just how old am I? I remember when no one cared if you went into Canada.
And Canadians drove to US on the weekends to shop.
If you drove, they'd make sure you had no DUI - they didn't want drunks driving in Canada.

Now? Austrian immigrant in Maine, I think, walked into Canada and got "interviewed for 5 hours" when he tried to walk back into US. I guess he didn't have a passport nor an "Enhanced Driver's License".
I don't have either (4 outdated passports) and I can't buy a train/bus/plane ticket to Canada and warnings tell you if you don't have the Border Patrol will NOT let you into Canada. Ended my trip plans as 1 week not long enough to get either ID. Show us your papers! Feeling like a WWII movie:cool:.

I don't think there would be any problem duplicating the experience. We were in a campground at Starved Rock State Park in Illinois.
 
Elon musk likely broke up with grimes over Last several days. Could help explain sadness while talking to NYT. Check out vanity fair article for sadness comp. I have read his bio book several times - things are very predictable with him.

Yeah I agree. Perhaps this is what he meant by “on the personal pain level, the worst has yet to come.” The man has a super high level of pain tolerant, I’d say this too shall pass Like the past few beakups. it should get easier each time, he will be just fine.

I am more confident than most in terms of “funding secured” after the NYT interview when he replied “ Why would I?” to the question “did you regret the tweet?” They called him defiant but I’d say he is super confident about the funding. Why would he double down on that tweet without proof to back it up knowing the SEC meeting coming up this week?

I converted all stock back to J20 325 calls on Friday. These will close to double if taken out at 420, or higher on squeeze, or at least will do ok without either with plenty time left as fundamental/ramp is progressing nicely. If it drops further tomorrow, i am ready to roll to shorter term.
 
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