TSLA Market Action: 2018 Investor Roundtable

[holysmoke17]

thx. does anyone of you guys takes Spiegel seriously? I followed him 2 years ago but unfollowed him later because i thought he was just talking crap and couldn't possibly taken seriously. can anyone share the link anyway?

 

[wipster]

I don’t want to discriminate against anyone’s age here, but the average print subscriber to CR Magazine is 65 years old. Perhaps CR was targeting their audience in writing this piece. I realize that many of us here might be in our 60s or even older, the fact that you’re here shows your willingness to adopt new technology, while my assumption is that many older folks tend not to be as adventurous.

I'm 61 and would love it, but I've been into computers, the web, and smart phones from the beginning. Heck, I used to be the CEO of a software startup. But my Dad is 84 and while he can fix even modern cars with software codes and plug in diagnostic tools, he can barely read his email! I have to help him with his desktop every week. He wouldn't touch a Tesla with a 10 ft. pole.

 

[vinvin218]

Oh look, it's another article with a question as a title. So the answer is probably no.

Are we suffering enough by these media unreasonable title? i mean no matter what Elon say, they are able to twist it to bearish view

 

[dw4ngg]

Are we suffering enough by these media unreasonable title? i mean no matter what Elon say, they are able to twist it to bearish view

What do you think will happen when there’s that much money on the line? Tesla needs to counter with a trustworthy corporate espionage/PR team to negate the counter productivity associated with fighting all this “news”

 

[Ugliest1]

thx. does anyone of you guys takes Spiegel seriously? I followed him 2 years ago but unfollowed him later because i thought he was just talking crap and couldn't possibly taken seriously. can anyone share the link anyway?

I'm going to have to think about that... NO!

[EDIT: I was answering the first question, not the second. I have no information on the second, obviously.]

 

[dc_h]

This would seem to be inconsistent with the flat Model 3 net reservations.

Tell us what they are please, or did Elon swear you to secrecy?

 

[Ugliest1]

CR calls "difficult-to-use controls" as a big flaw, that further reinforced my view that someone maybe corrupted at CR. I'm not sure ICE companies are paying them, or shorts are paying. I guess a lot of money is involved. ICE companies are fighting for survival, I would not be surprised if they try everything to slow down Tesla.

<snip>

I went through all the controls in my car, here is what I found:

The following controls I never need to change during driving, actually I almost never need to adjust these at all, I set once while the car is parked. Most of them I just use the automatic setting, works perfectly.

<snip>

I feel CR already decided that they won't recommend the Model 3, then they look for reasons to support the decision.

Thanks very much for taking the time to post this. After reading many vitriolic complaints starting immediately after the reveal (when the complainers had either 0 experience, or a few lucky ones had gotten the 2 minute ride), I was hoping something like your experience would be the reality.

Also I have suspicions about CR as well after seeing a video a couple of years ago with the three commenters dissing the Model S, to me it was obvious they had their biases and Tesla wasn't going to be getting positive comments without a healthy dose of negatives. There's no accounting for taste, of course, but CR pumps themselves a lot for being unbiased... but, they're not. And I agree they could very well have made their decision before then looked for excuses.

Also I have to disagree with you on Chill mode. Just sayin'.

 

[JRP3]

Indeed, eventually more and more people will find out CR is just a magazine, people can get corrupted when a lot of money is involved. It takes some time, once a guy makes the first step in that direction, there is no return.

Seems more likely they just didn't like the control system. Different opinions don't mean corruption.

 

[sundaymorning]

Elon can take criticism, I’m betting he’s going to make the car better with a software update to please CR.

 

[CuriousSunbird]

How do you conclude that the reservations are flat? The penultimate published number was about 400,000. More recently, they've shipped some tens of thousands, and yet the reservations are up to 450,000. Doesn't sound flat to me.

In the Q1 delivery update Tesla said "Net Model 3 reservations remained stable through Q1." I have no reason to suspect that they were being untruthful.

 

[ggr]

Probably for the annual meeting vote. Stocks get recalled so that owners can view their shares

The "record date" for the AGM was April 12. If they're recalling shares now they're going to be disappointed. (I assume "view" was autocorrected from "vote" above.

If you plan to attend the meeting in person, please bring your photo ID, and either the notice or card addressed to you on behalf of us or your broker or your brokerage statement as of April 12, 2018

 

[TradingInvest]

CR calls "difficult-to-use controls" as a big flaw, that further reinforced my view that someone maybe corrupted at CR. I'm not sure ICE companies are paying them, or shorts are paying. I guess a lot of money is involved. ICE companies are fighting for survival, I would not be surprised if they try everything to slow down Tesla.

I recently got my Model 3. The experience is similar to switching from an analog phone to an iPhone. On day one, it takes sometime to find the functions, but after 3 days, it's difficult to go back to any old phones. The iPhone user interface is very intuitive and easy to use.

I went through all the controls in my car, here is what I found:

The following controls I never need to change during driving, actually I almost never need to adjust these at all, I set once while the car is parked. Most of them I just use the automatic setting, works perfectly.
Exterior lights - set to Auto
Interior lights - Auto
Display mode - Auto
Brightness - Auto
Driving mode - Chill
Steering mode - Standard
Regenerative braking - Standard
Creep - On (gray during diving anyway)
AutoSteer - On
Auto Lane Change - Off
Wiper - Auto
Window Lock - open
Child Lock - open (if I do need to lock this, I would have locked it before the trip)
Glovebox lock - no drivers need to open the glovebox while driving. Passengers might need to open it and they can easily do so on the screen.

Since I don't need to change the above settings while I am driving, complaining about the distraction is really a moot point.

The following controls I frequently use during driving:
Music volume: Tesla has the most intuitive way to control this. it's the up/down scroll wheel on the left side of the steering wheel. I don't need to go to the screen.
Turn on Autopilot: it's a lever on the steering wheel, no need to look at anything, very convenient, my eyes never need to leave the road.

The following functions I might use during driving, all of these are at the bottom of the screen, never covered by anything:
Seat heating
Heating Windshield
Heating back window
Climate control: top level button to control it, set at auto (both temp and wind)

Emergency button: it's a physical button, no difference from other cars.

In addition, I can give voice instructions to set navigation target, call someone, or play music. Tesla said going forward, all functions will be voice controlled.

After a few days, I already find it's very easy to access any function I am looking for, Tesla designed the user interface intuitively. I can't switch back to any systems that I owned in the past.

I feel CR already decided that they won't recommend the Model 3, then they look for reasons to support the decision.

Regarding the braking distance, here is my view:

I had experience with several MB and BMW cars in the past, including a M3. I will share my experience:
I tried my Model 3's braking a few times (not scientific test, just driving on highway and try to stop it when there are absolutely no other cars behind me). I feel my car's braking is adequate, very firm, better or equal to the experience I had with other cars. My tire pressure has been at 42~43, not sure if this makes a difference. A friend who owns Mercedes cars tested my car, he specifically said he really loves Model 3's acceleration, firm braking and handling. CR's test shows the braking distance varies, that's very strange, Tesla might want to do more testing in this area and try to figure out what's going on.

I don't think either side (CR and Tesla) is lying about their braking test. But Tesla as the manufacture has the opportunity to test braking on thousands of cars, braking probably is part of the final test on every new car. If they say their testing result is 133 feet, I guess there is data behind it. It's not easy for a company to lie about this without being caught.

Forgot to mention side mirrors (select a mirror on screen, adjust using scroll wheel). I set my driving position and side mirrors while parked, then save the settings to my profile. I never need to touch them again. CR's complain is fishy.

 

[AZRI11]

It's a mostly valid article. The stopping distance does appear to be a problem given that Car and Driver found the same thing. Tesla needs to address this directly. The controls issue (everything through the touchscreen) is also a valid concern. Tesla has actually made the problem worse from when the Model S was first available in 2012. When they did their most recent UI refresh, they actually added an extra screen press to the UI, resulting in even more distracted driving. IMHO, Tesla UI designers were stupid with their decision to go with a more modern looking UI rather than going for maximum functionality.

The only quibble I would have with CR is that they somehow discounted using the maximum regen mode saying that the limited regen mode was more like gas powered cars and thus they would base their range calculations on that. That is asinine. And to be fair to Tesla, it does call into question the entire article if that is an example of their thinking.

They are trying to make it an even field. Handicapping like golf.

 

[2virgule5]

I've been wondering if the low regen setting would impact stopping distance.

In which case a FW update may fix it...

 

[bdy0627]

Seems more likely they just didn't like the control system. Different opinions don't mean corruption.

This seems much more likely to me than that CR is corrupt, paid off, involved in a conspiracy, or whatever. They did not appear to like the control system and nitpicked it to the point where some of their complaints seemed a little ridiculous. I haven't adjusted my side mirrors on the model S since the first time I set them up. Pretty much the same goes for airflow as well. Maybe I'm in the minority there, but I don't adjust those things much at all after I've set them up. I have no problem with them being controlled on the screen at all. They didn't really spend much time on these things though compared with the brakes, which they spent about 3/4 of the article discussing. That's where they really felt they had found something faulty on the vehicle.

I will say that something was bound to be found with the model 3 that was problematic at some point. I'm very glad it is something easy to address like the brakes. This should be fixed quickly.

 

[alloverx]

CR is fair. Slamming them just makes you comes across as weak and insecure.
And yes the CR report was all over the web (CNN is a minnow) as TESLA gets hits.

 

[Todd Burch]

Tweetstorm:

WRT complexity, he is referring to a request to add red brake calipers to the performance 3s.

WRT "larger locations", he's referring to adding air compressors to larger Supercharger stations for inflating tires.

(Please Tesla, that's not really a priority right now).

 

[sundaymorning]

Tweetstorm:
View attachment 302871
View attachment 302872

WRT complexity, he is referring to a request to add red brake calipers to the performance 3s.

WRT "larger locations", he's referring to adding air compressors to larger Supercharger stations for inflating tires.

(Please Tesla, that's not really a priority right now).

The software update or whatever Elon has in store for the Model 3 will make the car even better. I think reservation holders will be very pleased.

 

[EngRyan]

I'm glad he took a bit softer tone and said we'll look into it and, if there's anything, fix it instead of calling out CR. After his Reveal rant I was concerned when I saw the tweet wall about CR.

 

[sundaymorning]

Tweetstorm:
View attachment 302871
View attachment 302872

WRT complexity, he is referring to a request to add red brake calipers to the performance 3s.

WRT "larger locations", he's referring to adding air compressors to larger Supercharger stations for inflating tires.

(Please Tesla, that's not really a priority right now).

Thanks this helps, I thought he was talking about profits, which I think will be easy jk. Get us to 5000 please!