Tuesday Conference Call

[green01]

Tesla press release announcing conference call before market opens Tuesday morning.Tesla Motors Announces Date for Company Update Conference Call (NASDAQ:TSLA)

 

[AnOutsider]

Probably at least in part to address the resignations. They may end on a high note with some new tidbits for us though.

 

[Mycroft]

After a 20% drop, they pretty much didn't have a choice. They had to say something to reassure the market.

 

[dsm363]

Good. Maybe they'll throw in some good news as AnOutsider said. Things that reservation holders had been asking for and/or complaining about.

 

[Eberhard]

Hopefully they address important questions for the european market like compatibility to CHAdeMO or support of 3-phase charging

 

[Doug_G]

Probably at least in part to address the resignations. They may end on a high note with some new tidbits for us though.

Actually, explicitly to address the resignations:

PALO ALTO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/15/12 -- Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) announced today that it will host a conference call to provide a Company Update, including a discussion of recent personnel changes.

 

[Norbert]

Actually, explicitly to address the resignations:

And surely to provide the latest info about the Model S schedule. (Perhaps a bit more than "still on track").

 

[Doug_G]

And surely to provide the latest info about the Model S schedule. (Perhaps a bit more than "still on track").

One hopes.

 

[NigelM]

And surely to provide the latest info about the Model S schedule. (Perhaps a bit more than "still on track").

Maybe, but don't count on it. Deliveries are still six months away and any public company would be stupid to make detailed promises when there must still be lots of variables. The rules of the market dictate that publicly traded companies will not say anything specific that might be a problem if they don't deliver.

I predict lots of: reassurance and "we are on track", complaints are from a vocal minority, reservations continue to roll in, and Signatures are sold out.

 

[JRP3]

Hopefully they address important questions for the european market like compatibility to CHAdeMO or support of 3-phase charging

Unlikely to say the least.

 

[JRP3]

I'm just bummed it's going to happen before market open. Let it bleed for an hour or two so we can load up, then do the call :biggrin:

 

[jbherman]

I'm just bummed it's going to happen before market open. Let it bleed for an hour or two so we can load up, then do the call :biggrin:

Hopefully they're not just providing us an opportunity to get a leg up on dumping at market opening!

 

[Robert.Boston]

It's easy to write the script for this call:

1. Rawlinson's departure was voluntary and entirely for personal reasons. After having given his all to the Model S engineering effort, and now that the car is moving into production, Peter thought this was an opportune time to pass the baton for development of Model X.
2. We want to thank Mr. Rawlinson and Mr. Sampson for their substantial contributions to the Model S development effort and for their assistance in assuring a smooth transition to their successors.
3. The departure of these two engineers will have no bearing whatsoever on the release date of the Model S. We are still confident that customer deliveries will begin by July, and cautiously optimistic that they may begin sooner.
4. The Model X development plan is also solidly on track. We are looking forward to sharing more information about this exciting new addition to the Tesla family on Feb. 9.
5. We will discuss Q4 financials in detail at the earnings call next month. I can share with you, however, that we ended the year with more than 8,500 reservations for the Model S, and that all 1,000 US Signature editions have been reserved. As we have stated early, these figures mean that the entire 2012 production has been reserved.

or similar.

 

[JRod0802]

It's easy to write the script for this call:

1. Rawlinson's departure was voluntary and entirely for personal reasons. After having given his all to the Model S engineering effort, and now that the car is moving into production, Peter thought this was an opportune time to pass the baton for development of Model X.
2. We want to thank Mr. Rawlinson and Mr. Sampson for their substantial contributions to the Model S development effort and for their assistance in assuring a smooth transition to their successors.
3. The departure of these two engineers will have no bearing whatsoever on the release date of the Model S. We are still confident that customer deliveries will begin by July, and cautiously optimistic that they may begin sooner.
4. The Model X development plan is also solidly on track. We are looking forward to sharing more information about this exciting new addition to the Tesla family on Feb. 9.
5. We will discuss Q4 financials in detail at the earnings call next month. I can share with you, however, that we ended the year with more than 8,500 reservations for the Model S, and that all 1,000 US Signature editions have been reserved. As we have stated early, these figures mean that the entire 2012 production has been reserved.

or similar.

Great write-up. I agree that that's how it's probably going to go. I just want to be sure that they're not going to say:

1. Rawlinson's departure was due to a professional disagreement.
2. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we're announcing that the Model S will now see it's first deliveries in the Fall of this year.

I know that it's unlikely that they'll say either of those things, especially since the Model S deliveries are more dependent on manufacturing, which isn't what Rawlinson did. That being said, it would make me feel better (considering the drop of the stock price) to hear that they don't say either of those things. I think it'll make the market feel better too, since those are the two worries that probably drove the price down.

 

[JRP3]

No way are they doing this announcement to spread bad news. Not a chance. I think RB has it pretty close.

 

[Norbert]

I'd like to hear a few things I don't already know. Otherwise everyone will think it was just marketing fluff, and they had to get up at 5am to hear it.

 

[vfx]

... and they had to get up at 5am to hear it.

It's not archived online somewhere?

 

[Robert.Boston]

Yes, it'll be archived, but anyone who follows the stock will want to be prepared to trade on the opening bell.

 

[smorgasbord]

3. The Model X development plan is also solidly on track. We are looking forward to sharing more information about this exciting new addition to the Tesla family on Feb. 9.

Note that Tesla had previously said Model X would be announced before the end of 2011. That apparently got pushed back to Feb 9 2012, so the somewhat knowledgable speculation is that the departures are related to that. But which is the cause and which is the effect is unknown at this point.

It's likely that the most interesting part of the call will be the Q&A session.

 

[AnOutsider]

Note that Tesla had previously said Model X would be announced before the end of 2011. That apparently got pushed back to Feb 9 2012, so the somewhat knowledgable speculation is that the departures are related to that. But which is the cause and which is the effect is unknown at this point.

It's likely that the most interesting part of the call will be the Q&A session.

OK, the only place I've seen this said (before here) is on Engadget and it's wrong. They said there would be a exclusive/private showing before the end of the year. They did that. They said it would be followed by a public unveiling. They are planning that with the 2/9 event. There were no missed dates here!