Originally Posted By: whip
Really? One bad product makes him a failure as a businessman and a company? Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs, two of the brightest minds in business have funneled money into duds.
Are they also failures? Tell me again how making that leap isn't sour grapes?
Using this as the standard for failure, can you list a few companies that haven't failed?
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs have also made a ridiculous amount of profitable products for their wildly profitable companies. Tesla doesn't make one. That company is entirely subsidized. The income of corporate welfare and borrowing from Peter to pay Paul is multitudes larger than the profits. Why do you keep comparing Tesla to companies that have actually succeeded and endured? It's not sour grapes. It's you being a lover and apologist.
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With more coming.
Are we again missing the point that Tesla is years behind schedule on making a mostly solar powered supercharger network, with no sign of meeting this goal in sight?
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reread what I said. Even in Ohio, I know people that have solar panels. For those people, it makes a great alternative. The people I know didn't invest in solar to save money. Some did it to make sure they always have power due to medical conditions. Having battery backup makes sense. I'm sure that's another bad idea from a failed billionaire businessman.
Who said Elon Musk is a failure? Tesla on the other hand is a furnace for cash. The only reason it's not a failure right now, is because Elon Musk keeps finding new ways to stoke the furnace.
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Infer much?
This coming from someone who who types nothing but "sour grapes"?
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I'm just giving credit where credit is due. He built a great electric vehicle, and he's providing the needed infrastructure. Something BMW, GM, Toyota and others haven't done.
And I'll bet you don't even know why this is. The only thing that infrastructure is needed for, is the Model S. With its massive batteries, and no ICE backup, it can't reasonably take advantage of the already-existing electric car charging network. BMW, Toyota, GM, and others haven't "provided the needed infrastructure" for the same reason why they don't build gas stations, refine oil, or ship fuel.
They know full well that that industry and municipalities have been and will be more than happy to get the job done. There's at least 30 standard electric car charging stations for every supercharger station for a reason. And you can charge any electric car at them; not just one particular brand, as with the Tesla supercharger stations. There's also the simple fact that most people aren't going to take their electric vehicle on a road trip anyway.
The utility companies (who currently supply power for almost all supercharger stations) could join forces with the oil companies and put up electric charging stations practically overnight if they wanted to. There's just no reason on the face of the Earth to do it yet.
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People laughed at Toyota when they tried to compete with BMW and MB. Tesla's second car went head to head with them, and it was successful.
There you go again comparing proven companies with Tesla (which is not). Toyota was not a cash burning upstart when it took on BMW and MB. They were one of the largest and most profitable automakers in some of the best economies on the face of the Earth. Even then, it learned a lot of hard lessons in failing to successfully take on the S-Class and the SL-class, which it has failed to do to this day. Let's not even get into their attempts to take on the M-cars.
Anyway, successful at what exactly? At succeeding to keep its doors open while bleeding money? It hasn't taken any significant market share, hasn't turned Tesla into a self-sufficient company, and hasn't met the goal of delivering an electric car that everyone can use. I don't know if you've taken a look at the production numbers of Tesla vs. the other companies, but they haven't gone head-to-head with anyone and succeeded.
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I give Tesla and Musk credit for that. I have no delusions of him saving the world like you think I do.
This is why I describe Tesla as the PT Barnum of the industry. They put on such a good show, that people forget that Tesla really hasn't done much to change anything at all. A nicer looking battery backup, a rich man's toy, a charging network to support that energy hog, and more batteries that other companies were already making.
Tesla demonstrates that time-honored fact that you can get a lot of cool things done when you can dispose of a lot of hard currency when selling a dream.
I actually take back my former assessment. PT Barnum made a lot of profit with his operation. Tesla has yet to equal that yet.
