Tesla Starts to Disappear !

[HTSS_TR]

Quote:
Among the criticisms of Tesla is that it has been slow to release moderately priced cars. The Model III, which should be priced at under $40,000, will be released within a year. One of the worries about its introduction is that Tesla production facilities may be too limited to match what may be brisk demand. If customers turn to other electric cars, even if the auto press and Wall Street analysts believe these are inferior, Tesla will have lost its first-mover advantage. As people get into the habit of buying products from other manufacturers, it will be hard to sell them a Tesla, and harder still to get these customers to change their buying patterns. If an average car is held by the owner for several years, that person is taken out of the pool of electric car buyers, and Tesla's pool of potential buyers.



https://beta.finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-starts-disappear-105147399.html

I think this writer's view is legitimate. What do you think ?

 

[AirgunSavant]

I don't see an advantage to selling $40K cars.
Why bother, too much competition for that and a bunch of headaches.

 

[Jetronic]

tesla is building a factory in Belgium. I suppose this will free up production capacity for the US.

 

[Nate1979]

Tesla should be more worried about actually getting the car to market, loading their plant and selling as many as they can. I don't agree the demand is going to be brisk, especially in the beginning. If they sell out that is a good problem to have.

Tesla is in the lead. If they have such good demand they can add capacity. But I don't see what other options the consumer has that will be as good as the Tesla?

 

[Nebroch]

I've been wondering what is the real production cost of Model S. The more they sell, the bigger the loss / cash burn...

 

[itguy08]

If they could get a 150 mile range 2 or 4 door vehicle out for $40k they would have a hit on their hands. Especially for people like me - commute is ~40 miles each way to work. That's enough to comfortably get to and from work and do some errands on the way home and still have plenty of range. And still affordable enough for most. I could then save the truck for the weekends or longer trips and pulling the camper.

I don't care who makes it - be it Tesla, Ford, GM, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan....

 

[Pop_Rivit]

I think that article doesn't go into enough depth or detail for real analysis. For the most part the writer is just parroting bits and pieces of other opinions, and it's clear he hasn't done any real research of his own.

 

[cptbarkey]

Tesla has no problem burning through investor cash because morons keep giving them money. Just like any pyramid scheme, Elon is on top grinning.

 

[hattaresguy]

They are working on it, as Elon said heavy industry is not the tech sector it takes time.

He said and I agree that it takes really about 20 years to change the automotive landscape.

 

[tenderloin]

If anyone came out with an "affordable" electric car with around 150 -200 mile range IMO it would sell well. No need for 20 years on that. More charging stations will be built when sales of electric cars warrant. Current offerings from other than Tesla are limited on range...No thanks. VW pushing electric cars? LOL Trying to get back in the good grace of all those who bought the "clean" diesel cars thinking not only were they getting good MPG but clean burning as well...and keep writing how embarrassed they are for polluting so much.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

Originally Posted By: itguy08
If they could get a 150 mile range 2 or 4 door vehicle out for $40k they would have a hit on their hands. Especially for people like me - commute is ~40 miles each way to work. That's enough to comfortably get to and from work and do some errands on the way home and still have plenty of range. And still affordable enough for most.

I don't care who makes it - be it Tesla, Ford, GM, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan....



I agree with both parts of this.

 

[Falken]

I agree with itguy08 as well.

At this point it won't take many breakthroughs anymore to have solid options that don't require weekly visits to a fuel pump.

I would buy one if I had access to a charging station.

I don't need to burn gas to be proud of a vehicle, technology marches onward.

I applaud the car companies shift in view, and I'd like to think Elon Musk was a big part of the change in public perception of electric cars.

 

[WobblyElvis]

Why don't chevy volts sell well? Most trips are well within the volt's electric range the engine kicks in seamlessly if needed. I think the average person would be well served by this car but there is some fear of going electric. My point is, a $30,000 electric car already exists, yet people won't buy them.

 

[Falken]

Wobbly, many people don't want ICE/Electric hybrids.

Most cheap "Electric Only" cars don't have quite enough range yet.

The industry is looking for a long range, mass market electric-only car, under 40k. One doesn't exist yet, the race is on to obtain these goals.

 

[Nebroch]

Maybe Volt II will? It's nice looking and makes sense (when looking from Europe, gasoline is obiviously much cheaper in US).

 

[tenderloin]

2016 Volt advertised electric range....53 miles

Volt

 

[OneEyeJack]

Don't get confused. This whole venture is about making money, grant money, government money, bank's money, big time investor's money your money. The fact that there is a battery or a car involved is just part of the pitch. If after the dust settles there is a car coming down the assembly line then so be it. Stranger things have happened. It's far too soon to predict the success of anything let alone a $40K car for everyone. This new version of the People's Car is an old story and if it's going to work it will be 5 or 10 years not next year. And with government help you'll be paying for one even if you don't buy one.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Musk was interviewed on NPR the other day. He said he was actually surprised Tesla was still alive. He fully expected it to be out of business by now. I guess you could call him a realist...

 

[Y_K]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
He said and I agree that it takes really about 20 years to change the automotive landscape.


Ford did this quicker with T Model.

 

[Kawiguy454]

There is no demand for electric cars because the economics just aren't there and never will be. The only reason it hasn't bankrupted yet is because the egalitarian wine and cheese crowd that is currently running things has no problem subsidizing their planet saving fantasy with our tax dollars and enriching themselves and their friends in the process.

In a truly free market the technology is created to fill a demand not the other way round.

The inherent inefficiency of generating, storing, distributing and using electricity will never compare to the relative simplicity of pumping goo out of the ground into a can and powering an already near zero emissions machine.