Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
He makes millions off of the carbon credits the Govt. gives him, not off his cars.
The only reason he gets those credits is that... he sells a lot of cars. Which means -- surprise! -- people like them enough to buy them.
Which makes your wording a bit suspect, by the way. Almost like you're trying to deny that the car is an excellent and popular product.
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Cars with highly questionable reliability.
...and the highest levels of owner enthusiasm in the industry, even with the reliability issues, which are no worse than for any first-gen tech, and which the company is doing a stellar job taking care of. I mean, let's keep it real.
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Perhaps he is a bit envious of VW's position as one of the biggest worldwide mfgrs?
Um. No.
Again, Tesla Motors is not about cars. It's about batteries. Musk has exactly zero plans for Tesla Motors to become a big worldwide auto maker. He didn't even expect it to be a sustainable business. The point was to survive just long enough to push the industry in the direction of electric cars, and to prepare the ground for a move into battery production.
Why do you think the company opened its patents? Why do you think Tesla stores give out test drives in $100k cars like candy? Musk gives less than a [censored] about being a dominant auto maker. He's trying to push the idea of an electric car per se. And if he didn't get those subsidies, he'd have filled in the gaps himself.
Bemoan the subsidies all you want. I don't disagree with that sentiment. But to suggest that they somehow invalidate the company or its products is ludicrous. And to suggest that Musk's motives are therefore suspect is a playground-level ad hominem.
Musk's motives are... exactly as suspect as those of any successful businessperson. They are profit-driven and image-driven from beginning to end. The only difference between him and most is that he's capable of playing the long game.
He makes millions off of the carbon credits the Govt. gives him, not off his cars.
The only reason he gets those credits is that... he sells a lot of cars. Which means -- surprise! -- people like them enough to buy them.
Which makes your wording a bit suspect, by the way. Almost like you're trying to deny that the car is an excellent and popular product.
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Cars with highly questionable reliability.
...and the highest levels of owner enthusiasm in the industry, even with the reliability issues, which are no worse than for any first-gen tech, and which the company is doing a stellar job taking care of. I mean, let's keep it real.
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Perhaps he is a bit envious of VW's position as one of the biggest worldwide mfgrs?
Um. No.
Again, Tesla Motors is not about cars. It's about batteries. Musk has exactly zero plans for Tesla Motors to become a big worldwide auto maker. He didn't even expect it to be a sustainable business. The point was to survive just long enough to push the industry in the direction of electric cars, and to prepare the ground for a move into battery production.
Why do you think the company opened its patents? Why do you think Tesla stores give out test drives in $100k cars like candy? Musk gives less than a [censored] about being a dominant auto maker. He's trying to push the idea of an electric car per se. And if he didn't get those subsidies, he'd have filled in the gaps himself.
Bemoan the subsidies all you want. I don't disagree with that sentiment. But to suggest that they somehow invalidate the company or its products is ludicrous. And to suggest that Musk's motives are therefore suspect is a playground-level ad hominem.
Musk's motives are... exactly as suspect as those of any successful businessperson. They are profit-driven and image-driven from beginning to end. The only difference between him and most is that he's capable of playing the long game.
