[asg70]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rockdoc123', '
')a single station even if they replaced all of their gasoline pumps with charging stations is still not sufficient to power a large EV compliment.

[rockdoc123]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'E')Vs are different from ICE. They have a different user profile and drivers have to learn to adapt. If someone knows in advance they'll be taking a lot of long trips they could always opt for a plugin hybrid.

[vtsnowedin]

I don't believe anyone ever proposed a 100 percent switchover to full EVs. Even if you tried it would take twenty years or more to wear out the existing fleet of Ices , especially the heavy diesel trucks. Where you are Rockdoc out in the west of Canada is possible the worst case and would be the last to change over if ever. In the meantime there are millions of average drivers that have daily commutes of thirty miles or less each way that already own two vehicles that can switch over with ease and drive the other car for long trips using the gas they saved during the week driving the EV.

[rockdoc123]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')n the meantime there are millions of average drivers that have daily commutes of thirty miles or less each way that already own two vehicles that can switch over with ease and drive the other car for long trips using the gas they saved during the week driving the EV.

[asg70]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rockdoc123', '
')Set up an "appointment" to charge....well great in theory but in practicality, all it takes is for one or two vehicles to be a bit late

[vtsnowedin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rockdoc123', '
')An interesting point someone told me about recently that I thought was significant: a 100 times growth in the number of electric vehicles to 400 million on the roads by 2040 would displace only 5% of global oil demand. And replacing all hydrocarbon power with electricity over the next 30 years would require a construction program building out a grid at a rate 14 fold greater than any time in history. I'm not saying any of this is impossible but there are some significant challenges that need to be recognized.

[EdwinSm]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')esla has delivered its first cars made in China, marking a major milestone for the electric vehicle maker.
.....
During a ceremony at the company's multi-billion dollar plant in Shanghai, 15 of its employees received cars they had purchased.

[Newfie]

The Boring Company.

A largely incomprehensible and muddled article on the topic.

I’m posting this more as an example of the poor understanding than anything technically interesting.

https://qz.com/1776975/elon-musks-las-v ... ongestion/

[dolanbaker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EdwinSm', '
')
The $64billion question is can they make money on it.

[vtsnowedin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dolanbaker', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EdwinSm', '
')
The $64billion question is can they make money on it.

[Outcast_Searcher]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vtsnowedin', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dolanbaker', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EdwinSm', '
')
The $64billion question is can they make money on it.

[EdwinSm]

As a company Tesla in now more valuable than Volkswagen.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')esla has displaced Volkswagen as the world's second most valuable carmaker, after a dramatic rise in share price pushed its market value to more than $100bn (£76.1bn).

The milestone sets the stage for chief Elon Musk to collect billions in pay tied to hitting that target.

Tesla's share price has more than doubled since October, when the firm reported a rare quarterly profit.

Shares rose 4% on Wednesday, making its valuation second only to Toyota.

.....
Some analysts say the rise in price reflects Tesla's performance in recent months, during which it has opened a factory in Shanghai and met its production goals.

This month, Tesla said it had delivered more than 367,500 cars last year - up 50% from 2018. Investors expect the new factory to act as a springboard that will allow it to capture more of the Chinese market.

[rockdoc123]

I had a conversation the other day with an investment banker as to if he saw some reason for Tesla shares to suddenly move much higher. His comment was fundamentally there was no reason but it could be because it was so heavily shorted previously and if those shorts were positions held by hedge funds they may have decided to close them out, perhaps thinking the worst was over for Tesla. My own thinking (and I have no evidence of this) is given Musk has shown continual disregard for laws that pertain to trading and disclosure around publicly held companies I wouldn't be surprised that he has orchestrated a rise behind the scenes. Could he have had companies that are held at arms length waltz in and buy up shares in order to move the market? He would likely see this as a means of avoiding share buyback disclosures and making the company look more attractive. The SEC let him off with a light wrist slap last time so I wouldn't be surprised that he thinks he is now bullet proof. As well, I think the price has now moved past the point where Musk gets a very large payout according to his contract. Coincidence? Maybe. In any event given the fact the company still faces huge head winds, has yet to show significant profits and will be up against the wall as larger, more experienced auto firms rollout their own EV's I think this story will not end well for anyone who bought the stock in the last few days. Just my opinion of course.

[asg70]

Does there need to be a new conspiracy theory proposed every day here?

Tesla's rebounding because the cultish hopium surrounding Tesla is resilient. It only needed some time for Musk and co. to get their sh*t together. Broken unbreakable windows not withstanding, Tesla has been able to do some executing of late. They got the Chinese gigafactory up and running in record time, for instance, and the Model Y is moving towards release.

Personally, I'm not quite as certain I once was that the major automakers will crush Tesla because they are lapsing behind Tesla in two areas, battery manufacturing and EPA. The pathetic range figures for the Taycan are alarming for its price-point. The eMPG on the eTron and iPace are also poor, made up for with larger packs which make it that much harder to make a profit on them. So far Hyundai and Kia have done the best on efficiency but they don't have the batteries.

On Tesla's front there are so many negatives that can be addressed by competitors besides the above, the interior, paint quality, overall reliability, etc... but the competitors will need to make sure the fundamental drivetrain and battery supply-chain is in order first, otherwise it's a pick-your-poison situation.

I think the teething process the majors are going to go through may leave enough of a gap there for Tesla to avoid being relegated to a niche brand. VW remains the biggest threat to Tesla but they would have to do everything right. The Taycan range issue makes me wonder what kind of deficiencies the MEB cars may have. There was a story recently about how VW is struggling with the software as well.

Now, none of this changes the fact that Tesla is still swimming in long-term debt. I really don't know how it manages to get away with that. But despite that they seem to still be able to execute major initiatives. But they have to get some of the vehicles long in the pipeline out the door, not just the Model Y but the Semi and the Roadster 2. They are also dealing with waning sales for the aging S and X and plans to refresh them that most won't like (the dashboard). And autopilot continues to crash and kill people (inexplicably with no legal liability). So it's not going to just be smooth sailing.

[Outcast_Searcher]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('asg70', 'D')oes there need to be a new conspiracy theory proposed every day here?

Tesla's rebounding because the cultish hopium surrounding Tesla is resilient. It only needed some time for Musk and co. to get their sh*t together. Broken unbreakable windows not withstanding, Tesla has been able to do some executing of late.

...

Personally, I'm not quite as certain I once was that the major automakers will crush Tesla because they are lapsing behind Tesla in two areas, battery manufacturing and EPA. The pathetic range figures for the Taycan are alarming for its price-point. The eMPG on the eTron and iPace are also poor, made up for with larger packs which make it that much harder to make a profit on them. So far Hyundai and Kia have done the best on efficiency but they don't have the batteries.

On Tesla's front there are so many negatives that can be addressed by competitors besides the above, the interior, paint quality, overall reliability, etc... but the competitors will need to make sure the fundamental drivetrain and battery supply-chain is in order first, otherwise it's a pick-your-poison situation.

I think the teething process the majors are going to go through may leave enough of a gap there for Tesla to avoid being relegated to a niche brand.

...

Now, none of this changes the fact that Tesla is still swimming in long-term debt. I really don't know how it manages to get away with that. But despite that they seem to still be able to execute major initiatives. But they have to get some of the vehicles long in the pipeline out the door, not just the Model Y but the Semi and the Roadster 2. They are also dealing with waning sales for the aging S and X and plans to refresh them that most won't like (the dashboard). And autopilot continues to crash and kill people (inexplicably with no legal liability). So it's not going to just be smooth sailing.

[asg70]

Competition is ultimately good. I mean, I think the momentum is unstoppable either way, but the stronger Tesla is, the more it acts as a catalyst to the majors. Like I've lost track of how many articles have been written about Porsche's range estimates for Taycan. It's a genuine embarrassment. Porsche innovated in some areas and accepted tradeoffs in others. Also, over in Japan there is still a lot of resistance against pure BEVs. The more the industry appears to be moving en masse the harder it will be for Japan to cling to the idea that hybrids and fuel cells are the future. The reverse is also true, the more the majors threaten Tesla, the more it forces Tesla to get its act in gear and the less prospective EV buyers will have to just take or make apologies for whatever issues or quirky design decisions Tesla forces upon them.

I think the thing to look for going forward, which is more of a general EV thing and not Tesla per se, is the battery manufacturing. I don't think the majors have battery supplies worked out yet. Even if they plan on making them themselves, they are starting way behind Tesla on that front. What I've read indicates that China (as a whole) is erecting battery factories in a way that makes Tesla look like a small-fry. So it will be interesting to see how that capacity gets utilized, either just for domestic manufacturers or to be sold at a low enough overhead to supply the majors with what they need. But if it's just up to the majors making their own batteries, I think they will go through a long ramp-up process and potentially embarrass themselves by not hitting their production targets.

[vtsnowedin]

Anything Tesla can do in the way of making batteries the majors can do and with state of the art automation they can be cost competitive here in the USA. They can also build and debug a new factory faster then Tesla so catch up with the market quickly. Tesla needs to prove out it's products and make deliveries on time if it wants to keep a share of the market before the window closes.
As for the Chinese they will probably use all their battery building capabilities domestically to work on their air pollution problems.

[Outcast_Searcher]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vtsnowedin', '
') As for the Chinese they will probably use all their battery building capabilities domestically to work on their air pollution problems.

[asg70]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vtsnowedin', 'A')nything Tesla can do in the way of making batteries the majors can do and with state of the art automation they can be cost competitive here in the USA.

[EdwinSm]

Just when it was going well with the China factory the BBC reported
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')everal international airlines have stopped or scaled back their routes to China and companies like Google, Ikea, Starbucks and Tesla have closed their shops or stopped operations.