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Old 01-18-2019, 08:37 AM   #1
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https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/18/busin...usk/index.html




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esla has announced plans to reduce its full-time workforce by 7% as it works to increase Model 3 production and cut prices.


CEO Elon Musk told workers about the job cuts Friday in a letter that Tesla posted online. The company will only retain the most critical temps and contractors, Musk said.


Musk wrote in the letter that Tesla is "up against massive, entrenched competitors" and must work "much harder than other manufacturers to survive while building affordable, sustainable products."


"To those departing, thank you for everything you have done to advance our mission," he said. "I am deeply grateful for your contributions to Tesla."
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Old 01-18-2019, 08:42 AM   #2
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I don't know much about the situation with regards to "entrenched competitors" but I can imagine Tesla's production-line issues of making people wait years for their cars is problematic at best.
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Old 01-18-2019, 08:48 AM   #3
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I think they will be in for a world of hurt ones the big guys catch up. With companies like VW going all in, it is going to get harder for them to compete.
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Old 01-18-2019, 08:49 AM   #4
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Tesla is a house of cards IMO. Maybe it's finally starting to fall apart.
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Old 01-18-2019, 09:25 AM   #5
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I have argued with friends for years now that Tesla is just the lab rat and companies are sitting in the weeds letting them go through the process before replicating and improving the idea.

If Musk truly doesn't care about the money and just wants to make the planet a healthier place then all the power to him. He has been a very large part of the EV movement but as a company, I just don't see it ending well.
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Old 01-18-2019, 09:50 AM   #6
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I think you can get all models in less than a month now. I test drove a model x and while it is well outside my price range, it sure felt like you were in a car that is 20 years ahead of what anyone else is making. It's not just that it's electric, but the R&D and software isn't going to be matched by anyone in years.

I'm shocked at how many I see on the road these days. I can't drive more than 5 minutes without passing one or two. They are starting to turn a profit too, so I think they'll a viable long term company or they could sell themselves off, I suppose.
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Old 01-18-2019, 09:57 AM   #7
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The Tesla lot in chinook was barren for the longest time, but they seem to have a lot of stock these days. I think Tesla has a pretty big head start on the competition and once the competition catches up, Tesla will still have a brand with a legacy of innovation behind it and lots of goodwill.


Young companies are bound to have ups and downs, and Elon's up to down ratio is spectacularly good for an entrepreneur, which typically see a lot more downs than ups. I don't see this as spelling out doom and gloom for the brand.
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Old 01-18-2019, 09:58 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by nfotiu View Post
I think you can get all models in less than a month now. I test drove a model x and while it is well outside my price range, it sure felt like you were in a car that is 20 years ahead of what anyone else is making. It's not just that it's electric, but the R&D and software isn't going to be matched by anyone in years.

I'm shocked at how many I see on the road these days. I can't drive more than 5 minutes without passing one or two. They are starting to turn a profit too, so I think they'll a viable long term company or they could sell themselves off, I suppose.
Tesla could license this all to other EV manufacturers now that it has been somewhat proven in by the early adopters.

What's really needed is scaling up the infrastrucutre. You can't just have 1 or 2 stations between Calgary and Kelowna when you start imaging the number of EVs that will be on the road. The only way around that is to build up those places with entertainment and have valets to deal with the car charging. I wouldn't want to get to, say, Revelstoke and have 5 EVs in front of me waitin to be charged. That's a long wait.


The best would be for stations to have a fresh batteries that can be swapped in for depleted ones and recharged later to get people moving.
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Old 01-18-2019, 09:59 AM   #9
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Old 01-18-2019, 09:59 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by Travis Munroe View Post
I have argued with friends for years now that Tesla is just the lab rat and companies are sitting in the weeds letting them go through the process before replicating and improving the idea.
This is what the Japanese have been doing for decades. Letting the Germans innovate and once the technology is perfected they then copy and implement into their own lineup.
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Old 01-18-2019, 10:01 AM   #11
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If they can continually turn a profit and continue to have R&D success it will take quite a bit of time for the other to catch up. In that case the struggle moves from trying to become an established business to one of trying to remain the market leader. I know a few people that have Tesla's now and they all agree it's the best car they have ever driven and it's not even close. It's more than just being a electric car I think.
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Old 01-18-2019, 10:03 AM   #12
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Aren't their cars pretty ####ty for the price though? Driver experience, attention to detail, quality, etc?
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Old 01-18-2019, 10:06 AM   #13
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The thing with Tesla, other than their autopilot, is there isn't really anything unique. Electric motors and batteries aren't anything special. Any manufacturer can get to where Tesla is in 5 years if they commit to it. But they also have the global infrastructure, brand, workforce etc to blow Tesla away when they get there.
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Old 01-18-2019, 10:09 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by ernie View Post
If they can continually turn a profit and continue to have R&D success it will take quite a bit of time for the other to catch up. In that case the struggle moves from trying to become an established business to one of trying to remain the market leader. I know a few people that have Tesla's now and they all agree it's the best car they have ever driven and it's not even close. It's more than just being a electric car I think.

Profitable?


They are heavily subsidized and don't make money


They are already winding down the subsidize.



https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/12/...uyers-in-2020/


Tesla should have focused on batteries and technology for the INDUSTRY and high end tesla's, instead of trying to compete on manufactoring lower end vehicles.
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Old 01-18-2019, 10:12 AM   #15
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The thing with Tesla, other than their autopilot, is there isn't really anything unique. Electric motors and batteries aren't anything special. Any manufacturer can get to where Tesla is in 5 years if they commit to it. But they also have the global infrastructure, brand, workforce etc to blow Tesla away when they get there.
Don't underestimate distribution either. Those dealersihps are everywhere. Tesla is fighting an uphill battle.
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Old 01-18-2019, 10:12 AM   #16
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Aren't their cars pretty ####ty for the price though? Driver experience, attention to detail, quality, etc?
I thought they were pretty highly regarded in all those areas.
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Old 01-18-2019, 10:15 AM   #17
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I thought they were pretty highly regarded in all those areas.
They're hovering around Lada quality for fit and finish.
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Old 01-18-2019, 10:16 AM   #18
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Originally Posted by ernie View Post
If they can continually turn a profit and continue to have R&D success it will take quite a bit of time for the other to catch up. In that case the struggle moves from trying to become an established business to one of trying to remain the market leader. I know a few people that have Tesla's now and they all agree it's the best car they have ever driven and it's not even close. It's more than just being a electric car I think.
This is the thing, not really.

You are correct that Tesla has been a Guinea Pig and doing so by getting hefty rebates and Government assistance, but whats likely going to happen is that businesses with most of the groundwork already laid are going to just come in and copy whats taken Tesla years to develop from scratch.

They have their market share, sure, but once those Government subsidies dry up, and its happening fast, they are going to be in trouble.
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Old 01-18-2019, 10:18 AM   #19
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Originally Posted by Jason14h View Post
Profitable?


They are heavily subsidized and don't make money


They are already winding down the subsidize.



https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/12/...uyers-in-2020/


Tesla should have focused on batteries and technology for the INDUSTRY and high end tesla's, instead of trying to compete on manufactoring lower end vehicles.
But if they did that we probably wouldn’t be in the race we currently are for mass EV adoption. It’s like uber. Sure they are losing a ton of money but at least they triggered change to the broken system.
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Old 01-18-2019, 10:20 AM   #20
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They're hovering around Lada quality for fit and finish.
Isn't that mostly just applicable to the early model 3s? I though the other models were pretty solid?
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