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Tesla Motors Going After The Big Three

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  • jaredsxtn
    2013-05-30 01:50:15 PM
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    Elon Musk, the founder of PayPal, SpaceX, and Tesla motors recently proclaimed that Tesla is working around the clock to get an affordable electric car into the mass market within the next three years. If successful, this could be a potential game changer in the personal automotive industry. While the "Big Three" automotive companies have taken a piecemeal approach to alternative fuel automobiles, Tesla is doubling down and betting that this is the future of the automotive industry. The idea that there could be an affordable and effective electric car that is mass produced excites this writer beyond words.

    The science of alternative energies is expanding at an exponential rate and individuals like Elon Musk are at the absolute forefront of this revolution. It seems like everything he puts his hands winds up being a game changer and I can only hope that more Elon Musk's begin to step forward and move this world into a new energy age.

    Thoughts on Elon Musk and if his foray into the automotive industry will give a serious alternative to the current status quo?
  • TJ
    2014-02-21 04:12:10 PM
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    http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA

    I was watching CNBC today and they spoke about the Tesla stock. It has risen 500% in the last 12 months. I think all of us would like for our investments to rise 500% in a year. This at least goes to show that the speculation for this company is very positive. I admit they have big challenges ahead of them. They need to improve the range of an electric car, shorten the recharge time, increase the recharge sites, and drastically reduce the price of a vehicle from the current levels of 70 - 100 thousand. The 7500.00 tax incentive certainly helps.

    Tesla is just starting to sell to China. That has investors excited. Talk about lacking infrastructure....
  • jamesn
    2014-02-21 08:16:51 PM
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    jared that ..."affordable electric car into the mass market within the next three years"... is called the Bluestar and from what I read and posted about on the "free fuel forever" thread, it does not look as good as I first thought. Still fairly expensive, and still problems with range. As long as gas stays under $4/gallon, it won't be taking over the marketplace. It is somewhere between current Tesla models (high price) and the Nissan Leaf (low range) in performance and price. Still, one more choice for the American consumer is a good thing.

    Tony About that Tesla stock: the old saying "what goes up must come down" is very often true with stock prices, not always, but very often. Wish I had bought a bunch of Tesla stock a year ago, but if I had bought back then, I'd be torn now about whether to sell and take the profits, or hold and get more gains. I hope that Tesla succeeds, but investing in this company is just speculating. Remember the Dot-Com bubble of about 98 and 99 when lots of companies were on the path to greatness, then they crashed and burned. I would not be surprised if several of them made 500% or more in a year.
  • Dutch
    2014-02-22 09:08:16 AM
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    jamesn Wrote: jared that ..."affordable electric car into the mass market within the next three years"... is called the Bluestar and from what I read and posted about on the "free fuel forever" thread, it does not look as good as I first thought. Still fairly expensive, and still problems with range. As long as gas stays under $4/gallon, it won't be taking over the marketplace. It is somewhere between current Tesla models (high price) and the Nissan Leaf (low range) in performance and price. Still, one more choice for the American consumer is a good thing.

    Tony About that Tesla stock: the old saying "what goes up must come down" is very often true with stock prices, not always, but very often. Wish I had bought a bunch of Tesla stock a year ago, but if I had bought back then, I'd be torn now about whether to sell and take the profits, or hold and get more gains. I hope that Tesla succeeds, but investing in this company is just speculating. Remember the Dot-Com bubble of about 98 and 99 when lots of companies were on the path to greatness, then they crashed and burned. I would not be surprised if several of them made 500% or more in a year.
    Jamesn, you are absolutely right; if you look at the figures; production numbers and sales and sales of the big three, then your conclusion is right. If you look for instance to Ford, their stock climbed to $18.- per share ( right now only about $15), while Tesla is right now over $200 per share. Sorry to say the whole Tesla hype is put forward by Musk only. Their base is still only 32000 cars while Ford produces millions.
    Thus pure speculation. The other part of the coin is, if the big three are going to built a simular product for a cheaper price and mass produced, then Tesla will be left behind in no time and will be "an has been". So the game is as always, the one with the biggest wallet wins; it may be the oil companies or the big three.
  • TJ
    2014-02-27 10:38:55 PM
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    http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/autosblog.aspx?feat=c520daa9-aa01-4e3c-af26-cd8e71744066

    New company, maybe you've heard of them.... Apple. Talk about a company who's stock is huge. Do they have interest in a collaboration with Tesla ? See attached article.

    The link has a couple of other interesting stories.
  • Dutch
    2014-02-27 10:57:22 PM
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    TJ Wrote: http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/autosblog.aspx?feat=c520daa9-aa01-4e3c-af26-cd8e71744066

    New company, maybe you've heard of them.... Apple. Talk about a company who's stock is huge. Do they have interest in a collaboration with Tesla ? See attached article.

    The link has a couple of other interesting stories.
    Thanks; however my gut feeling says "hype" is the name of the game; it smells a bid like the roaring twenties with the Duesenberg etc.

    Surely I think Musk and Cook are smart bussiness people and are able to "talk" their way to profits, but will it last, that is the question.
    Promises and showmanship failed through history,enough examples around. I guess the big three will not sit around and let it happen, neither big oil.
  • TJ
    2014-02-28 12:18:13 PM
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    http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/01/news/companies/fiat-chrysler/index.html

    Dutch,
    You say the big three but unless you're counting Fiat, it's the big/medium 2.

    I've not looked up anything on this topic, but if I were to invest in any auto company it would be:
    1. Toyota
    2. Honda
    3. Hyundai
    4. Tesla
    5. Mitsubishi
    6. Nissan
    7. Anything European
    8. Ford
    9. Anything else Japanese
    10. Chevy
    Reason, Consumer Reports. Needing value I've checked that source over the last 20 years before buying any cars. This had me buying Toyotas for many years and last two Acura (Honda). Quality, lack of problems, resale value. I'd love to be a patriot and buy American but I couldn't afford the problems. I believe Ford has improved. I hope Chevy will as well.
  • ClayTaylorNC
    2014-02-28 01:07:08 PM
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    If you ask me, no one can do what Tesla does... cosmetics or engineering speaking. I'm excited to see what happens!
  • TJ
    2014-02-28 01:28:11 PM
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    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/columnists/mike-rutherford/9236338/Mr-Money-the-most-profitable-car-companies.html

    Yes Clay Tesla is doing very well. Their big excitement is that they starting to sell in China. The article I just posted above advises the 20 most profitable auto companies. One I obviously forgot about is number 1 on the list, VW. It says that China is their number 1 market making 35% of sales there. My favorite Toyota is not highly profitable but I stand by my statement that their reliability is almost unmatched. Ford was number 2 in profit. Read the article to see who's doing what. I don't think Tesla made the top 20. That doesn't mean that they don't have a bright future though.
  • Dutch
    2014-02-28 04:22:33 PM
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    TJ Wrote: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/columnists/mike-rutherford/9236338/Mr-Money-the-most-profitable-car-companies.html

    Yes Clay Tesla is doing very well. Their big excitement is that they starting to sell in China. The article I just posted above advises the 20 most profitable auto companies. One I obviously forgot about is number 1 on the list, VW. It says that China is their number 1 market making 35% of sales there. My favorite Toyota is not highly profitable but I stand by my statement that their reliability is almost unmatched. Ford was number 2 in profit. Read the article to see who's doing what. I don't think Tesla made the top 20. That doesn't mean that they don't have a bright future though.
    As I said before don't count your cookies yet about Tesla !! This product still has to prove "long livety". Sorry to whatever batteries are invented they do not last, because of loading and unloading all the time they get kind of "tired" Chemicals or "metals" in a chemical mixture may not always do as expected; you can not rely on it. I've worn out several lithium screwdriver sets with spare batteries; they short out after a while. So I wonder how much hype is put into it to sell a 60K plus product. At least we have more than 100 years experience with combustion engines; none yet actually with Tesla's.
  • ClayTaylorNC
    2014-03-01 03:21:01 PM
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    TJ Wrote: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/columnists/mike-rutherford/9236338/Mr-Money-the-most-profitable-car-companies.html

    Yes Clay Tesla is doing very well. Their big excitement is that they starting to sell in China. The article I just posted above advises the 20 most profitable auto companies. One I obviously forgot about is number 1 on the list, VW. It says that China is their number 1 market making 35% of sales there. My favorite Toyota is not highly profitable but I stand by my statement that their reliability is almost unmatched. Ford was number 2 in profit. Read the article to see who's doing what. I don't think Tesla made the top 20. That doesn't mean that they don't have a bright future though.
    Toyota is a great car! I personally have own 40+ cars due to buying and selling alot, and my favorite has been Mazda 3. I have also ran an automotive shop for 5+ years with the intention of up-selling on every vehicle. Toyota Corolla, Highlander, Camry... Forget it. They hold up so well and when they do need work it's usually very fair priced. And with what they have been doing cosmetically the past two years, doesn't hurt them at all. Again, my personal favorite is the MazdaSpeed 3, I will NEVER buy another car again. It holds up great, super fast, excellent gas mileage, and looks amazing.
  • Combad57
    2016-10-13 04:49:36 PM
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    Tesla is building a massive factory for making batteries.

    tesla.com/gigafactory

    The late '90s GM version of the electric car was sabotaged by big oil as about 1800 of them were crushed. In a series of maneuvers by big corporate Chevron ended up with exclusive rights to manufacture nickel batteries. The patent ran out in 2014, but it's my bet that big oil will try some legal shenanigans to stop Musk.

    ev1.org/

    Here is the story of the ev1, a tale of how big corporate decides what you can have and what you can't. Our political system is totally subservient to these rulers of the universe. People need to wake up.

  • TJ
    2016-10-13 07:07:45 PM
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    Combad, yes a new battery factory is great news. A vastly improved system of batteries is crucial to get better reliability and better range. This topic could continue getting mass interest as some don't care about oil companies (AT ALL) and don't like the continuation of pollution. There are other challenges as well but Tesla is off to a great start. I truly hope they succeed.
  • Chet Ruminski
    2016-10-13 11:40:12 PM
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    If there was any forethought it would be legislation to standardize batteries. Then service stations would have batteries that you could pull in and change out faster than you could fill a gas tank up. The range of electric cars would then be unlimited. But beware the status quo and remember the great street car scandal. Big oil, tires and cars set transportation back a hundred years.
  • Chet Ruminski
    2016-10-15 08:20:38 PM
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    Musk is a superstar. He has a tremendous amount of complicated arrangements and plans. He is backing away from what I consider to be the key to success of EVs. Interchangeable battery service stations. He is making progress on supercharger but that removes EVs from mass use. When he did interchangeable battery stations he charged from $60 to $80 dollars for a change. On the low side that is about 17 cents a mile. A comparable gasoline car costs 7 cents a mile. The supercharger might be free but takes about 40 minutes. But none of that really matters because all the reward is in the future betting Musk will get it right and make big bucks his way.

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