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Re: the UBS analyst question - I thought this was a totally fair response by Elon. In his previous question, the UBS guy asked Elon where their battery costs wo

Re: the UBS analyst question - I thought this was a totally fair response by Elon. In his previous question, the UBS guy asked Elon where their battery costs would be by the time the Model 3 launches, and Elon said he felt was proprietary. Then the guy basically asks the EXACT same thing, but rather than asking for the final price, he asked for the pace of reduction (CAGR) in price, over a given amount of time (until the Gigafactory is open, and once it is online)... which would allow him to calculate cost/kwh when Model 3 launches. Musk politely answered a whole series of questions from this and other analysts, only cutting them off if they asked something stupid - like this guy. You're not gonna trick Elon Musk into giving you more data by asking the question a different way.

forgetsusername 10y ago
>the UBS guy asked Elon where their battery costs would be by the time the Model 3 launches, and Elon said he felt was proprietary. What is "proprietary" about it? Previous plans and costing were based on the Gigafactory being able to achieve scale by 2020. That production is being bumped forward two years, so what effect will it have on costs? Why would we assume they can suddenly get the same savings in less time? It's a good question from an investor's perspective. >Musk politely answered a whole series of questions from this and other analysts Yeah, he loves answering Adam Jonas. Many of these guys are practically shills. Some of their questions are embarrassing. >You're not gonna trick Elon Musk into giving you more data by asking the question a different way. Here's the thing HN doesn't seem to get: this is a public company. People have the right to ask questions. In fact, more questions should be asked of companies like this, that are losing vast sums of money yet have sky-high valuations. That's the difference between genuinely curious people and those who are willing to take what the CEO says at his word, for everything. Watch for an equity offering soon, something else that we were told wouldn't happen.
- erikpukinskis 10y ago
  > this is a public company. People have the right to ask questions. He did ask the question. You have the right to ask questions of a private company too. And both private and public companies have the right not to answer. Everything they're required to make public is already in the filings. You seem to be indicating that they're required to say more, but they're not.
  - forgetsusername 10y ago
    >Everything they're required to make public is already in the filings We never really know that, ex ante. Everyone looks like they're reporting what they need to, until we find out they aren't. That's the point of asking questions. But it isn't about requirements. It's a valid question, that was sidestepped by Musk (and here, apparently). Here it is for posterity: the pricing for the Model 3 was based on achieving scale and efficiency in battery production from the Gigafactory. With production bumped up two years, what effect will that have on pricing? If it's none, how is that achieved?

forgetsusername 10y ago

>the UBS guy asked Elon where their battery costs would be by the time the Model 3 launches, and Elon said he felt was proprietary. What is "proprietary" about it? Previous plans and costing were based on the Gigafactory being able to achieve scale by 2020. That production is being bumped forward two years, so what effect will it have on costs? Why would we assume they can suddenly get the same savings in less time? It's a good question from an investor's perspective. >Musk politely answered a whole series of questions from this and other analysts Yeah, he loves answering Adam Jonas. Many of these guys are practically shills. Some of their questions are embarrassing. >You're not gonna trick Elon Musk into giving you more data by asking the question a different way. Here's the thing HN doesn't seem to get: this is a public company. People have the right to ask questions. In fact, more questions should be asked of companies like this, that are losing vast sums of money yet have sky-high valuations. That's the difference between genuinely curious people and those who are willing to take what the CEO says at his word, for everything. Watch for an equity offering soon, something else that we were told wouldn't happen.

erikpukinskis 10y ago
> this is a public company. People have the right to ask questions. He did ask the question. You have the right to ask questions of a private company too. And both private and public companies have the right not to answer. Everything they're required to make public is already in the filings. You seem to be indicating that they're required to say more, but they're not.
- forgetsusername 10y ago
  >Everything they're required to make public is already in the filings We never really know that, ex ante. Everyone looks like they're reporting what they need to, until we find out they aren't. That's the point of asking questions. But it isn't about requirements. It's a valid question, that was sidestepped by Musk (and here, apparently). Here it is for posterity: the pricing for the Model 3 was based on achieving scale and efficiency in battery production from the Gigafactory. With production bumped up two years, what effect will that have on pricing? If it's none, how is that achieved?