5 ms·

Or to confuse Tesla with a tech company.

• bredren 10y ago
  What kind of company would you call it?
  • sah2ed 10y ago
    A battery/renewable energy company.
    • reilly3000 10y ago
      I think the key distinction is hard costs. Tech companies have server costs. Tesla has manufacturing and contractor expenses.
      • jonknee 10y ago
        Exactly. Tesla is a tech company like GE is a tech company. It's modern manufacturing. (This only matters for valuation sake, a classic tech play can achieve profit margins far higher than a manufacturing firm.)
      • lightbyte 10y ago
        Tesla has plenty of server architecture, their cars are constantly talking to it for data collection and updates.
      • Someone 10y ago
        The word "tech" apparently has changed meaning in some circles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology: "Technology ("science of craft", from Greek τέχνη, techne, "art, skill, cunning of hand"; and -λογία, -logia) is the collection of techniques, skills, methods and processes used in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such as scientific investigation. Technology can be the knowledge of techniques, processes, and the like, or it can be embedded in machines which can be operated without detailed knowledge of their workings." You can argue that that isn't accurate, but I don't see how you can argue that the categorical statement "tech companies have server costs" follows from it (I can't even find the word "server" on that page, or on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech)
    • olivermarks 10y ago
      I thought panasonic was their white label battery supplier/partner?
      • sah2ed 10y ago
        Yes, but even they can't keep up with the projected demand for batteries which is why Tesla is building out its own factory [1] in partnership with Panasonic [2] to manufacture batteries. [1] https://www.tesla.com/gigafactory https://www.tesla.com/gigafactory [2] https://www.tesla.com/blog/panasonic-and-tesla-sign-agreement-gigafactory https://www.tesla.com/blog/panasonic-and-tesla-sign-agreemen...
  • jonknee 10y ago
    Every company these days is a tech company in some respects, but I don't think Tesla fits the bill in the general sense. Tesla is a green energy manufacturing company. The only reason I think this matters is their finances are a lot different than a tech company. You are correct that Tesla is currently priced like a tech company though, so maybe I'm way off!
    • debaserab2 10y ago
      ..so what is a tech company then?
    • deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
  • tenpies 10y ago
    TSLA behaves mostly like 3 X Musk Tweets Bull ETF.
    • elastic_church 10y ago
      Now now, don't give Direxion any ideas
  • xadhominemx 10y ago
    A car company.
• netule 10y ago
  They changed their name this year from Tesla Motors to Tesla Inc. to indicate a wider focus on technologies, not just cars (solar panels, batteries). How do they not qualify as a tech company?
  • jonknee 10y ago
    They changed their name because they bought Elon's solar company (which was also not a tech company).
    • Cerium 10y ago
      I'm curious about what you would consider a tech company. For me a tech company is any company that uses the development of technology as a competitive advantage. Solar is not, major solar companies are not developing innovative technology. Tesla is, they do not have an advantage in scale or low prices, but have advantage in how their vehicles function.
      • deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
      • greglindahl 10y ago
        So you don't think that 3d printing solar roof tiles is innovative solar technology? I don't think anyone else is talking about that.
        • vkou 10y ago
          Is 3d-printing car parts an innovative technology? Is Ford now a tech company? [1] [1] https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/05/ford-begins-testing-3d-printing-large-car-parts-for-cost-effective-customization/ https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/05/ford-begins-testing-3d-pri...
      • dkrich 10y ago
        For me a tech company is any company that uses the development of technology as a competitive advantage. So then is Ford a tech company? If not, then I'd be interested to hear why not, based on that criteria. Their cars are technology and they continuously develop and improve them as a competitive advantage. I think people think of Tesla as a tech company because the founder is Elon Musk. If Tesla were a spin-off brand of GM or Ford, it would be another car company.
• lanna 10y ago
  you seem to have a very narrow understanding of what technology means. computers are not the only "technology" in the world.