4 ms·

This seems insane - these guys have sold, what, 2000 models at the most? And they would be even worse off the instant all of their government subsidies dry up.

This seems insane - these guys have sold, what, 2000 models at the most? And they would be even worse off the instant all of their government subsidies dry up. Their innovation may be remarkable, but the fact is that they make a product which isn't economically feasible without a lot of help from taxpayers doesn't bode well for the long-term health of the company.

mkramlich 16y ago
maybe oil companies should invest in Tesla. they have billions to spare, it would give them green cred, and act as a hedge for the case where demand shifts from gas to electric powered vehicles.
- Aaronontheweb 16y ago
  I don't think demand is going to shift to electric until it becomes more economical than combustion. Path of least resistance still rules the economy. Telsa's current state of affairs indicates that electric has a long way to go before it can viably compete in the mass market.
- borisk 16y ago
  or as a way to make sure the demand does not shift
kirpekar 16y ago
I don't see the insane part. Making cars is very capital intensive and it's virtually impossible to ship a high-volume car without large amounts of capital. I think that Tesla's demo of a small volume roadster with private money sets the stage for a larger future offering.
- Aaronontheweb 16y ago
  But it's not "high-volume" - it's sold less than 2,000 units! And they can't even get the price under $100k even with all of the subsidies!
  - kirpekar 16y ago
    I said: Roadster: small-volume: 1063 sold using VC money: good demo Model S: high-volume: needs public money
bjelkeman-again 16y ago
What Tesla offers is more than the cars they sell. They have put battery technology into practice in a way few other car companies have done. This is going to be worth money in the future. Toyota and Tesla announced a collaboration in May 2010. http://www.teslamotors.com/media/press_room.php?id=2509 http://www.teslamotors.com/media/press_room.php?id=2509 I think Tesla may well play an important role in the future where they teach other car companies how to "do" battery cars, and I can see that if they do this well they may be hot property.
jonknee 16y ago
Auto companies are hugely capital intensive (which is why you don't see many new ones) so I don't see what's insane about it. They are going public to raise funds to hopefully one day make loads of cash. It's a different kind of IPO than something like Google which was simply to make the employees wealthy, but not insane. tl;dr this is an IPO at its finest--a make it or break it company trying to raise funds on the open market.

mkramlich 16y ago

maybe oil companies should invest in Tesla. they have billions to spare, it would give them green cred, and act as a hedge for the case where demand shifts from gas to electric powered vehicles.

Aaronontheweb 16y ago
I don't think demand is going to shift to electric until it becomes more economical than combustion. Path of least resistance still rules the economy. Telsa's current state of affairs indicates that electric has a long way to go before it can viably compete in the mass market.
borisk 16y ago
or as a way to make sure the demand does not shift

kirpekar 16y ago

I don't see the insane part. Making cars is very capital intensive and it's virtually impossible to ship a high-volume car without large amounts of capital. I think that Tesla's demo of a small volume roadster with private money sets the stage for a larger future offering.

Aaronontheweb 16y ago
But it's not "high-volume" - it's sold less than 2,000 units! And they can't even get the price under $100k even with all of the subsidies!
- kirpekar 16y ago
  I said: Roadster: small-volume: 1063 sold using VC money: good demo Model S: high-volume: needs public money

bjelkeman-again 16y ago

What Tesla offers is more than the cars they sell. They have put battery technology into practice in a way few other car companies have done. This is going to be worth money in the future. Toyota and Tesla announced a collaboration in May 2010. http://www.teslamotors.com/media/press_room.php?id=2509 http://www.teslamotors.com/media/press_room.php?id=2509 I think Tesla may well play an important role in the future where they teach other car companies how to "do" battery cars, and I can see that if they do this well they may be hot property.

jonknee 16y ago

Auto companies are hugely capital intensive (which is why you don't see many new ones) so I don't see what's insane about it. They are going public to raise funds to hopefully one day make loads of cash. It's a different kind of IPO than something like Google which was simply to make the employees wealthy, but not insane. tl;dr this is an IPO at its finest--a make it or break it company trying to raise funds on the open market.