6 ms·

Not sure how good of a move that is financially, but damn is that a good political move. If he took over the plant in Oshawa, ON he would gain goodwill from all

by DKnoll 8y ago

Not sure how good of a move that is financially, but damn is that a good political move. If he took over the plant in Oshawa, ON he would gain goodwill from all 3 levels of Canadian government.

xiphias2 8y ago
I guess it depends on the price GM is asking for. The problem is that this news item itself increased the selling price probably significantly, as it's harder for Elon to say no to buying.
- geomark 8y ago
  Maybe he could leverage it the other way. He could say that Tesla is willing to save the factory but the evil GM, who previously saw no value in the factory and was going to close it, now wants an outrageous price. Tesla should be able to get it for a fire sale price.
  - ummonk 8y ago
    Taking a page out of the Gavin Belson book? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XE5m_meLVw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XE5m_meLVw
    - geomark 8y ago
      Classic! And yes, that's exactly the angle Musk should take.
  - gamblor956 8y ago
    Corporations don't work that way. GM has already weathered bring called evil by Trump and politicians with the power to cause it trouble. A little name calling from Musk would not do anything.
- DKnoll 8y ago
  I don't think GM would take that risk. They would draw the ire of the largest private-sector union in Canada and also the provincial and federal governments. They have 2 factories in Canada that don't have closures announced and sell cars here so they can't have a PR disaster like that.
clouddrover 8y ago
I'm not sure Tesla can remain competitive with the major car manufacturers as they begin their shift to electric vehicle production. For example, the Jaguar I-Pace is cheaper than the Tesla Model X and also a slightly better car for the money: https://www.jaguarusa.com/all-models/i-pace/index.html https://www.jaguarusa.com/all-models/i-pace/index.html How will Tesla be competitive with the Mercedes, BMW, Audi, VW, Porsche, Lexus, etc. electric cars coming out in the next few years? It may not be a good idea for Tesla to buy more plants. Maybe they should look for a buy out.
- sametmax 8y ago
  My guess is they will sell them the battery they develop for their car.
  - clouddrover 8y ago
    Maybe, but everyone's developing their own drivetrains and battery packs. Tesla's current advantage is that they've been using them for longer, but that advantage will diminish with time. Mercedes and Porsche will enter Formula-E starting from the 2019-20 season as part of the marketing push for their electric vehicles: http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/mercedes-eq-formula-e-team-gear-up-for-formula-e-fight/ http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/mercedes-eq-form... Mercedes will be in it to win it (as they have done in Formula 1) so they can claim they have the best electric car know-how.
    - Nasrudith 8y ago
      Well they are hedging their bets with their gigafactories at least. Economies of scale should ensure somewhat of a niche.
- pwagland 8y ago
  Having recently been in the market, to choose between these two, I don't believe that the Jaguar is clear-cut the better car. Disclosure, I chose the Tesla Model S! The Jaguar does have advantages. The Matrix headlamps are awesome, it has a heads up display, the interior _is_ nicer, and IMO, it looks like the ant's pants! However, the Tesla is faster (at least the Model S), and the P100D of either the X or S blows it out of the water. The Model S has a longer range, more space in the back, both for passengers and luggage. The X has _even more_ space, and the Tesla has a nicer screen, with better software. The adaptive cruise, and lane keeping features also work better IMO. However the three big winning points for the Tesla: 1. Charge time: The Tesla can just charge faster, and it uses a lot less energy per km (or mile), so you end up needing to charge it less often, and when you do charge it, it can charge faster. 2. OTA software and map updates. This is just an awesome feature, particularly the map updates! They are just pushed to your car, no need to get it serviced to get the new maps, which also means that your maps tend to be more up to date. 3. This one is probably temporary, but still important for now: The Charging Network. The Tesla superchargers are in a lot more places than CCS-2 100kW chargers, which makes the Tesla more convenient for longer road trips. If you _never_ do long trips, then 1 and 3 won't make any difference to you, since they both have enough energy for most people for day to day running, particularly if you have a charging pole at your work and/or home. So, as I said, it's not clear cut which is better, since different needs could tip the above scales different ways. Which is just great IMO, since real competition is the only way forward.

by DKnoll 8y ago

Not sure how good of a move that is financially, but damn is that a good political move. If he took over the plant in Oshawa, ON he would gain goodwill from all 3 levels of Canadian government.

xiphias2 8y ago

I guess it depends on the price GM is asking for. The problem is that this news item itself increased the selling price probably significantly, as it's harder for Elon to say no to buying.

geomark 8y ago
Maybe he could leverage it the other way. He could say that Tesla is willing to save the factory but the evil GM, who previously saw no value in the factory and was going to close it, now wants an outrageous price. Tesla should be able to get it for a fire sale price.
- ummonk 8y ago
  Taking a page out of the Gavin Belson book? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XE5m_meLVw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XE5m_meLVw
  - geomark 8y ago
    Classic! And yes, that's exactly the angle Musk should take.
- gamblor956 8y ago
  Corporations don't work that way. GM has already weathered bring called evil by Trump and politicians with the power to cause it trouble. A little name calling from Musk would not do anything.
DKnoll 8y ago
I don't think GM would take that risk. They would draw the ire of the largest private-sector union in Canada and also the provincial and federal governments. They have 2 factories in Canada that don't have closures announced and sell cars here so they can't have a PR disaster like that.

clouddrover 8y ago

I'm not sure Tesla can remain competitive with the major car manufacturers as they begin their shift to electric vehicle production. For example, the Jaguar I-Pace is cheaper than the Tesla Model X and also a slightly better car for the money: https://www.jaguarusa.com/all-models/i-pace/index.html https://www.jaguarusa.com/all-models/i-pace/index.html How will Tesla be competitive with the Mercedes, BMW, Audi, VW, Porsche, Lexus, etc. electric cars coming out in the next few years? It may not be a good idea for Tesla to buy more plants. Maybe they should look for a buy out.

sametmax 8y ago
My guess is they will sell them the battery they develop for their car.
- clouddrover 8y ago
  Maybe, but everyone's developing their own drivetrains and battery packs. Tesla's current advantage is that they've been using them for longer, but that advantage will diminish with time. Mercedes and Porsche will enter Formula-E starting from the 2019-20 season as part of the marketing push for their electric vehicles: http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/mercedes-eq-formula-e-team-gear-up-for-formula-e-fight/ http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/mercedes-eq-form... Mercedes will be in it to win it (as they have done in Formula 1) so they can claim they have the best electric car know-how.
  - Nasrudith 8y ago
    Well they are hedging their bets with their gigafactories at least. Economies of scale should ensure somewhat of a niche.
pwagland 8y ago
Having recently been in the market, to choose between these two, I don't believe that the Jaguar is clear-cut the better car. Disclosure, I chose the Tesla Model S! The Jaguar does have advantages. The Matrix headlamps are awesome, it has a heads up display, the interior _is_ nicer, and IMO, it looks like the ant's pants! However, the Tesla is faster (at least the Model S), and the P100D of either the X or S blows it out of the water. The Model S has a longer range, more space in the back, both for passengers and luggage. The X has _even more_ space, and the Tesla has a nicer screen, with better software. The adaptive cruise, and lane keeping features also work better IMO. However the three big winning points for the Tesla: 1. Charge time: The Tesla can just charge faster, and it uses a lot less energy per km (or mile), so you end up needing to charge it less often, and when you do charge it, it can charge faster. 2. OTA software and map updates. This is just an awesome feature, particularly the map updates! They are just pushed to your car, no need to get it serviced to get the new maps, which also means that your maps tend to be more up to date. 3. This one is probably temporary, but still important for now: The Charging Network. The Tesla superchargers are in a lot more places than CCS-2 100kW chargers, which makes the Tesla more convenient for longer road trips. If you _never_ do long trips, then 1 and 3 won't make any difference to you, since they both have enough energy for most people for day to day running, particularly if you have a charging pole at your work and/or home. So, as I said, it's not clear cut which is better, since different needs could tip the above scales different ways. Which is just great IMO, since real competition is the only way forward.