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This seems like a view so charitable as to nearly strain credulity. Firstly, many of Tesla's problems are self-inflicted. How much time and capital was wasted

This seems like a view so charitable as to nearly strain credulity. Firstly, many of Tesla's problems are self-inflicted. How much time and capital was wasted on the alien dreadnought? How much damage has been caused by the constant turnover in management, or the whipsaw changes in price structure and product offerings, or the likely ill-fated decision to double down on computer vision rather than use LIDAR? One mistake we can quantify is the disastrous $2.6 billion related-party acquisition of SolarCity. And even problems which are not necessarily self-inflicted wounds, like their cashflow problems or quality issues which possibly any upstart time-constrained car manufacturer might face, are not any less problematic for that fact. As an investor it doesn't matter whether quality issues would happen to another electric car startup; they're happening to Tesla. Their competition actually does know how to build cars to spec, and they're coming out with their own electric models. And their stock comes free of childish bickering with the SEC or critically risky solvency status or desperate and deceptive PR stunts like solar roofs or underground tunnels.

dexen 8y ago
>Firstly, many of Tesla's problems are self-inflicted. Fair enough. There's always the alternative angle of, “Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. “No”, I replied. “I just spent $600,000 training him – why would I want somebody to hire his experience?” [0] >Their competition actually does know how to build cars to spec That's the problem: the competitors are trying to "build a car, except with electric drivetrain". This gave us Nissan Leafs and BMW i3s. There's nothing "sexy" (appealing) about those cars. Contrast them with the 2008 Tesla Roadster, and every subsequent model: due to the awe factor, people queue to buy them, in spite of the glaring manufacturing deficiencies. You essentially contrasted potential vis-a-vis actual queues of people with bundles of cash in hand. When was the last time you saw a month-long queue at your local dealership? Those manufacturers desperately need to un-learn how to build cars, to be able to build their own take on Tesla. Also, at the same time, how to ditch the dealership model[1] that's enshrined both via tight web of interdependences and also via law in multiple states. >deceptive PR stunts From cheated emission tests through crashworthiness rating that's always 4 or 5 stars, to "all new and improved" which is still 8+ seconds of 0 to 60, to meaningless MPG ratings, to the lacking security of the netowked cars, and to the over-hyped, non-delivered self-driving, and to the pervasive need to negotiate down car payments presented on misleading sheets, the car industry is built on deceptive PR stunts. -- [0] https://www.peoplehr.com/blog/2015/06/26/what-would-you-do-if-an-employee-made-a-600000-mistake/ https://www.peoplehr.com/blog/2015/06/26/what-would-you-do-i... [1] won't be profitable as-is due to much less oil changes, brake pad jobs and all that.
- brianpgordon 8y ago
  > That's the problem: the competitors are trying to "build a car, except with electric drivetrain". The problem with Tesla is that they're trying to build an electric drivetrain and then tack on that pesky "rest of the car" on top of it as an afterthought. Everyone knows that Tesla has the best electric drivetrain out there, but they're still struggling to build cars in quantity to within quality standards and service them at scale. With respect to PR stunts, of course Big Auto is corrupt and deceptive and generally awful. But they're not the ones riding high on a tsunami of feel-good save-the-planet PR. If Tesla wants their good boy points, they need to behave and earn them.

dexen 8y ago

>Firstly, many of Tesla's problems are self-inflicted. Fair enough. There's always the alternative angle of, “Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. “No”, I replied. “I just spent $600,000 training him – why would I want somebody to hire his experience?” [0] >Their competition actually does know how to build cars to spec That's the problem: the competitors are trying to "build a car, except with electric drivetrain". This gave us Nissan Leafs and BMW i3s. There's nothing "sexy" (appealing) about those cars. Contrast them with the 2008 Tesla Roadster, and every subsequent model: due to the awe factor, people queue to buy them, in spite of the glaring manufacturing deficiencies. You essentially contrasted potential vis-a-vis actual queues of people with bundles of cash in hand. When was the last time you saw a month-long queue at your local dealership? Those manufacturers desperately need to un-learn how to build cars, to be able to build their own take on Tesla. Also, at the same time, how to ditch the dealership model[1] that's enshrined both via tight web of interdependences and also via law in multiple states. >deceptive PR stunts From cheated emission tests through crashworthiness rating that's always 4 or 5 stars, to "all new and improved" which is still 8+ seconds of 0 to 60, to meaningless MPG ratings, to the lacking security of the netowked cars, and to the over-hyped, non-delivered self-driving, and to the pervasive need to negotiate down car payments presented on misleading sheets, the car industry is built on deceptive PR stunts. -- [0] https://www.peoplehr.com/blog/2015/06/26/what-would-you-do-if-an-employee-made-a-600000-mistake/ https://www.peoplehr.com/blog/2015/06/26/what-would-you-do-i... [1] won't be profitable as-is due to much less oil changes, brake pad jobs and all that.

brianpgordon 8y ago
> That's the problem: the competitors are trying to "build a car, except with electric drivetrain". The problem with Tesla is that they're trying to build an electric drivetrain and then tack on that pesky "rest of the car" on top of it as an afterthought. Everyone knows that Tesla has the best electric drivetrain out there, but they're still struggling to build cars in quantity to within quality standards and service them at scale. With respect to PR stunts, of course Big Auto is corrupt and deceptive and generally awful. But they're not the ones riding high on a tsunami of feel-good save-the-planet PR. If Tesla wants their good boy points, they need to behave and earn them.