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This seems like kind of a 'gotcha' article. "One out of every $6 spent on machinery for the Tesla factory is now unused." I'd imagine most healthy large compa

This seems like kind of a 'gotcha' article. "One out of every $6 spent on machinery for the Tesla factory is now unused." I'd imagine most healthy large companies operate this way. Utilizing the majority of their equipment and having some reserve capacity in parts and equipment stored.

lobotryas 7y ago
Absolutely is a hot piece. Look how they went out of their way to mention that Musk is a billionaire (is that even true?). Hating on billionaires - so hot right now.
- briandear 7y ago
  Hating on billionaires is hot among a certain constituency. They are the 21st century boogeymen.
- danans 7y ago
  > Hating on billionaires - so hot right now People don't hate the billionaires, they disapprove of a system structured to allow some people to acquire vast wealth on the order of billions while large numbers struggle with the basics like healthcare, childcare, education, and housing, while that system pays lip service to their struggles while doing little to change it. Western European countries, Japan, South Korea, for example, have billionaires, and many 100-millionaires, but do a much better job providing universal benefits.
  - Nasrudith 7y ago
    Rational people may do that. There is a sadly sizable contingent which absolutely does hate on billionaires though and let it become a distraction from /actually doing something about the system/. Hell often they violently oppose change to the same system which actually helps because of their own spite and selfishness. And it shows up in so many different ways and contexts. From the racists on food stamps and welfare who want it cut and then are /shocked/ when they lose it after their canidates are elected. Everyone with a rent controlled apartment who opposes building more housing while blaming billionares simutaniously for gentrification jobs and lack of jobs causing the area to go to hell. Those complaints about traffic while opposing public transit expansion, or the sorry state of roads while angrily rejecting gas taxes to fund it. Blaming billionares or any other helps them deny that the source of all of their life problems can be found in the mirror.
    - danans 7y ago
      > From the racists on food stamps and welfare who want it cut and then are /shocked/ when they lose it after their canidates are elected. Everyone with a rent controlled apartment who opposes building more housing while blaming billionares simutaniously for gentrification jobs and lack of jobs causing the area to go to hell. Those complaints about traffic while opposing public transit expansion, or the sorry state of roads while angrily rejecting gas taxes to fund it. Many of these cases are examples of tragedies of the commons, where people "rationally" advocate for their individual maximum utility, while suffering the costs when the commons is overwhelmed by the everyone doing the same.
wpietri 7y ago
You imagine healthy companies just having 17% of total investment sitting around in warehouses because they might need it someday? I encourage you to read up on Lean Manufacturing and just-in-time delivery, which swept the US in the 1980s. Even to an MBA, over-ordering gear by $50 million is pretty obvious waste.
- Nasrudith 7y ago
  To be fair the healthy percentage depends on other variables. If there is enough of a "bulk discount" and it doesn't depriciate or obsolete the 17% may be smart compared to the alternatives.
- searine 7y ago
  >You imagine healthy companies just having 17% of total investment I imagine healthy companies keep enough manufacturing parts to be able to repair/replace/scale as needed. Particularly a company like tesla which is well known for scaling rapidly. > I encourage you to read up on Lean Manufacturing and just-in-time delivery, which swept the US in the 1980s. These are only efficient when you are pushing all your externalities on the other guy. Tesla doesn't globalize their supply chain nearly as much as other manufacturers, which would explain the stock of machinery.
  - wpietri 7y ago
    Your first bit is just tautological. Yes, healthy companies are healthy. The questionable part is your notion that 17% of investment is healthy. As to the bit about Lean Manufacturing, you're just wrong. Toyota in particular is known for close relationships with suppliers where they are well supported and trained in Lean approaches as well.

lobotryas 7y ago

Absolutely is a hot piece. Look how they went out of their way to mention that Musk is a billionaire (is that even true?). Hating on billionaires - so hot right now.

briandear 7y ago
Hating on billionaires is hot among a certain constituency. They are the 21st century boogeymen.
danans 7y ago
> Hating on billionaires - so hot right now People don't hate the billionaires, they disapprove of a system structured to allow some people to acquire vast wealth on the order of billions while large numbers struggle with the basics like healthcare, childcare, education, and housing, while that system pays lip service to their struggles while doing little to change it. Western European countries, Japan, South Korea, for example, have billionaires, and many 100-millionaires, but do a much better job providing universal benefits.
- Nasrudith 7y ago
  Rational people may do that. There is a sadly sizable contingent which absolutely does hate on billionaires though and let it become a distraction from /actually doing something about the system/. Hell often they violently oppose change to the same system which actually helps because of their own spite and selfishness. And it shows up in so many different ways and contexts. From the racists on food stamps and welfare who want it cut and then are /shocked/ when they lose it after their canidates are elected. Everyone with a rent controlled apartment who opposes building more housing while blaming billionares simutaniously for gentrification jobs and lack of jobs causing the area to go to hell. Those complaints about traffic while opposing public transit expansion, or the sorry state of roads while angrily rejecting gas taxes to fund it. Blaming billionares or any other helps them deny that the source of all of their life problems can be found in the mirror.
  - danans 7y ago
    > From the racists on food stamps and welfare who want it cut and then are /shocked/ when they lose it after their canidates are elected. Everyone with a rent controlled apartment who opposes building more housing while blaming billionares simutaniously for gentrification jobs and lack of jobs causing the area to go to hell. Those complaints about traffic while opposing public transit expansion, or the sorry state of roads while angrily rejecting gas taxes to fund it. Many of these cases are examples of tragedies of the commons, where people "rationally" advocate for their individual maximum utility, while suffering the costs when the commons is overwhelmed by the everyone doing the same.

wpietri 7y ago

You imagine healthy companies just having 17% of total investment sitting around in warehouses because they might need it someday? I encourage you to read up on Lean Manufacturing and just-in-time delivery, which swept the US in the 1980s. Even to an MBA, over-ordering gear by $50 million is pretty obvious waste.

Nasrudith 7y ago
To be fair the healthy percentage depends on other variables. If there is enough of a "bulk discount" and it doesn't depriciate or obsolete the 17% may be smart compared to the alternatives.
searine 7y ago
>You imagine healthy companies just having 17% of total investment I imagine healthy companies keep enough manufacturing parts to be able to repair/replace/scale as needed. Particularly a company like tesla which is well known for scaling rapidly. > I encourage you to read up on Lean Manufacturing and just-in-time delivery, which swept the US in the 1980s. These are only efficient when you are pushing all your externalities on the other guy. Tesla doesn't globalize their supply chain nearly as much as other manufacturers, which would explain the stock of machinery.
- wpietri 7y ago
  Your first bit is just tautological. Yes, healthy companies are healthy. The questionable part is your notion that 17% of investment is healthy. As to the bit about Lean Manufacturing, you're just wrong. Toyota in particular is known for close relationships with suppliers where they are well supported and trained in Lean approaches as well.