4 ms·

People will never understand Tesla's value if they don't understand that Tesla is more than just a car company. (But no comment on the current stock value.)

u10 6y ago
What kind of company are they?
- mschuster91 6y ago
  A software company (where they are lightyears ahead of everyone else), an AI company (they've got far more real world training data than everyone else) and a battery management tech company (again, they have the most experience). The fusion of these three strong parts and their car knowledge (where their advantage over the competition is not the experience but the agility) is what drives the valuation. Tesla only has to solve scale (which they're beginning to do) and spare parts availability (which is going to solve itself but it needs time to build out a network) to utterly dominate the car market of the future.
  - u10 6y ago
    They don't sell software though... they sell cars augmented with software. If they don't have cars to sell they don't have any software to sell. Sure, one could argue the valuation is pricing in the value of the patents but that doesn't mean that Tesla is not overvalued. Not to mention most of their RnD and their capex goes towards manufacturing cars.
  - Traster 6y ago
    Huh? Tesla has to actually solve self-driving to justify their valuation. All the things you've listed might put them at an advantage solving that problem, but what their software does today doesn't justify the valuation. If it turns out that Tesla are probably 1 or 2 steps ahead of most fo the competition towards self-driving. It may turn out that we're a thousand steps away from self-driving, in which case their AI and software advantages simply aren't going to map to massive profits.
jariel 6y ago
Actually, really the opposite. People will never understand Tesla unless they understand it really is just a car company. There is no magic leap here. Cars are becoming smarter, and more electric and car manufacturers have been adjusting all along. Most car buyers are not caught up in the heady-dreamspace that the Tesla brand is built on - they will just by what they perceive to be value at price. What is 'amazing' is that someone was able to actually break into making cars in the 21st century! That's a hell of an achievement. But it's just a car.
- klmadfejno 6y ago
  People treat 'tech' as a type of company. It should really be a modifier. It's still noteworthy though. The advantages of being tech literate and building your processes from the ground up with software in mind cuts out enormous swaths of labor costs and decision making tedium. It's not something that legacy companies of any industry are often successful at reshaping towards.
- twic 6y ago
  > There is no magic leap here Although there may be a Magic Leap here: https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/26/tragic-leap/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/26/tragic-leap/
Shivetya 6y ago
True; disclaimer I own a 3. When talking to coworkers if not friends when most of them state they want an EV they mean a Tesla. Some of this is from the simple fact they are first and their offerings are very unlike traditional manufacturers. Most competing offerings are forever denoted with the asterisk of coming in 2022 or later. There should be more offerings this year to include Ford's Mach E but the real test here isn't that the public wants it, the real test is will Ford increase supply if demand is there. I don't feel like Chevrolet/GM has done that. VW is the real contender if they hold to their statements of how many cars they intend to push Still Tesla needs to get their act together. Customer service is a sore spot and getting in contact with levels higher than local service centers is far too difficult. They also have reduced content in the 3 and Y instead of increasing it; no default homelink and remove auto dimming mirrors. They seem to was to pass off games and features while parked as more content instead of what improves QOL of living with a vehicle. Long term we need Tesla so that manufacturers don't try to force us into settling for ranges of 250miles/400km which a lot of future offerings are. Just like they would not make EVs over 100/160 until Tesla forced their hand they won't be pushing 300/500 unless pushed.

u10 6y ago

What kind of company are they?

mschuster91 6y ago
A software company (where they are lightyears ahead of everyone else), an AI company (they've got far more real world training data than everyone else) and a battery management tech company (again, they have the most experience). The fusion of these three strong parts and their car knowledge (where their advantage over the competition is not the experience but the agility) is what drives the valuation. Tesla only has to solve scale (which they're beginning to do) and spare parts availability (which is going to solve itself but it needs time to build out a network) to utterly dominate the car market of the future.
- u10 6y ago
  They don't sell software though... they sell cars augmented with software. If they don't have cars to sell they don't have any software to sell. Sure, one could argue the valuation is pricing in the value of the patents but that doesn't mean that Tesla is not overvalued. Not to mention most of their RnD and their capex goes towards manufacturing cars.
- Traster 6y ago
  Huh? Tesla has to actually solve self-driving to justify their valuation. All the things you've listed might put them at an advantage solving that problem, but what their software does today doesn't justify the valuation. If it turns out that Tesla are probably 1 or 2 steps ahead of most fo the competition towards self-driving. It may turn out that we're a thousand steps away from self-driving, in which case their AI and software advantages simply aren't going to map to massive profits.

jariel 6y ago

Actually, really the opposite. People will never understand Tesla unless they understand it really is just a car company. There is no magic leap here. Cars are becoming smarter, and more electric and car manufacturers have been adjusting all along. Most car buyers are not caught up in the heady-dreamspace that the Tesla brand is built on - they will just by what they perceive to be value at price. What is 'amazing' is that someone was able to actually break into making cars in the 21st century! That's a hell of an achievement. But it's just a car.

klmadfejno 6y ago
People treat 'tech' as a type of company. It should really be a modifier. It's still noteworthy though. The advantages of being tech literate and building your processes from the ground up with software in mind cuts out enormous swaths of labor costs and decision making tedium. It's not something that legacy companies of any industry are often successful at reshaping towards.
twic 6y ago
> There is no magic leap here Although there may be a Magic Leap here: https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/26/tragic-leap/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/26/tragic-leap/

Shivetya 6y ago

True; disclaimer I own a 3. When talking to coworkers if not friends when most of them state they want an EV they mean a Tesla. Some of this is from the simple fact they are first and their offerings are very unlike traditional manufacturers. Most competing offerings are forever denoted with the asterisk of coming in 2022 or later. There should be more offerings this year to include Ford's Mach E but the real test here isn't that the public wants it, the real test is will Ford increase supply if demand is there. I don't feel like Chevrolet/GM has done that. VW is the real contender if they hold to their statements of how many cars they intend to push Still Tesla needs to get their act together. Customer service is a sore spot and getting in contact with levels higher than local service centers is far too difficult. They also have reduced content in the 3 and Y instead of increasing it; no default homelink and remove auto dimming mirrors. They seem to was to pass off games and features while parked as more content instead of what improves QOL of living with a vehicle. Long term we need Tesla so that manufacturers don't try to force us into settling for ranges of 250miles/400km which a lot of future offerings are. Just like they would not make EVs over 100/160 until Tesla forced their hand they won't be pushing 300/500 unless pushed.