5 ms·

I need what Walmart sells. I don't need anything Tesla sells.

by 01100011 6y ago

Tade0 6y ago
Problem is, anyone can have what Walmart sells. Nobody really has what Tesla sells.
- adventured 6y ago
  > Problem is, anyone can have what Walmart sells. 5,000 massive scale physical retail buildings (at a time when other physical retail is being mauled), a brand with buyer loyalty that took half a century to create, operating on a 3% profit margin in a hyper low margin business, and excellent real-estate locations across most of the US. Be sure to wave to Kmart, Penneys, FW Woolworth, JG McCrory's and Sears on the way to having what Walmart has. No, you can't have what Walmart has. Nobody can afford to replicate what Walmart has built up over time. And if you try to compete with them via ecommerce instead of physical retail (thinking that will somehow be cheaper), you'll need to spend tens of billions of dollars on distribution to do it (and good luck competing with Amazon). If you had to choose who to compete with, Walmart & Amazon or Tesla, that's a comically easy choice. That's why companies like Nikola or Rivian exist (and 37 Chinese Tesla clones), and absolutely nobody is eager to build a thousand new giant physical retail stores to go after Walmart (besides, you can't get the money to do it, there are no funding sources for that financially suicidal move).
  - gleenn 6y ago
    I understand your point for the most part, but the argument isn't that you have to build exactly what Walmart has (hundreds of buildings with mass distribution). Any Joe can setup a grocery/goods store tomorrow. Will they crush Walmart any time soon? Nope. Good luck trying to build what Tesla has. Call me a fanboy, but there is some amazing technology in those cars, and while strapping a battery on a frame with a electric motor looks easy, doing it at scale and as efficiently as they do is definitely not. Many of those 37 or whatever Chinese knock-offs have failed already. I would never buy a knock-off electric car, but I would definitely shop at Joe's convenience store to pick up some bananas, I do it daily actually.
    - 01100011 6y ago
      I'd actually buy a cheap Chinese electric car. I wouldn't consider a Tesla. It lacks the range I need in my primary vehicle and is too expensive for a second commuter car. Tesla's are amazing and good for them but it's not what I need or want. People are valuing Tesla like there will be one in every garage, but I just don't see it happening.
      - Melting_Harps 6y ago
        > I'd actually buy a cheap Chinese electric car. No you wouldn't, just buy a Chinese scooter (sub $1500) and see how much of a headache their electronics are on something you need for transportation. They make EV ones, too, which would probably be the best gauge with its limited range. Its a horrible experience, they honestly have no QA/QC to speak of in their vehicle division(s) they just build and ship them like that in masse, its so wasteful as they will most likely end up in a landfill when problems arise as they're priced at near disposable level. They may have processors and subsequently phone's down, but the amount of errors on an EV would make me want to drive the thing into a wall. As for the Tesla stock price, I think its pretty high given where they are in terms of CURRENT scale. I put a deposit down for a Cybertruck knowing full well its QA-QC won't be sorted until 1-3 years after the release as its an entire new chassis, but those funds help make that happens and even in the interim they're pretty good about repairs/returns provided they can get the parts for them. Its stock price is am indication of just another way to park hot money in the economy, at least its going into something of actual value and helping the environment rather than inflating another commodities bubbles that fomented war and revolution all of the World, as we saw in 2008. It may not be rationale given the constraints of their CURRENT production capacity, but their Manufacturing presence in 3 different continents and their supercharger network alone didn't seemed priced in with its stock at below $500 in my opinion. I told people to buy more during the 'Bankwupt' joke at mid 200s, Elon is a total troll Online/Twitter but I've been in the Auto Industry for quite some time and went to Interview several times at the factory in Fremont and they are not a car company, they seem more like an Electrical/Battery manufacturer that uses cars to sell its core product(s). The guys I met with in the Supply Chain are the real deal, once the constraints of Model 3 lines and ramp up happened what they undertook was nothing short of immense. I hope the guys at the factory are slowly cashing out some of their positions as the Manufacturing guys are not paid very well and this money after the shut down is probably needed.
- baconandeggs 6y ago
  At this point Tesla sells more stock than cars.
- cma 6y ago
  > Nobody really has what Tesla sells. Fake FSD, the real profit center. They can't recognize the revenue, but the market has realized they don't need to. They never have to deliver. Even then I don't know if an $8,000 scam feature is enough margin for a 1,000 PE ratio.
  - edoceo 6y ago
    What is FSD? I can't figure it out and I'm sure you don't mean the airport
    - cma 6y ago
      Full self driving with a robo taxi network promised to make your car appreciate in value 7 fold. They couldn't just pump the stock, they also pump the car itself as a rocketing investment. It is supposed to launch by the end of 2020.
      - 01100011 6y ago
        No doubt it will bring in revenue... until the lawsuits start.
eanzenberg 6y ago
That’s not how equity pricing works :)
- joshribakoff 6y ago
  Pricing is whatever people are willing to pay. The market value is not inherently tied to assets intrinsic value. Markets are clearly pricing in growth perhaps irrationally
  - eanzenberg 6y ago
    So if you want to bet either way you can. That’s the beauty of it all. Put your money where your thoughts are, and if they pan out then awesome. But, pricing is not what “people” are willing to say since the biggest funds really dictate the valuation of equities. They tend to try to have a long outlook, so they are betting that covid is short-term, the recovery will be quick, and Trump will be re-elected. Most people don’t believe these things, but most money is betting on those things.
    - joshribakoff 6y ago
      Corporations are people too, legally ;)
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

I need what Walmart sells. I don't need anything Tesla sells.

Tade0 6y ago

Problem is, anyone can have what Walmart sells. Nobody really has what Tesla sells.

adventured 6y ago
> Problem is, anyone can have what Walmart sells. 5,000 massive scale physical retail buildings (at a time when other physical retail is being mauled), a brand with buyer loyalty that took half a century to create, operating on a 3% profit margin in a hyper low margin business, and excellent real-estate locations across most of the US. Be sure to wave to Kmart, Penneys, FW Woolworth, JG McCrory's and Sears on the way to having what Walmart has. No, you can't have what Walmart has. Nobody can afford to replicate what Walmart has built up over time. And if you try to compete with them via ecommerce instead of physical retail (thinking that will somehow be cheaper), you'll need to spend tens of billions of dollars on distribution to do it (and good luck competing with Amazon). If you had to choose who to compete with, Walmart & Amazon or Tesla, that's a comically easy choice. That's why companies like Nikola or Rivian exist (and 37 Chinese Tesla clones), and absolutely nobody is eager to build a thousand new giant physical retail stores to go after Walmart (besides, you can't get the money to do it, there are no funding sources for that financially suicidal move).
- gleenn 6y ago
  I understand your point for the most part, but the argument isn't that you have to build exactly what Walmart has (hundreds of buildings with mass distribution). Any Joe can setup a grocery/goods store tomorrow. Will they crush Walmart any time soon? Nope. Good luck trying to build what Tesla has. Call me a fanboy, but there is some amazing technology in those cars, and while strapping a battery on a frame with a electric motor looks easy, doing it at scale and as efficiently as they do is definitely not. Many of those 37 or whatever Chinese knock-offs have failed already. I would never buy a knock-off electric car, but I would definitely shop at Joe's convenience store to pick up some bananas, I do it daily actually.
  - 01100011 6y ago
    I'd actually buy a cheap Chinese electric car. I wouldn't consider a Tesla. It lacks the range I need in my primary vehicle and is too expensive for a second commuter car. Tesla's are amazing and good for them but it's not what I need or want. People are valuing Tesla like there will be one in every garage, but I just don't see it happening.
    - Melting_Harps 6y ago
      > I'd actually buy a cheap Chinese electric car. No you wouldn't, just buy a Chinese scooter (sub $1500) and see how much of a headache their electronics are on something you need for transportation. They make EV ones, too, which would probably be the best gauge with its limited range. Its a horrible experience, they honestly have no QA/QC to speak of in their vehicle division(s) they just build and ship them like that in masse, its so wasteful as they will most likely end up in a landfill when problems arise as they're priced at near disposable level. They may have processors and subsequently phone's down, but the amount of errors on an EV would make me want to drive the thing into a wall. As for the Tesla stock price, I think its pretty high given where they are in terms of CURRENT scale. I put a deposit down for a Cybertruck knowing full well its QA-QC won't be sorted until 1-3 years after the release as its an entire new chassis, but those funds help make that happens and even in the interim they're pretty good about repairs/returns provided they can get the parts for them. Its stock price is am indication of just another way to park hot money in the economy, at least its going into something of actual value and helping the environment rather than inflating another commodities bubbles that fomented war and revolution all of the World, as we saw in 2008. It may not be rationale given the constraints of their CURRENT production capacity, but their Manufacturing presence in 3 different continents and their supercharger network alone didn't seemed priced in with its stock at below $500 in my opinion. I told people to buy more during the 'Bankwupt' joke at mid 200s, Elon is a total troll Online/Twitter but I've been in the Auto Industry for quite some time and went to Interview several times at the factory in Fremont and they are not a car company, they seem more like an Electrical/Battery manufacturer that uses cars to sell its core product(s). The guys I met with in the Supply Chain are the real deal, once the constraints of Model 3 lines and ramp up happened what they undertook was nothing short of immense. I hope the guys at the factory are slowly cashing out some of their positions as the Manufacturing guys are not paid very well and this money after the shut down is probably needed.
baconandeggs 6y ago
At this point Tesla sells more stock than cars.
cma 6y ago
> Nobody really has what Tesla sells. Fake FSD, the real profit center. They can't recognize the revenue, but the market has realized they don't need to. They never have to deliver. Even then I don't know if an $8,000 scam feature is enough margin for a 1,000 PE ratio.
- edoceo 6y ago
  What is FSD? I can't figure it out and I'm sure you don't mean the airport
  - cma 6y ago
    Full self driving with a robo taxi network promised to make your car appreciate in value 7 fold. They couldn't just pump the stock, they also pump the car itself as a rocketing investment. It is supposed to launch by the end of 2020.
    - 01100011 6y ago
      No doubt it will bring in revenue... until the lawsuits start.

eanzenberg 6y ago

That’s not how equity pricing works :)

joshribakoff 6y ago
Pricing is whatever people are willing to pay. The market value is not inherently tied to assets intrinsic value. Markets are clearly pricing in growth perhaps irrationally
- eanzenberg 6y ago
  So if you want to bet either way you can. That’s the beauty of it all. Put your money where your thoughts are, and if they pan out then awesome. But, pricing is not what “people” are willing to say since the biggest funds really dictate the valuation of equities. They tend to try to have a long outlook, so they are betting that covid is short-term, the recovery will be quick, and Trump will be re-elected. Most people don’t believe these things, but most money is betting on those things.
  - joshribakoff 6y ago
    Corporations are people too, legally ;)

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]