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What a sensationalist title. Technically correct, yes, but misleading in spirit. Most people will see the title and not read the rest of the article, which resu

What a sensationalist title. Technically correct, yes, but misleading in spirit. Most people will see the title and not read the rest of the article, which results in the sentiment: "the only reason why Tesla is still afloat is because of XYZ." Would you want to invest in a company like that? And yet, as we all know, Tesla has been an amazing stock to buy over the last couple of years, and it was also so incredibly predictable [0][1]. If you haven't made money on Tesla, then it's because of titles like this. I would be furious with WJS and all other publications that have been talking shit about Tesla - they are doing you a disservice. [0] This statement tends to get people riled up, but I noticed a pattern: people who agree are those who have driven a Tesla, and people who don't are those who haven't. [1] The experience of driving a Tesla is unlike anything else in its price class. But that's subjective, so let me make another argument for why the stock should have been an obvious buy all these years: the brand value alone will continue to propel their sales for years to come. When someone says "I drive a BMW" and someone else says "I drive a Tesla," which one stands out more? People care about brands, as you can see in the rise of the Coca Cola stock in the last 30 years (btw, if you haven't checked out that graph, you really should). So if Coca Cola was a good buy and we celebrate Warren Buffett for recognizing that, on the brand thesis alone, Tesla should have been as well. But I guess you won't read that in the WSJ.

throwaway20875 5y ago
>What a sensationalist title. Technically correct, yes, but misleading in spirit. Most people will see the title and not read the rest of the article, which results in the sentiment: "the only reason why Tesla is still afloat is because of XYZ." Would you want to invest in a company like that? I wouldn't invest in Tesla because it's valued at a price/market capitalization worth more than all other car companies combined. This is before we get into the crypto currency hijinks or Elon's market manipulating tweets. The valuation is insane and not supported by the current or future business.
- aerosmile 5y ago
  The party may or may not be over. We'll see. WSJ's sentiment on the company has been so negative for such a long time, that at some point between now and 100 years from now, they might finally be proven right. Once they finally get it, they will be looking back at 100s of billions worth of wrong financial advice that they've signaled with their negative titles. The point I would drive home here is why trust a paper to give future guidance if their past guidance has been so spectacularly wrong? Again, the brand of the company alone was a strong signal that you never saw people write about.
  - throwaway20875 5y ago
    Tesla isn't special. Tesla and all other growth companies benefited from the macro landscape of the 2010's. Zero interest rates drove capital out of (low) interest bearing treasuries and bonds and into tech. Look at foreign purchases of each over the last 10 years. I don't think we'll see this trend continue into the 2020's.
    - aerosmile 5y ago
      That's a fair argument. That said, I think it's still worth acknowledging that there are other macro forces out there, and the push for renewable energy is one of the stronger ones. Tesla managed to find itself at the intersection of at least those two strong tailwinds, and even if the zero interest tailwind goes away, the renewable energy one is only going to continue to gain momentum.
deleted 5y ago
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boomboomsubban 5y ago
Your second argument, that Tesla is cooler than other car manufacturers, is even more subjective than your first. There can at least be some kind of metrics showing which car drives better.
- aerosmile 5y ago
  I know what you mean, but there are ways to estimate the brand value. Eg: In 2020, Coca-Cola's brand was valued at 84 billion U.S. dollars. While I couldn't find any reliable values for Tesla, the same methodology should apply here as well. It just comes to show to what extent the market has a blind spot for what certainly is a huge asset.
ryanlol 5y ago
> The experience of driving a Tesla is unlike anything else in its price class True, it’s more akin to driving a prius than a comparably priced german car. Especially when looking at the higher end Tesla models. > When someone says "I drive a BMW" and someone else says "I drive a Tesla," which one stands out more? At least in Europe “I drive a Tesla” makes you sound like a taxi driver. It’s just not a cool brand anymore. (Maybe Cybertrucks and Roadsters will change this?)
- sergiosgc 5y ago
  > True, it’s more akin to driving a prius than a comparably priced german car. Especially when looking at the higher end Tesla models. I don't know the performance of the Prius you have driven, but a Model 3 is not on the same league with any Prius I've driven, and will leave any similarly priced BMW in the dust, performance-wise.
  - ryanlol 5y ago
    Performance is good yeah, everything else is comparable to (and often worse than) the prius. From the exterior finish to the horrible plastics all over the interior. Teslas aren’t nice daily drivers. I love the performance, but it’s hard to enjoy it very much as a weekend car when the batteries can only take a couple of hours of aggressive driving. I had a taycan turbo s for a few months too, it was a blast (much more fun than any Tesla) for a few weeks until I got sick of the consistently disappointing battery life.
    - aerosmile 5y ago
      You're not the target audience. My wife drives her Tesla to work every day and wouldn't change it for a 10x more expensive car. She also has the performance model, although she would never go above 60mph. She couldn't care less about the interior not meeting your standards, because the interior looks like a spaceship and as far as she's concerned, it's the coolest thing ever. I personally drive an ICE car, but I recognize that I am not the target audience and can tell that the Teslas are resonating with a huge segment of our population.

throwaway20875 5y ago

>What a sensationalist title. Technically correct, yes, but misleading in spirit. Most people will see the title and not read the rest of the article, which results in the sentiment: "the only reason why Tesla is still afloat is because of XYZ." Would you want to invest in a company like that? I wouldn't invest in Tesla because it's valued at a price/market capitalization worth more than all other car companies combined. This is before we get into the crypto currency hijinks or Elon's market manipulating tweets. The valuation is insane and not supported by the current or future business.

aerosmile 5y ago
The party may or may not be over. We'll see. WSJ's sentiment on the company has been so negative for such a long time, that at some point between now and 100 years from now, they might finally be proven right. Once they finally get it, they will be looking back at 100s of billions worth of wrong financial advice that they've signaled with their negative titles. The point I would drive home here is why trust a paper to give future guidance if their past guidance has been so spectacularly wrong? Again, the brand of the company alone was a strong signal that you never saw people write about.
- throwaway20875 5y ago
  Tesla isn't special. Tesla and all other growth companies benefited from the macro landscape of the 2010's. Zero interest rates drove capital out of (low) interest bearing treasuries and bonds and into tech. Look at foreign purchases of each over the last 10 years. I don't think we'll see this trend continue into the 2020's.
  - aerosmile 5y ago
    That's a fair argument. That said, I think it's still worth acknowledging that there are other macro forces out there, and the push for renewable energy is one of the stronger ones. Tesla managed to find itself at the intersection of at least those two strong tailwinds, and even if the zero interest tailwind goes away, the renewable energy one is only going to continue to gain momentum.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

boomboomsubban 5y ago

Your second argument, that Tesla is cooler than other car manufacturers, is even more subjective than your first. There can at least be some kind of metrics showing which car drives better.

aerosmile 5y ago
I know what you mean, but there are ways to estimate the brand value. Eg: In 2020, Coca-Cola's brand was valued at 84 billion U.S. dollars. While I couldn't find any reliable values for Tesla, the same methodology should apply here as well. It just comes to show to what extent the market has a blind spot for what certainly is a huge asset.

ryanlol 5y ago

> The experience of driving a Tesla is unlike anything else in its price class True, it’s more akin to driving a prius than a comparably priced german car. Especially when looking at the higher end Tesla models. > When someone says "I drive a BMW" and someone else says "I drive a Tesla," which one stands out more? At least in Europe “I drive a Tesla” makes you sound like a taxi driver. It’s just not a cool brand anymore. (Maybe Cybertrucks and Roadsters will change this?)

sergiosgc 5y ago
> True, it’s more akin to driving a prius than a comparably priced german car. Especially when looking at the higher end Tesla models. I don't know the performance of the Prius you have driven, but a Model 3 is not on the same league with any Prius I've driven, and will leave any similarly priced BMW in the dust, performance-wise.
- ryanlol 5y ago
  Performance is good yeah, everything else is comparable to (and often worse than) the prius. From the exterior finish to the horrible plastics all over the interior. Teslas aren’t nice daily drivers. I love the performance, but it’s hard to enjoy it very much as a weekend car when the batteries can only take a couple of hours of aggressive driving. I had a taycan turbo s for a few months too, it was a blast (much more fun than any Tesla) for a few weeks until I got sick of the consistently disappointing battery life.
  - aerosmile 5y ago
    You're not the target audience. My wife drives her Tesla to work every day and wouldn't change it for a 10x more expensive car. She also has the performance model, although she would never go above 60mph. She couldn't care less about the interior not meeting your standards, because the interior looks like a spaceship and as far as she's concerned, it's the coolest thing ever. I personally drive an ICE car, but I recognize that I am not the target audience and can tell that the Teslas are resonating with a huge segment of our population.