4 ms·

If McDonald's was profitable, they wouldn't try to franchise it. That's what this is. You take on operating costs and you understand your local market. They ow

If McDonald's was profitable, they wouldn't try to franchise it. That's what this is. You take on operating costs and you understand your local market. They own the brand.

cyanydeez 19d ago
[flagged]
- amazingamazing 19d ago
  Telsa is going for a certain rough aesthetic with both the Cybertruck and Cybercab branding.
  - hnthrow550055 19d ago
    [flagged]
  - spiderfarmer 19d ago
    [flagged]
    - deleted 19d ago
      [deleted]
    - zulux 19d ago
      I agree. National Socialists and Fascists are unacceptable. Also their cousins - International Socialists. Any ideology that has a body count measured in the millions is my enemy.
      - whynotmaybe 19d ago
        So capitalism is also your enemy?
        trueno 19d ago
        at this point, kinda yea
        spiderfarmer 17d ago
        It's also your enemy.
  - cyanydeez 19d ago
    The rough: youre living in apocalyptic hellscape because money buys mental insecurity, not love. Better armor up and avoid humanity!
HardCodedBias 19d ago
It's more than that, Tesla owns the brand, the manufacturing, and the software. They are much more than McDonalds. But indeed your comparison is an apt way to reply to this "article".
- newsclues 19d ago
  McDonald’s owns the brand, supply chain and real estate.
  - yellowapple 19d ago
    And the software, if the saga around the constantly-broken ice cream machines is any indication.
    - newsclues 19d ago
      I was going to mention that but I don’t know about it but assume they have some interesting supply chain, inventory management, marketing type software that no one will see, and just think about the POS, in store displays and web and mobile applications that millions of users interact with daily
      - ferngodfather 19d ago
        The POS are still XP last I checked haha
  - seanalltogether 19d ago
    But critically they don't own the sale. Will Tesla own point of sale, or will the Cybercab owner?
dyauspitr 19d ago
The key thing here is liability. A McDonald’s franchisee is protected if the thing that makes someone sick was a result of bad food supplied by the McDonalds corporation. In the case of Tesla, irrespective of the self driving software the Tesla corporation provides, the “franchisee” is always the one liable.
- amazingamazing 19d ago
  > In the case of Tesla, irrespective of the self driving software the Tesla corporation provides, the “franchisee” is always the one liable. Precedent for this?
jerlam 19d ago
Companies have to convince potential franchisees that they will be successful. Usually, the franchiser needs to already be wildly successful and have a playbook of how the franchisee will also be successful and how the franchiser will protect them, often via regional exclusivity. I don't know if Tesla has proven that their own fleet is successful.
pseudosavant 19d ago
One problem in your analogy, for McDonalds, the franchisee is the one who actually operates the business. For the Cybercab, Tesla is the one operating it via "Full Self Driving", their app, and the Tesla rideshare network. As the owner, the only thing you do is own it, insure it, have a place to park it, and take on the risk of what happens if the vehicle registered to you is in an accident. Clearly, a pretty one-sided assignment of risk.
- bluelightning2k 19d ago
  That's actually a very good point. Also if Elon Musk has a demonstrable superpower it's the ability to raise capital. So they really could order 100,000 of these themselves.
  - fieryscribe 19d ago
    They could, but running local operations isn't his forte, preference or interest, it seems. Even if he had a massive fleet of these, he'd have to navigate local laws, demand, operations and logistics. His revealed preference is to run things centrally and at massive scales.
    - hackingonempty 19d ago
      > They could, but running local operations isn't his forte, preference or interest, it seems. Even if he had a massive fleet of these, he'd have to navigate local laws, demand, operations and logistics. Doesn't Tesla operate its own dealer network?
- bluelightning2k 19d ago
  Actually, while I still like your point there really is still a lot of operational work. You need to clean, inspect, repair, insure, secure and charge the cars. To do so efficiently you will need to custom develop premises full of chargers and efficient charging and cleaning infrastructure. That absolutely is operationally intense. Premises, permits, construction and then significant operations.
thescriptkiddie 19d ago
actually most franchise restaurants are not profitable and eventually go out of business. subway is famous for being basically a pyramid scheme that only makes money by fleecing aspiring restaurateurs. mcdonald's is an exception because they are primarily a real estate company and commercial landlord.
- fieryscribe 19d ago
  Most things go out of business. That's why the franchising model exists. Local owners know their local market best and they take a calculated risk on it. From what I understand, McDonald's franchisees can make 5-15% of gross revenue of their location. That's a decent return, along the lines of other investments. As with all investments, you may lose too.

If McDonald's was profitable, they wouldn't try to franchise it. That's what this is. You take on operating costs and you understand your local market. They own the brand.

cyanydeez 19d ago

[flagged]

amazingamazing 19d ago
Telsa is going for a certain rough aesthetic with both the Cybertruck and Cybercab branding.
- hnthrow550055 19d ago
  [flagged]
- spiderfarmer 19d ago
  [flagged]
  - deleted 19d ago
    [deleted]
  - zulux 19d ago
    I agree. National Socialists and Fascists are unacceptable. Also their cousins - International Socialists. Any ideology that has a body count measured in the millions is my enemy.
    - whynotmaybe 19d ago
      So capitalism is also your enemy?
      - trueno 19d ago
        at this point, kinda yea
      - spiderfarmer 17d ago
        It's also your enemy.
- cyanydeez 19d ago
  The rough: youre living in apocalyptic hellscape because money buys mental insecurity, not love. Better armor up and avoid humanity!

HardCodedBias 19d ago

It's more than that, Tesla owns the brand, the manufacturing, and the software. They are much more than McDonalds. But indeed your comparison is an apt way to reply to this "article".

newsclues 19d ago
McDonald’s owns the brand, supply chain and real estate.
- yellowapple 19d ago
  And the software, if the saga around the constantly-broken ice cream machines is any indication.
  - newsclues 19d ago
    I was going to mention that but I don’t know about it but assume they have some interesting supply chain, inventory management, marketing type software that no one will see, and just think about the POS, in store displays and web and mobile applications that millions of users interact with daily
    - ferngodfather 19d ago
      The POS are still XP last I checked haha
- seanalltogether 19d ago
  But critically they don't own the sale. Will Tesla own point of sale, or will the Cybercab owner?

dyauspitr 19d ago

The key thing here is liability. A McDonald’s franchisee is protected if the thing that makes someone sick was a result of bad food supplied by the McDonalds corporation. In the case of Tesla, irrespective of the self driving software the Tesla corporation provides, the “franchisee” is always the one liable.

amazingamazing 19d ago
> In the case of Tesla, irrespective of the self driving software the Tesla corporation provides, the “franchisee” is always the one liable. Precedent for this?

jerlam 19d ago

Companies have to convince potential franchisees that they will be successful. Usually, the franchiser needs to already be wildly successful and have a playbook of how the franchisee will also be successful and how the franchiser will protect them, often via regional exclusivity. I don't know if Tesla has proven that their own fleet is successful.

pseudosavant 19d ago

One problem in your analogy, for McDonalds, the franchisee is the one who actually operates the business. For the Cybercab, Tesla is the one operating it via "Full Self Driving", their app, and the Tesla rideshare network. As the owner, the only thing you do is own it, insure it, have a place to park it, and take on the risk of what happens if the vehicle registered to you is in an accident. Clearly, a pretty one-sided assignment of risk.

bluelightning2k 19d ago
That's actually a very good point. Also if Elon Musk has a demonstrable superpower it's the ability to raise capital. So they really could order 100,000 of these themselves.
- fieryscribe 19d ago
  They could, but running local operations isn't his forte, preference or interest, it seems. Even if he had a massive fleet of these, he'd have to navigate local laws, demand, operations and logistics. His revealed preference is to run things centrally and at massive scales.
  - hackingonempty 19d ago
    > They could, but running local operations isn't his forte, preference or interest, it seems. Even if he had a massive fleet of these, he'd have to navigate local laws, demand, operations and logistics. Doesn't Tesla operate its own dealer network?
bluelightning2k 19d ago
Actually, while I still like your point there really is still a lot of operational work. You need to clean, inspect, repair, insure, secure and charge the cars. To do so efficiently you will need to custom develop premises full of chargers and efficient charging and cleaning infrastructure. That absolutely is operationally intense. Premises, permits, construction and then significant operations.

thescriptkiddie 19d ago

actually most franchise restaurants are not profitable and eventually go out of business. subway is famous for being basically a pyramid scheme that only makes money by fleecing aspiring restaurateurs. mcdonald's is an exception because they are primarily a real estate company and commercial landlord.

fieryscribe 19d ago
Most things go out of business. That's why the franchising model exists. Local owners know their local market best and they take a calculated risk on it. From what I understand, McDonald's franchisees can make 5-15% of gross revenue of their location. That's a decent return, along the lines of other investments. As with all investments, you may lose too.