3 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 2mo ago
[flagged]
- amazingamazing 2mo ago
  Telsa is going for a certain rough aesthetic with both the Cybertruck and Cybercab branding.
  - hnthrow550055 2mo ago
    [flagged]
  - spiderfarmer 2mo ago
    [flagged]
    - deleted 2mo ago
      [deleted]
    - zulux 2mo 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 2mo ago
        So capitalism is also your enemy?
        trueno 2mo ago
        at this point, kinda yea
        spiderfarmer 2mo ago
        It's also your enemy.
  - cyanydeez 2mo ago
    The rough: youre living in apocalyptic hellscape because money buys mental insecurity, not love. Better armor up and avoid humanity!
HardCodedBias 2mo 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 2mo ago
  McDonald’s owns the brand, supply chain and real estate.
  - yellowapple 2mo ago
    And the software, if the saga around the constantly-broken ice cream machines is any indication.
    - newsclues 2mo 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 2mo ago
        The POS are still XP last I checked haha
  - seanalltogether 2mo ago
    But critically they don't own the sale. Will Tesla own point of sale, or will the Cybercab owner?
dyauspitr 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo ago

[flagged]

amazingamazing 2mo ago
Telsa is going for a certain rough aesthetic with both the Cybertruck and Cybercab branding.
- hnthrow550055 2mo ago
  [flagged]
- spiderfarmer 2mo ago
  [flagged]
  - deleted 2mo ago
    [deleted]
  - zulux 2mo 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 2mo ago
      So capitalism is also your enemy?
      - trueno 2mo ago
        at this point, kinda yea
      - spiderfarmer 2mo ago
        It's also your enemy.
- cyanydeez 2mo ago
  The rough: youre living in apocalyptic hellscape because money buys mental insecurity, not love. Better armor up and avoid humanity!

HardCodedBias 2mo 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 2mo ago
McDonald’s owns the brand, supply chain and real estate.
- yellowapple 2mo ago
  And the software, if the saga around the constantly-broken ice cream machines is any indication.
  - newsclues 2mo 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 2mo ago
      The POS are still XP last I checked haha
- seanalltogether 2mo ago
  But critically they don't own the sale. Will Tesla own point of sale, or will the Cybercab owner?

dyauspitr 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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 2mo 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.