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Elon Musk Had a Deal to Sell Tesla to Google in 2013
- ocdtrekkie 12y agoVery glad we dodged this bullet.
- onezeno 12y agoAn deal in negotiation is not a deal.
- tuna-piano 12y agoCould someone explain what Google believes its core competency is? Do they really think that over the long term they can be a software company and a car company?
- smoyer 12y agoGM is a car manufacturer and a bank. I've been seeing more evidence that every large company will eventually become a bank.
- bluedino 12y agoGM sold their financing arm to Cerebus years ago.
- maxerickson 12y agoThe new GM (it's a different legal entity post bailout) bought a bank and renamed it GM Financial: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Financial http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Financial The old GM had sold a 51% stake of it's finance corp to Cerberus: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/profits-in-g-m-a-c-bailout-to-benefit-financiers-not-u-s/?_r=0 http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/profits-in-g-m-a-c-ba... But the US Treasury took majority ownership in the bailout. That entity is now Ally: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ally_Financial http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ally_Financial
- cylinder 12y agoAnd GE just dumped its finance business to focus on core industrials.
- tdaltonc 12y agoGE is pushing hard to stop being a bank. http://www.economist.com/news/business/21648681-announcing-closure-ges-financial-arm-jeffrey-immelt-has-only-won-half-battle http://www.economist.com/news/business/21648681-announcing-c...
- smanuel 12y agoYes, in the long term they can be a software company. Can't predict yet about the car company though.
- amelius 12y agoGoogle is an advertisement company. Not a software company (every company is doing tech nowadays).
- spacemanmatt 12y agoGoogle is an AI company.
- vowelless 12y agoIsnt it more accurate to categorize a company based on where they get revenue? If so, then Google is mostly an ad company.
- circuitslave 12y agoCouldn't you say they were a big data company as well? It seems that all that consumer data is what makes them such an effective ad company.
- ocdtrekkie 12y agoYeah, but Google did a huge marketing push that they're an "AI company" recently because that sounds a lot more scifi than the reality that Google's primary revenue stream isn't that different from a company that does cold calls. Marketing isn't exactly appealing to consumers. ;)
- th0br0 12y agoBut the big data is essentially just the knowledge base for the AI.
- spacemanmatt 12y agoI would say their goal to sort and organize the world's data is right in line with their existence as an AI company. You're not wrong at all that they make tons of money in ads, but then that is also significantly understating the role of communication and Google's role in communication these days.
- mitchell_h 12y agoThey're sorta turning into a commercially viable DARPA. They take some really hard, large scale, problems; get the right people in a room and find solutions. Also, cars are basically software at this point. Especially tesla.
- wiremine 12y ago"cars are basically software at this point" Really? A lot of the value add is software, but there is still a ton of hardware that goes into a car.
- spacemanmatt 12y agoTo the extent that a car cannot be a modern car without modern software, Google is a good candidate to add value to what is otherwise a commodity item. They won't have to innovate around automotive hardware.
- dredmorbius 12y agoA couple of tons, generally.
- TeMPOraL 12y agoThat hardware is mostly commodity. You can do a lot of new things by bolting some computers and software to any car currently on the market.
- Crito 12y agoWhere exactly do you think those cars come from? People who immerse themselves in the software world too deeply gain a very distorted view of the world.
- sz4kerto 12y ago> Also, cars are basically software at this point. Especially tesla. No, not at all. In the case of cars with ICE the biggest challenge is still mechanical -- mostly related to environmental protection standards. To keep a BMW M5 Euro5 compliant you have to go a _long_ way. If you mean that you use software to design these cars then well, yes, I can agree. But the onboard software is still a very-very small part of the challenge. (Ask somebody who's actually in the car industry, especially if he's in the higher-end market, like someone from AMG, BMW M, etc.; just the cooling of these things is an art.) In the case of Tesla, things are slightly different, but not that much. The big thing here is the reliable electric motor, which -- also according to Tesla marketing -- is simple compared to an ICE, but in reality it's a big challenge to manufacture because high-powered electric motors need to be manufactured with incredible precision, otherwise they break quickyl and often.
- steakejjs 12y agoIt might be extremely valuable for Google to prompt you, while riding in your driverless Tesla, to make a stop at a Krispie Kreme on your way home.
- aceofpack 12y agoExactly, Google have been hard at work on driverless car technology.
- shin_lao 12y agoWhy not? Example: I own a synthesizer and a motorbike from the same company.
- Geee 12y agoGoogle is a basically a future company, which means they try to make future different than the past. Software is just a tool; a continuum to stone and iron tools etc. In the next decade computing will extend in both directions, to physical and virtual realms. I.e. people will enter computer world and computers will enter our world. Google is trying to be a forerunner in this change. These are the next big form-factors. Obviously their core competency is giving away the stuff for free and put ads on it.
- jusben1369 12y agoInterestingly with self driving electric cars on the near term horizon the car companies are wondering what exactly a "car company" will be in a decade or two.
- sparkzilla 12y agoFar-term horizon. Despite big claims about driverless car tech, it's not reliable enough for production.
- jusben1369 12y agoThe thing is that, at the tipping point, they become safer than human drivers (sensors) which means 1) less accidents and 2) less traffic (orderly flow, no butterfly effect drivers). In addition they'll self park or be in constant motion (public transportation) making the a more efficient than regular cars. So you'll see government pressure and industry ($500 more per year if you want to 'self drive' for registration and insurance) There'll be dedicated SDE lanes that'll run smoother and squeeze self drivers in with human error prone and erratic peers. That tipping point will get us there very quickly from say Year 7 to Year 10 in major urban markets.
- sparkzilla 12y agoCurrent tech doesn't work in rain or snow. Computer vision cannot tell if a car is moving behind a bush, or if it's a bird or a plastic bag. It doesn't work off-road. These issues, and many others, will take a lot more than 10 years to fix. There is also no guarantee that Google will profit from driverless cars when they do arrive. The whole driverless car project is simply a way for Google to distract investors, the press, and the public from the lack of ideas in their core search and advertising business.
- rqebmm 12y agoAnd even if it were, worldwide adoption will be measured in decades if it follows the current automobile aging curve
- plg 12y agoWell isn't their core competency selling online (desktop) ads?
- higherpurpose 12y agoI think it's too early for Tesla to sell. Maybe in 10 years. First allow it to get big enough to get a strong culture that can't be changed by another company. What do you think would happen if say GM bought Tesla now? Do you think Tesla would be able to convert GM to their way of doing things, or the other way around? (especially if Elon Musk leaves to focus on Space X)
- ohitsdom 12y agoWhy would they sell in 10 years? A sale then would only make sense if they were struggling, in which case I wouldn't count on a failing "Tesla culture" to remain. It looks like they have a very bright future, with classic automakers playing catchup. No need or benefit to sell.
- acheron 12y agoWow, dodged a bullet there. "Please log into Google+ in order to unlock your car."
- knocknock 12y agoI'm getting really tired of seeing this comment in every submission about Google. This and the annoying "Google support sucks!!" ignorant BS.
- motoboi 12y agoIndeed, fast food comedy is not well received here. I think because it ruins the forum quality in the long run. I am yet to find another high level forum like this. So, to me, those community guidelines are working pretty well. So, although I sometimes laugh a little with those comments, I prefer them to be downvoted to oblivion so we continue to keep having amazing and informative comments from others.
- visakanv 12y agoYep, the problem with "fast food comedy" is that once you reward it, everybody wants to do it– and then it drives out all the more invested, technical conversations. We can do the G+ jokes on Reddit. Getting to substance requires a certain rigor and discipline that can seem a little draconian, but makes all the difference.
- benihana 12y ago>Yep, the problem with "fast food comedy" is that once you reward it, everybody wants to do it Anyone who has been on reddit for more than five or six years has seen this. It used to be on par with hacker news for discussion. I'm not sure if it has been happening since day one, or if the site reached a critical mass and started going downhill from there. But I definitely saw it happening before the Digg migration.
- archagon 12y agoHa, did you just coin "fast food comedy"? Because that's a perfect way to describe Reddit et al.!
- nakedrobot2 12y agoIn an alternate universe, Google sold to Yahoo for $1M in 1998; Tesla sold to Yahoo in 2013.
- higherpurpose 12y agoExcept it's more likely the Google acquisition wouldn't have gone anywhere under Yahoo, and Yahoo wouldn't be in the position to buy Tesla today anyway.
- tripzilch 12y agoI wonder in what way the web would look different today, if Google had been acquired and became a mere footnote in Yahoo's long list of sunset acquisitions...
- lnanek2 12y agoMicrosoft actually offered a great deal to buy Yahoo a while back, but stupid leadership cheated all us shareholders. So Yahoo shouldn't even exist at this point...
- ucha 12y agoMicrosoft offered $31 a share in 2008. It's at $45 now.
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- bjterry 12y agoThe S&P 500 total return index has gone from 1330 to 2081 in the same time frame. So if Microsoft had paid you $31 dollars a share and you had reinvested it in the market, it would be worth $48.5 or thereabouts. Even if it does catch up, it will have taken more than 7 years to do so.
- mfringel 12y agoWarning: Autoplaying video.
- flinty 12y agoflashblock.
- mfringel 12y agoYour superior knowledge has been noted by the Ministry of Statistics. Thank you for supplying the data point.
- kurotetsuka 12y agoThat made me laugh, thanks XD.
- astazangasta 12y agoI've started referring to it as Google-Yutani.
- mikeash 12y agoThank goodness that didn't happen. Tesla is doing amazing things and is on track to seriously shake up the automotive industry. I can't imagine that would be true under Google.
- Leszek 12y agoOut of curiosity, why not?
- virtualSatai 12y agoI'm pretty sure it has been seen before that Google or another big tech company buys a smaller up-and-comming company/great idea, and it is never heard from again.
- mschuster91 12y agoWell, Google has fairly much experience in the automobile sector with their self-driving cars. Shit, a self-driving Tesla, now that is a car worth saving every penny for...
- eclipxe 12y agoTesla's upcoming autopilot feature is part of the way there. Only a matter of time.
- mikeash 12y agoIn the context of self-driving cars, autopilot is in the category of "we're 90% done, only 90% to go!" Except much worse than that, because that implies you're about halfway there, and autopilot is maybe 10% of the way towards full self-driving. Don't get me wrong, autopilot is super cool and really useful. The autopilot features that are currently enabled in my Model S are wonderful, and I can't wait until they're all there. But they won't be even close to full self-driving. All it will do is maintain speed intelligently based on the car in front of you, automatically stay in your lane, and switch lanes on command. It won't switch lanes on its own, it won't stop at stoplights, it won't make turns for you, or do any of the hundred other really difficult (for computers) things that are part of everyday driving.
- jpmattia 12y agoI'm not sure, but it sounds like the lesson is: Anyone can be a decent salesperson if you have a decent product.
- lyime 12y agoI had a friend who had a brief stint at Tesla, now she is in grad school. She used to tell me stories of how she was constantly asked to work on different teams, doing totally unrelated tasks. She started as a project coordinator but one day she was asked to make sales calls. She also worked on delivering cars as well as give tours to the Tesla factory.
- johansch 12y agoThat actually does sound like fun, for the right kind of person.
- shas3 12y agoFun, perhaps. I am not sure about the value of such a 'diverse' stint from the perspective of one's career progress/development. Promotions often require sustained excellence, which may be hard to achieve if you are starting off in different roles every now and then. Jumping jobs often requires external visibility, which would also be stunted if you are constantly changing roles.
- mathattack 12y agoSounds like the chaos of a startup. It's why some people choose to work at GM. It's also why GM floundered - I can't imagine them having any flexibility in work rules. I hope they pull it off - I will buy one of their mainstream cars.
- drzaiusapelord 12y agoTesla is a 12 year old company that has burned hundreds of millions of dollars and shipped tens of thousands of cars. How is it remotely a startup? If you can't get staffing and other admin stuff right at age 12, then that says a lot about how poor management is. If you have engineers making sales calls or giving tours, then you're paying engineering salaries for non-engineering work.
- dba7dba 12y agoFrom the article, it sounds like ENGINEERS were asked to call potential customers to close deals.
- dataker 12y agoI'm sorry Google people, but I find such company to be disguting. Inspite of the fact its main business relies on advertisement, Google believes it is entitled to be a monopoly in technology(any sector). One could use Thiel's argument of 'monopolies are good' until they are not. Being a monopoly in tech means being the god of tomorrow. In the end, what in the future will not be an outcome of current technology?
- dba7dba 12y agoGoogle's like a magazine publisher, TV station, phone directory publisher. Can you imagine if such publications decide to hire their own doctors/travel-agent/etc to resell their service and push their products over others? That is essentially what's happening.