<p><pre><code> Tesla is running out of cash at a time when competition
is heating up—Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, and others plan
to release dozens of electric car models.
</code></pre>
I wish competition <i>would</i> heat up.<p>All I want is an all-electric EV with a 200+ mile range. You know what my options are? [1] A Tesla Model S or X, a Bolt EV/Ampera-e which isn't sold in my country [2], or a Tesla Model 3 which is barely shipping at all.<p>I look forward to the day when more than one company sells an EV with a respectable range.<p>[1] <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BEV_EPA_range_comparison_2016-2017_MY_US.png" rel="nofollow">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BEV_EPA_range_compar...</a>
[2] <a href="https://fleetworld.co.uk/new-ampera-e-wont-make-uk-confirms-vauxhall/" rel="nofollow">https://fleetworld.co.uk/new-ampera-e-wont-make-uk-confirms-...</a>
Tesla isn't a car company, it's an energy company that is building the Model E on their energy platform. Reading their SEC 10-K[0] will show this.<p>Solar is 55% of all new installations in the USA and Tesla is the leader in solar installations with SolarCity. $/watt installed is only going down with scale.<p>Batteries are becoming the platform for transportation and Tesla owns 50% of the global manufacturing capacity. $/watt is also trending down with scale.<p>Charging stations will replace gas stations and Tesla owns a major percentage of the stock.<p>The question is over what timescale is Tesla over/undervalued? The genius is that there is always going to be friction between long and short term values. This shortsightedness is the weak link of Wall Street. But if it's overvalued then short the stock!<p>The Model E has already made Tesla an energy comany with a very successful product, "the Model 3 is selling more units in the U.S. than any comparably priced midsize sedan, including those offered by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi."[1]<p>I don't own a Tesla or Tesla stock.<p>[0] <a href="http://ir.tesla.com/static-files/0fbefe56-326c-412e-a33c-aa1b342e9469" rel="nofollow">http://ir.tesla.com/static-files/0fbefe56-326c-412e-a33c-aa1...</a>
[1] <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-07-12/how-tesla-s-model-3-became-elon-musk-s-version-of-hell" rel="nofollow">https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-07-12/how-tesla...</a>
I dont think it will be a real car company until you see.<p>* Crappy ads on local tv with Incentives to get excess inventory off the lot<p>* Old models in the scrap yard<p>* Disappointing resale values<p>* Unions on strike<p>* Mechanics who making blowing noises when you drive onto the lot and ask how much to fix<p>* Management out for themselves<p>* Factories in some run down city in the midwest<p>Until then its still a novelty company.
Given current fuel efficiency requirements, a midsize sedan is hell for every automaker.<p>Ford largely abandoned the sedan market. Every other automaker has been forced to either hybridize or reduce car size. SUVs and trucks are effectively the new sedan, as they have different efficiency requirements, so can support the mobile energy requirements of an early 21st century family. Most of the plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars - the Bolt/Volt, i3, etc - are part of limited runs that are likely sold at a loss to offset the company's more gas-hungry vehicles.<p>On the other side, cheap cars leave slim margins. In Lee Iacocca's autobiography, he relates Henry Ford Jr telling him that they'd never make money on small cars, in the 1970s gas crisis.
I'm surprised. Chinese EV makers have aced the "nothing special" EV sedan niche under $30k and are popping them out non-stop.<p>I guess, a part of "Apple disease" of around mid-20xx. Teslas are so distinct from mainline cars under the bonnet, that they can't source much components on open market, big part of manufacturing equipment have to be custom made, and they can't outsource anything.<p>Chinese makers on other hands just gut existing economy sedans, and put batteries in place of motor, and PMDCs on rear axle, without any extra magic involved.