Tesla and the other guys

[furyfrank]

If I was Tesla I would consider selling to one of the other car companies. Why because when the big guys get into electric cars they are going to crush Tesla. Because they have the money and talent to drive Tesla out. This is my opinion when you are the big fish it is great until the sharks get in the water.

 

[Dennis H]

Like Hummer did.

 

[71SandbugCharger]

Yeah, my good buddy who is a general manager at a Ford dealership says Ford is coming out with its own electric vehicles that has a better range and performance to match Tesla. Says it’s a hybrid mustang and coupe.

 

[Budnicks]

The early org. Tesla, that looked like the Lotus were pretty cool
it's gone way beyond that now, it was just a little shop & few employees

NOW

He's ( Elan Musk ) floating the co.
on 100's of miliions or billions taxpayers dime anyway
& fed. govt. subsidies
probably funneled off & to help fund some of his SpaceX projects
to put a Tesla car in space/orbit & the likes

Not sure how much of his own fortune he spends
not much is my guess
He's living the life right now, off all of US

I think he's way too much of a narcissist to do it, myself...
It seems he likes all the attention, spotlight too, even all the damn
bad news is advertisement for him, keeps him & Tesla
in the media constantly

when everyone starts to ignore him, he may sell

a couple hundred more lawsuits
will probably force his hand sooner or later too

when 5 or so years, or when all the hi-$$$$ batteries start taking a ****
& the warranty costs all catches up with them, he might have to sell...

 

[slimt]

Tesla already started to drop there dealerships and only have service depts, they were featured on the news as thinking there profit will come from selling on line..

 

[furyfrank]

Musk is not a fool, he will sell after all the government money is gone.

 

[Richard Cranium]

The much hyped model 3 has an ugly front end. Couldn't they have at least put in a fake grille to make it look better?

The dashboard is just a laptop screen stuck on a pod. You have to go through it for everything. Maybe techie kids will like it, but to me, it looks like they cheaped out on a real dash.

 

[furyfrank]

Thee grill is probably a option.

 

[Photon440]

The much hyped model 3 has an ugly front end. Couldn't they have at least put in a fake grille to make it look better?

I suppose you'd want fake chrome exhaust tips as well

Most of Tesla's income comes from sales - over $21 Billion USD for 2018. Another large source of cash is issuing stocks. But the collecting of government tax credits (a revenue source also available to Ford, BMW, GM or anyone else wanting to sell electric cars) has pretty much shut down since the company has sold so many cars and no longer qualifies. People like to complain about everything coming from China, yet here's a company employing tens of thousands of people in the USA and building cars with the most American content and people still aren't happy.

Certainly there will come a day when Tesla faces a lot more competition. However, they also make a lot of money doing research for Mercedes, Toyota and others looking at electric cars. Remember the electric version of the Toyota Rav 4? It was Tesla motored. BMW took apart numerous Tesla Model 3s and ended up pushing back plans for their own electric BMW 3 series - they hadn't realized just how advanced the Tesla was and decided some revisions to their own car plans were needed.

More jobs came with the building of the Gigafactory 1 in Nevada. Again, yes there were some tax incentives. But deferring or for that matter completely reducing taxes for a time period still comes with benefits. People still get paid (over 5,000 workers just to build the place) and the State competed hard with other parts of the USA to get the factory which expects 6,500 steady workers by 2022. It's not just Tesla, Panasonic is part of this factory and they're paying Americans to build batteries and cars. If there was no Tesla and no factory built, there would have been no tax incentives given up but also no jobs from it.

I'll agree with RC - not a fan of the dash. But then again, I prefer old fashioned dials to a modern glass airplane cockpit too. Just something to get used to.

 

[Dennis H]

Said it before, I hope they succeed. EVERY Tesla seen on the freeway here - and there are shitloads of them here in Silicon Valley, has a $7500 tax credit provided by my wallet as a taxpayer. That should not be. My newest Mopar is 10 years old. Why should I help finance a $70k car for others? They are also chewing up the roads without paying a gas tax. They are plugged into coal fired generated extension cards.

 

[Photon440]

Dennis, they may not pay a fuel tax, but they do pay tax in many areas. Many countries (like England) have special EV taxes, and at least 17 States, including California now collect taxes on electric cars to offset the lack of gas tax. https://www.greencarreports.com/new...new-fee-on-electric-cars-in-lieu-of-gas-taxes

That $7,500 credit (which any other electric vehicle could qualify for as well) doesn't work for Tesla any longer, they're selling too many cars. This year it's been cut in half, and after the second half of 2019 will be further reduced to $1,875.

Sorry to hear about your coal power, most electricity is hydro where I live. The Pacific North West and California import a lot of our hydro-power too, so breathe easy.

 

[Cojohnso1]

Lack of fuel tax from electric cars is a problem. But I'm betting government would have no trouble finding a way so electric cars also pay fuel tax. And for all the haters?

Tesla 100D vs Dodge Demon. Sorry. Dodge. You are not the quickest production car.

 

[69L48Z27]

I’ll be burning fossil fuel for as long as possible. Long live 93 octane!

I was looking at the new Ford Expeditions and I don’t think you can get a V8 anymore? Looks like EcoBoost V6. I didn’t spend a lot of time on it, just thought the new trucks looked good. Can’t wrap my head around not being able to get a V8 in a body on frame truck. They may run and pull like a V8 but it’s still not a V8.

 

[Dennis H]

Tesla 100D $97,200. Keep it. I’ll take a Hellcat and keep the change. Out of the hole fraction. Take them to Nurburgring and watch the Mopar run it down. Like Ford GT’s go 208 vs Hellcat 200. Who cares? Supercar status at or near 100k plus not practical or considered for us commoners.

As noted in the other thread, Coronet gas cap removed TFN. In Minnesnowta the door handles freeze shut on the Teslas anyway.

 

[Photon440]

Maybe, but you needn't get the big Telsa. The dual motor Model 3 can be had for $35,000 less than that and still go 0-60 in just over three seconds and an 11.8 quarter mile. I'm sure they would take a bath at Nurburgring, but here it is anyway.

 

[Dennis H]

The boys in Brampton, Ontario put a much nicer interior together.

 

[Kern Dog]

I do not care about how fast an electric car is. A silent car with no vibration does not interest me in the least. The thrill I get from going fast comes from the smells, the sound, the vibrations and the push back in the seat....all working together.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Maybe, but you needn't get the big Telsa. The dual motor Model 3 can be had for $35,000 less than that and still go 0-60 in just over three seconds. That's with the mileage optimized tires, not stickies. I'm sure they would take a bath at Nurburgring, but here it is anyway.

It would be interesting to know how much juice was left in the batteries after driving like that.

 

[Don selleck]

2%

 

[Cojohnso1]

Electric cars are the future for mass transit. Once they become cheaper. And it's heading that way. New battery technologies that can charge in minutes and last as long as a tank of gas. Maintenance less expensive. As well as energy efficiency. Not to mention flat out safer. Just denying and chirping from the cheap seats always lose to facts in the end.

But I personally do not see electric cars taking over motorsports. Certainly not in my lifetime. And there will always be demand for classic car support. So I think we can settle down and enjoy the past and marvel to the future. Yes, we can have our cake and eat it too?