More Tesla woes

[Deleted User 1874]

I'm well into EVs and don't see anything I would buy ahead of a Tesla right now.

And do you think you are representative of a buyer of a mass market car? Are you considering buying the 3 (I thought it's the X you're after).

However, what you and I think [about the car] is largely irrelevant. It's the people that buy cheap Fords and Kias and Nissans that define the success of a mass market car maker.
Musk has clearly and repeated declared that is what he wants Tesla to be. I just don't see it.

The only way a Model 3 can be considered even remotely "mass affordable" is if the governments in each jurisdiction offer significant tax or other incentives. These are already disappearing in SoCal and most other markets where Tesla cars are sold.

Despite my dislike of Tesla's megalomaniacal approach to how we transport ourselves, I do wish them well, but it does look like another SoCal bubble waiting to burst.

I'm in the market for both luxury, sports and mass market cars actually! The X will be our luxury liner for family trips, but my wife will be keeping our Qashqai for local commuting/shopping etc with a view to replacing it with an equivalent EV in the next couple of years. She's already looking at the Model 3, although I accept it's still a fairly upmarket EV. She's not impressed with other mundane EV alternatives like the Leaf, which frankly have crap range and limited practicality. Range might not be an issue for her intended usage, but it does need to be a reasonable size too. But I do see where you are coming from with Tesla only making expensive EVs right now. But that could change pretty quickly if the 3 is successful.

[Kasfranks99]

Tesla news currently is not what anyone wants to hear. Mr Musk looks like he has aged overnight.

Not only have they just announced a recall on the Model X they have also "let staff go" at their Model 3 plant. The report has 2 sides of the story so no doubt it's somewhere in the middle.

The pressure is really on them now to start delivering some good news because people want to see the Model 3 on the roads.

http://amp.autoweek.com/article/recalls ... at-problem

https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2 ... on-ramp-up

[Deleted User 1874]

Tesla news currently is not what anyone wants to hear. Mr Musk looks like he has aged overnight.

Not only have they just announced a recall on the Model X they have also "let staff go" at their Model 3 plant. The report has 2 sides of the story so no doubt it's somewhere in the middle.

The pressure is really on them now to start delivering some good news because people want to see the Model 3 on the roads.

http://amp.autoweek.com/article/recalls ... at-problem

https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2 ... on-ramp-up

The Model X recall is trivial, some cable tension adjustment in the folding rear seats. Interesting that it even made the news. Our Qashqai had 3 similar recalls for trivial items in the first 2 years, but I don't remember any of those being newsworthy at the time.

[Wing Commander]

I wonder if Mr Musk agrees with the saying 'There is no such thing as bad publicity.'

[VanB]

Personally I think Tesla should be applauded for the pioneering work they've done to bring EVs into the mainstream. Whether or not they can fulfil their commitments with the model 3 remains to be seen and, as we look forward, whether or not there will be an appropriate charging infrastructure for the burgeoning market in EVs also remains to be seen.

[Deleted User 1874]

Personally I think Tesla should be applauded for the pioneering work they've done to bring EVs into the mainstream. Whether or not they can fulfil their commitments with the model 3 remains to be seen and, as we look forward, whether or not there will be an appropriate charging infrastructure for the burgeoning market in EVs also remains to be seen.

I agree and what Tesla have proven over the last few years is that proper EVs (not just token gesture shopping carts*) are feasible, at least for those who do have private parking. Tesla have certainly shook up the mainstream industry who have been dragging their heels up to now. Just flicking through this month's Autocar in the supermarket, there is much talk about exciting future EVs, but Tesla are the only company actually delivering the goods today. I'd love to see some serious competition in the luxury/performance EV market, but in 2017 it simply doesn't exist. Hopefully by 2020 other manufacturers will have something I can actually buy!

*nothing against the Nissan Leaf and similar EVs, but they simply don't have the range, space or performance to cut it as a complete family car. But they make a very good second car or short haul commuter.

[happy days]

The formula in Silicone Valley is grab attention of your product, then sell on to a major competitor for a very large capital gain. Isn' t that being repeated here?

[Dandock]

I think it also remains to be seen whether Tesla and the coming generation of EVs can ultimately be economic. The relevant chemistry has already seen serious price increases in the last year or so and both principal elements of current battery tech are either rare or extremely rare. Further prices rises would therefore seem inevitable. Unless some radical and economical new battery is developed I fear practical EVs might remain the preserve of the wealthy - or at least the quite comfortable - for the foreseeable future.

[Deleted User 1874]

The formula in Silicone Valley is grab attention of your product, then sell on to a major competitor for a very large capital gain. Isn' t that being repeated here?

Maybe, maybe not. Tesla have made some huge investments in infrastructure and now battery manufacturing. I'm sure that will be of interest to the wider motor industry but other manufacturers seem to be doing their own thing at the moment. Personally I don't really care who owns what as long as the product is good at the time. You could have said the same about Apple a decade or so ago, but they didn't sell out.

[Dandock]

The formula in Silicone Valley is grab attention of your product, then sell on to a major competitor for a very large capital gain. Isn' t that being repeated here?

Maybe, maybe not. Tesla have made some huge investments in infrastructure and now battery manufacturing. I'm sure that will be of interest to the wider motor industry but other manufacturers seem to be doing their own thing at the moment. Personally I don't really care who owns what as long as the product is good at the time. You could have said the same about Apple a decade or so ago, but they didn't sell out.

Once the established big- hitters get started Tesla could well become the new Betamax.