Tesla Motors death watch

[Red Squirrel]

I'd love to see them survive, and I've love to see electric cars actually be commonly available.

TBH I'm surprised Tesla has lasted this long though. Do they even have dealerships? How do you buy one?

Their cars are also more on the high end side from what I understand, they should have at least a few low end models that are in like the 20-30k range.

I'd totally go electric if it was more affordable. Though I'd have to really sit down and figure out how much I'd save by not putting gas in as maybe the premium is actually worth it. Then again, I don't even know where I'd have to go to buy one. Do you have to order it? And where do you get it serviced?

What would be neat is the heat is probably more instant too as I'm guessing it's a heat element, so the windows would defrost faster in the morning, and since it's plugged in it would run off the home power anyway when you start it. Electricity is dirt cheap compared to gas.

 

[Kaido]

I'd love to see them survive, and I've love to see electric cars actually be commonly available.

TBH I'm surprised Tesla has lasted this long though. Do they even have dealerships? How do you buy one?

Their cars are also more on the high end side from what I understand, they should have at least a few low end models that are in like the 20-30k range.

I'd totally go electric if it was more affordable. Though I'd have to really sit down and figure out how much I'd save by not putting gas in as maybe the premium is actually worth it. Then again, I don't even know where I'd have to go to buy one. Do you have to order it? And where do you get it serviced?

What would be neat is the heat is probably more instant too as I'm guessing it's a heat element, so the windows would defrost faster in the morning, and since it's plugged in it would run off the home power anyway when you start it. Electricity is dirt cheap compared to gas.

Buy them online, just like ordering on Amazon. Ship time is 2 months tho :biggrin:

I think they can come & pick it up for service, but service is very minimal. iirc there is a required $600/year service contract if you want to keep the warranty for the 8 years on the battery & stuff. They also have "rangers" who can make housecalls for $100 a pop if you don't want to go anywhere:

http://www.teslamotors.com/service#/service-plans

It'd be cool to get one, for sure. But for $70k, I can also buy a his & hers fully-loaded 2014 Forester with amazing safety features like knee airbags, a long, reliable history, the ability to drive across the country & fuel up anywhere, AWD, etc. So there are tradeoffs. Supposedly next year there's supposed to be an AWD model of the Model S after the Model X comes out, so that would be incredible not only for snowy weather but also for performance. Sign me up! :thumbsup:

 

[Crono]

I'd love to see them survive, and I've love to see electric cars actually be commonly available.

TBH I'm surprised Tesla has lasted this long though. Do they even have dealerships? How do you buy one?

They have their own dealerships. They call them stores, though (kind of like Apple stores, but for Teslas). You can also order direct.

http://www.teslamotors.com/findus

A lot of independent dealers have joined up to have them banned in various states through legislation. They won in Texas but failed in New York. Tesla wants to cut out the middleman and give fixed prices to customers, but of course all the dealerships would lose out on revenue and potentially their entire industry would disappear if all the automotive companies just open up car shops with minimal staff, no commissions, etc and little or no markup over "MSRP".

 

[Kaido]

They have their own dealerships. Kinda like Apple stores, but for Teslas. You can also order direct.

http://www.teslamotors.com/findus

A lot of independent dealers have joined up to have them banned in various states through legislation. They won in Texas but failed in New York. Tesla wants to cut out the middleman and give fixed prices to customers, but of course all the dealerships would lose out on revenue and potentially their entire industry would disappear if all the automotive companies just open up car shops with minimal staff, no commissions, etc and little or no markup over "MSRP".

To me, the only point of a dealer is to test-drive the car, but usually you already have your mind made up about what you want, so whatever. I really like Tesla's ordering style. Local grocery delivery, Amazon.com Prime delivery, and now car delivery

 

[Crono]

To me, the only point of a dealer is to test-drive the car, but usually you already have your mind made up about what you want, so whatever. I really like Tesla's ordering style. Local grocery delivery, Amazon.com Prime delivery, and now car delivery

Instead of a $70 yearly fee, you just pay a one-time $70,000 fee.

 

[Imp]

I'd totally go electric if it was more affordable. Though I'd have to really sit down and figure out how much I'd save by not putting gas in as maybe the premium is actually worth it. Then again, I don't even know where I'd have to go to buy one. Do you have to order it? And where do you get it serviced?

I know you're not in Torona, but there's a dealership at Yorkdale. They park their cars in the underground garage. Showroom is nearby an escalator to the garage.

 

[Howard]

If Tesla continues at its current rate of production, it will consume the worlds supply of lithium batteries in the next few years.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news...ne-double-global-demand-for-its-battery-cells

This no more cell phones, no more laptops, no more tablets,,, nothing will be left.

However, who is to say telsa is not going to create a new type of battery to fill the worlds shortage of lithium batteries?

Interesting. The title of the article, though, is terribly written.

EDIT: I guess everyone will have to switch to vacuum-insulated NaS batteries then.

 

[Red Squirrel]

They have their own dealerships. They call them stores, though (kind of like Apple stores, but for Teslas). You can also order direct.

http://www.teslamotors.com/findus

A lot of independent dealers have joined up to have them banned in various states through legislation. They won in Texas but failed in New York. Tesla wants to cut out the middleman and give fixed prices to customers, but of course all the dealerships would lose out on revenue and potentially their entire industry would disappear if all the automotive companies just open up car shops with minimal staff, no commissions, etc and little or no markup over "MSRP".

Wow sucks that it's possible to pass legisliation like that. A company should be able to sell their product how ever they see fit. Sounds like an interesting model to sell through. Cut out the middle man.

 

[zerocool84]

Wow sucks that it's possible to pass legisliation like that. A company should be able to sell their product how ever they see fit. Sounds like an interesting model to sell through. Cut out the middle man.

The same way cable companies keep their monopolies, throw tons of money to the politicians.

 

[CPA]

I've not seen one yet and drive around 60 miles a day.

Same here.

What's funny is that Tesla has not sold more than 10,000 cars worldwide. US alone has over 250 million vehicles, yet so many people have seen so many Teslas on the road. Sorry, find that hard to believe.

 

[Perknose]

Same here.

What's funny is that Tesla has not sold more than 10,000 cars worldwide. US alone has over 250 million vehicles, yet so many people have seen so many Teslas on the road. Sorry, find that hard to believe.

Everyone must be outright lying then, right?

Please include me when I say I've seen a couple recently here in the tragically unhip, yet green and glorious, Quaker-founded Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Same here.

What's funny is that Tesla has not sold more than 10,000 cars worldwide. US alone has over 250 million vehicles, yet so many people have seen so many Teslas on the road. Sorry, find that hard to believe.

Quite possibly because many of us don't live out there in the bible belt, Population: 1 per 10 miles^2.

Teslas owners are concentrated in the major cities. And voila, many ATOTers a) live in the city, and b) would recognize one when they see one.

 

[Crono]

Same here.

What's funny is that Tesla has not sold more than 10,000 cars worldwide. US alone has over 250 million vehicles, yet so many people have seen so many Teslas on the road. Sorry, find that hard to believe.

Considering how many of us live in or near large metropolitan areas with 5 million or more people within, say, a 25 mile radius, I would think it's really not unlikely to see a lot of Teslas.

I've seen a couple in my area along with a few Lamborghinis and even a McLaren MP4-12C Spider or two, though cars like Audis, BMWs, Porsches etc are far more common in the luxury segment, and Priuses outnumber them by at least 100:1 here.

EDIT: damn, NikolaeVarius beat me to the same argument

 

[Crono]

To me, the only point of a dealer is to test-drive the car, but usually you already have your mind made up about what you want, so whatever. I really like Tesla's ordering style. Local grocery delivery, Amazon.com Prime delivery, and now car delivery

Just came across this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...76249179&dcn=1

 

[vailr]

If Tesla continues at its current rate of production, it will consume the worlds supply of lithium batteries in the next few years.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news...ne-double-global-demand-for-its-battery-cells

This no more cell phones, no more laptops, no more tablets,,, nothing will be left.

However, who is to say telsa is not going to create a new type of battery to fill the worlds shortage of lithium batteries?

New Lithium Reserve Discovered in Wyoming Could Meet All US Demand
http://inhabitat.com/new-lithium-reserve-discovered-in-wyoming-could-meet-all-us-demand/

 

[Printer Bandit]

Lithium is far from rare—according to Treehugger, Bolivia’s reserves alone contain enough lithium to power 4.8 billion electric cars

 

[zinfamous]

Same here.

What's funny is that Tesla has not sold more than 10,000 cars worldwide. US alone has over 250 million vehicles, yet so many people have seen so many Teslas on the road. Sorry, find that hard to believe.

Yeah, I only see at least 4/day in my little town,

Guess I'm lying.

but as others have said, they are very much in the earlier adopter phase, as with any new tech. It is certainly an elite luxury item.


Further, I can't walk very far without running into yet another glasshole (glasshole! what is that, you say? Why, that is the new term used to reference the oblivious morons walking around with their google glasses! Wait--you don't see anyone in your area walking around with google glasses? My....well, there's a reason for that. They are only available in 2 markets right now and the original test allotment went out instantly, with thousands still on the waiting list)

 

[zinfamous]

New Lithium Reserve Discovered in Wyoming Could Meet All US Demand
http://inhabitat.com/new-lithium-reserve-discovered-in-wyoming-could-meet-all-us-demand/

super cool beans

 

[Ms. DICKINSON]

They're rolling out sedans as rentals and supposedly charge 500$ per day. I'm down to rent one if I get a special lane to speed on and pack 10x the lithium.

 

[rockyct]

Booooo.. we all need to waste some time somehow. Why not do it speculating about the failure of a massive company that's doing okay?

Fair enough. Most of the threads are unnecessary at best. This one's a bit more troll-y however.

Having a -16% profit margin while reporting record losses = doing okay.
/California logic
Is there any way to short the entire state of California? It's drowning in debt right now and there's a law of economics that tax revenues can almost never exceed 20% of GDP, meaning they can't tax their way out of this.

Yeah...you're a bit out of touch with that. It turns out Democrats can actually legislate responsibly with a super majority. We'll have a $1.2-4.4 billion surplus this year: http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...b43b2c-1efa-11e3-8459-657e0c72fec8_story.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/us/californias-new-problem-too-much-money.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 

[Imported]

Same here.

What's funny is that Tesla has not sold more than 10,000 cars worldwide. US alone has over 250 million vehicles, yet so many people have seen so many Teslas on the road. Sorry, find that hard to believe.

There are two Tesla dealerships within a 10 mile radius from my workplace and Tesla's HQ is is in the same city. Probably one of the reasons why I see so many. There's also 2 or 3 in the underground parking lot of the my apartment complex. Wish I could afford one. They just started finishing up all the 220v connections in the garage!

 

[AViking]

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how well they were going to do. There starting prices are ridiculous, we are a country with the mentality that we want things at the cheapest price even if it means putting American's out of work and outsourcing stuff to third world countries.

MURICA!

If you want to predict the death of Tesla you should follow the competition. The moment a cheap Chinese knockoff arrives Americans will abandon Tesla to save a buck.

Telsa needs to sell in other markets. Maybe they do. I've never seen one of their cars in Europe though.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I don't know why people are saying Teslas cost too much. Its marketed as a luxury car. Its at luxury car prices.

 

[AViking]

Maybe they cost too little. If they have a multi month backlog and only rich people are buying them they should increase the price. Drop the price later when they get the battery tech under control and can sell to the general public.

They really need to solve the battery problem and be able to produce more cars.

 

[jpeyton]

Tesla has a very long, bright future ahead.