Elon Musk is a Marketing Genius

[jrandy]

I don't get why so many people want to see Tesla fail. I, for one, want to see them succeed. They are making a product that has demand, and they are defying major manufacturers in the process.

Like it or not, electric vehicles will become the norm one day. I would really like to see an electric vehicle that performs as good, or better, compared to the top performing sedans on the market today become the market leader. Otherwise, the vehicles of the future will be some electric shitbox that hits 60mph in 8+ seconds and rides around on pizza cutter tires.

Have you ever driven a prius? How about the all electric chevy volt? both of those cars are complete garbage--and they look the part too. Tesla's vehicles look decent, and are able to get out of their own way.

I want to see Tesla succeed and continue to prove that an electric vehicle doesn't have to be a boring appliance.

This is the big one for me. I'm not sure if Tesla has the ability to make it long term and I don't feel as though their products are superior to competition, but Tesla continues to focus on driving the market to have performance oriented electric cars.

As auto enthusiasts, this should be the most important aspect. I don't care if Tesla is here tomorrow or lasts another 500 years. I just want the market of electric cars to have performance options.

 

[IronSnake]

I have a 12 mile trip to work, 12 back. Sit in stop and go for a total of an hour a day probably. 20 on the way here, 40 on the way home. Nothing a Model 3 couldn't handle. It's absolutely perfect for someone in my shoes, and if I went out of town i'd likely fly/drive gas powered anyway.

Elon is arguably the smartest guy on the planet at this point. From where he started with Paypal, to selling, to funding his ventures, creating a hype train, shoring up the disinterest, and then pumping the company up again. Not sure you can find someone in the history of mankind who really has done to that degree what he has.

 

[13COBRA]

I have a 12 mile trip to work, 12 back. Sit in stop and go for a total of an hour a day probably. 20 on the way here, 40 on the way home. Nothing a Model 3 couldn't handle. It's absolutely perfect for someone in my shoes, and if I went out of town i'd likely fly/drive gas powered anyway.

Elon is arguably the smartest guy on the planet at this point. From where he started with Paypal, to selling, to funding his ventures, creating a hype train, shoring up the disinterest, and then pumping the company up again. Not sure you can find someone in the history of mankind who really has done to that degree what he has.

Completely agree.

 

[7998]

Personally I think he is trying to go private because he promised profits in the 3rd & 4th Q and it ain't going to happen. I think he has some great ideas and is true visionary of our time, but soon the gig will be up. Porsche is building a car and to rival the Model S with better range, performance & build quality. And they have the network and experience of the VW Group's global manufacturing arsenal. While you may long for a Tesla you will be able to buy a Porsche today. With a nationwide dealer network and infrastructure.

 

[08mojo]

yes but if not for those tax credits a goodly number of tesla owers would be driving a prius or volt

Same credits were available to any and all manufacturers. It's not just for Tesla. I thought I made that pretty clear?

People don't want a prius or volt because they are shit.

because bepole have bought into the overhyped bullshit that he shills

Again, compared to the other EVs on the market, I think Tesla has something people actually want to drive.

I don't give a shit if he fails or succeeds. I just want the little twit to be honest for one in his shilling his snake oil product and see his stick prices reflect the reality that the asshat has not turned a profit since he started. but the investors love his vaporware promises and swallow his line hook and all and the hypocritical enviornmentalists have deluded themselves that his product is actually "green" when it's a fallacy. most of his cars still run on dino oil, its just hidden behind the hype

Yes, the majority of power in the US still comes from hydrocarbons, but there is no doubt an EV is more efficient vs their gas counterpart.

I'm not a huge environmentalist, but I am all for doing things in a more efficient, less polluting manner. No, I don't believe humans have a significant (or insignificant for that matter) part in global warming or climate change. Yes, I do believe humans need to rethink pollution--and I believe there are more environmentally responsible ways to carry out daily routines. No, I'm not ready for an EV--I don't own nor do I plan to own one anytime soon. Yes, I support solar and other renewable energy sources. No, I'm not a democrat or leftist....etc...etc...etc...

and as I stated above if it werent for those tax credits a good portion of the sales would not have happened and he would be even further in the hole. you can say those credits go to the consumer but only AFTER they have spent that 7k on a tesla so in reality they go to the company first then the government "refunds" it to the consumer. again hiding the truth behind a false front.

Or any other EV or plug-in hybrid. When the Nissan Leaf was introduced, many people in my area took advantage of the state and federal tax credits. It looked like a damn Nissan dealership in our parking deck at work for a long time. Now there are leafs, some ford plug-in hybrids, some volts..but to see a tesla was very rare. I can think of 3 in our parking deck right now. I also manage the car charging stations--it is overwhelmingly any car but a Tesla.

While on the topic of government "refunds," do you claim any deductions on your taxes? Same shit.

a credit received at the expense of the American tax payer that goes into tesla's pocket first. Understand I am not hating on this but lets call it what it is .. a subsidy to tesla funneled through his buyers. just like cheby and the rest and soon Ford will join the list.

Keep with me now: the credit is available to any and all manufacturers. Tesla is not the only manufacturer of a vehicle that qualifies. But yes, it is a subsidy. I'd rather see my tax dollars go towards this than some of the food-stamp pushers I see in my area (as they get into a brand new lexus, while playing on their newest model iPhone pushing their government paid cart of groceries).

the ZEV are a gimmick just like federal carbon credits. it is how the hypocritical Al Whore is able to cry about global warming while living in a house that uses enough energy to sustain a small town.

Maybe a gimmick, but I think it's good to kick-start a push for responsible change.

Agreed Al Gore is a hypocrite and can't stand the guy--I also think the same for just about every celebrity, politician, person of fame.

Jesus.

You somehow got my name in there on 4 quotes that weren't even mine.

Seems like his blood pressure is through the roof. I think Elon must be his uncle

 

[Coiled03]

I have a 12 mile trip to work, 12 back. Sit in stop and go for a total of an hour a day probably. 20 on the way here, 40 on the way home. Nothing a Model 3 couldn't handle. It's absolutely perfect for someone in my shoes, and if I went out of town i'd likely fly/drive gas powered anyway.

Elon is arguably the smartest guy on the planet at this point. From where he started with Paypal, to selling, to funding his ventures, creating a hype train, shoring up the disinterest, and then pumping the company up again. Not sure you can find someone in the history of mankind who really has done to that degree what he has.

What he's done doesn't necessarily make him smart. It just makes him a good salesman. Those two don't always go hand in hand.

 

[13COBRA]

What he's done doesn't necessarily make him smart. It just makes him a good salesman. Those two don't always go hand in hand.

The billions in dollars he's racked up, tells me he's smart.

 

[Pribilof]

Still unanswered after all this time of having EVs on the market... where are people who live in cities supposed to recharge? All these cars that park on the street overnight have nowhere to charge. The closest supercharger to downtown Denver is 18 miles away.

Let's see, conservatively 1 million cars in Denver city. 16 superchargers at 2 stations. Good f-ing luck with that!

These things are OK for suburbanites, assuming they have garage space... but for people who have short commutes and these would be perfect for... have no ability to actually use them due to no charging stations.

 

[Coiled03]

The billions in dollars he's racked up, tells me he's smart.

Huh? Please tell me you aren't equating money to intelligence.

 

[13COBRA]

Huh? Please tell me you aren't equating money to intelligence.

In a round about way, yes.

Business Intelligence = making moves to further your own/business self interest = making more money

 

[Black2010]

I have a 12 mile trip to work, 12 back. Sit in stop and go for a total of an hour a day probably. 20 on the way here, 40 on the way home. Nothing a Model 3 couldn't handle. It's absolutely perfect for someone in my shoes, and if I went out of town i'd likely fly/drive gas powered anyway.

Elon is arguably the smartest guy on the planet at this point. From where he started with Paypal, to selling, to funding his ventures, creating a hype train, shoring up the disinterest, and then pumping the company up again. Not sure you can find someone in the history of mankind who really has done to that degree what he has.

Serious question so hopefully it doesn't sound condescending..

Why is the Tesla perfect for your example?

Go buy a Honda Civic For $20K (talking base prices) with aprox 35mpg and make that trip in 1.5 gallons of gas. Gas here is $2.40 a gallon so $3.6 in gas a day.

or

Go buy a Tesla 3 for $45K (after tax break and base pricing) and charge it every night. I don't recall where I read this, so if I'm wrong here forgive me, but it cost about $2-$3 in electricity to charge the car over night. let's just bump that down to $1 a night to make it easy.

With the Tesla you would need to drive the car for 22 years before you hit the break even point on your gas savings vs the cost of the car. This doesn't equate for fluid changes for the Civic or battery changes for the Tesla in a 22 year period of which both would obviously be required.

In this example - The Tesla is not exactly a cost savings or perfect for this situation. Their are several nice cars with this kind of gas mileage these days that can be had for low $30K as well so if it's party the looks then your break even point goes from 22 years to aprox 10 years. I just don't think most look at this stuff when determining the "value" of these types of cars.

 

[13COBRA]

My Viper ACR gets 22mpgs on the highway.

 

[Black2010]

My Viper ACR gets 22mpgs on the highway.

That sucks. My GTS gets 24. Guess those smooth tubes take some MPG out of the mix

We don't want to talk about city driving though. I think I get 6. Ouch!!!

 

[13COBRA]

That sucks. My GTS gets 24. Guess those smooth tubes take some MPG out of the mix

We don't want to talk about city driving though. I think I get 6. Ouch!!!

That's about what mine is too. On the track, it's 2.7mpgs haha

 

[AustinSN]

GT350 on track is basically a Prius. I calculated, with out lap and in lap (which can be mixed driving styles), 5.3mpg.

 

[Coiled03]

In a round about way, yes.

Business Intelligence = making moves to further your own/business self interest = making more money

In a very, VERY broad sense I might agree with that. But there are all kinds of examples of rich people that are flat out stupid.

 

[13COBRA]

In a very, VERY broad sense I might agree with that. But there are all kinds of examples of rich people that are flat out stupid.

Not disagreeing with you there either.

But I don't think anyone can make a sound argument that Elon Musk is flat out stupid.

 

[RDJ]

Jesus.

You somehow got my name in there on 4 quotes that weren't even mine.

LOL apologies. when I break apart a post like that I copy and past the username ... grabbed yours by mistake and once done it was self perpetrating

 

[DAVESVT2000]

To your original question, I would not be willing to tie up $36,700 dollars for 100 shares, to make $5000 before a brokers commission and short term capital gains which are much higher than long term.

So tie up that much money to maybe make $3000 ? No thanks.

 

[13COBRA]

To your original question, I would not be willing to tie up $36,700 dollars for 100 shares, to make $5000 before a brokers commission and short term capital gains which are much higher than long term.

So tie up that much money to maybe make $3000 ? No thanks.

I agree with you.