rkbabang Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 rkbabang, i don't see how you compare volt to a 15k car, volt is not a traditional car. (its like comparing when first cell phone came out, its so big and heavy look at my traditional phone its better, but you forget the cell phone is mobile) maybe because of the chevy badge (one reason i bought up corvette, its a 100k car) to say volt compare to a 15k is similar (looks, size, comfort, etc etc) you forgot the ONE main reason volt exists, the electric plugin, the price premium is definitely not for everyone. No I didn't forget that. I put "total cost of ownership". The electric plugin is supposed to save you money, if not, what's the point? also we need to compare apples with apples sure you can argue you don't want to pay the price premium but doesn't mean others won't. as for the toyota prius at 23k, that is the base model and its not a electric plugin, toyota prius model that is electric plugin is 40k (after rebate is $32k similarly price to volt) You could be right, maybe the coolness factor or perceived environmental benefits (even thought there probably aren't really any) may be enough for many people to pay the steep premium. I don't understand it, but then again, I don't understand a lot about how most people think. And the other factor is, GM may make a profit on it even if it is a very limited selling product. That I can at least wrap my head around as a strategy. Sell a few and make some money until the price comes down far enough to sell them to the rest of us who care more about what we are getting for our money. Personally, If I wanted to spend that much on a compact car I'd be looking at a BMW 3 series, not a Volt or a Prius, but even that would be out of the question for me. I'm way to cheap to do something like that. I'd rather buy an Elantra, drive it for 10+ years and invest the rest. We'll see if I still feel this way in 2017-2020 when I look to replace it. Who knows, electric vehicles may be a good value proposition by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyten1 Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 rkbabang i am with you, i would love to have a volt or model s to play with (its cool) but i am too cheap to pay for them :) at least at the current prices. hy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERICOPOLY Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 A view from underneath: http://www.insideline.com/tesla/model-s/2012/2012-tesla-model-s-signature-performance-suspension-walkaround.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERICOPOLY Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 The 24 minute mark of this video points out that the SUV version, the Model X from Tesla, outperforms the Porsche 911 in 0-60. http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/tesla-unveils-model-x It's all wheel drive too (dual motor). They are going to sell a ton of these is my prediction ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Blog post by Musk: http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/update-elon-musk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERICOPOLY Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 In any case, the idea of saving energy or emissions with exclusively battery powered cars flies in the face of the limits of battery technology. It takes hundreds of pounds of the highest tech batteries to store the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline. That's hundreds of pounds of batteries that the driver has to haul around to the next charging station. It would take a reinforced hummer to haul around the equivalent weight in batteries of the energy in a half full tank of gas of a small car. Based on what you said, the Tesla Model S cannot be made unless it is a reinforced Hummer. Yet the EPA rates it at 89 MPG equivalent (going from memory here). That's one hell of an efficient Hummer! Anyways, energy efficiency isn't the entire story. We finance a massive military in part to secure our access to the global oil markets. Maybe you are burning domestic fossil fuels like natural gas (or even coal) to generate electricity to power the cars? That's a win/win even if the math worked out to be no better than burning gasoline (however the math does work out to be better than with gasoline due to the lost energy of the internal combustion engine). I saw somebody argue on TV last night that Obama wasted 80 billion on green energy subsidies. He threw the Tesla investment in there. It just seems to me that energy security and national security are in the same pot. Do we need as many aircraft carriers etc... if we didn't run our economy on oil? How much do we spend on defense and can 80 billion be saved from our defense budget without reliance on oil supplies from the Persian Gulf? I suspect that we just spent hundreds of billions fighting a war in part for the oil security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkbabang Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 In any case, the idea of saving energy or emissions with exclusively battery powered cars flies in the face of the limits of battery technology. It takes hundreds of pounds of the highest tech batteries to store the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline. That's hundreds of pounds of batteries that the driver has to haul around to the next charging station. It would take a reinforced hummer to haul around the equivalent weight in batteries of the energy in a half full tank of gas of a small car. Based on what you said, the Tesla Model S cannot be made unless it is a reinforced Hummer. Yet the EPA rates it at 89 MPG equivalent (going from memory here). That's one hell of an efficient Hummer! Anyways, energy efficiency isn't the entire story. We finance a massive military in part to secure our access to the global oil markets. Maybe you are burning domestic fossil fuels like natural gas (or even coal) to generate electricity to power the cars? That's a win/win even if the math worked out to be no better than burning gasoline (however the math does work out to be better than with gasoline due to the lost energy of the internal combustion engine). I saw somebody argue on TV last night that Obama wasted 80 billion on green energy subsidies. He threw the Tesla investment in there. It just seems to me that energy security and national security are in the same pot. Do we need as many aircraft carriers etc... if we didn't run our economy on oil? How much do we spend on defense and can 80 billion be saved from our defense budget without reliance on oil supplies from the Persian Gulf? I suspect that we just spent hundreds of billions fighting a war in part for the oil security. By the same token, if we didn't spend $trillions on foreign wars to protect our oil supply and gasoline was much more expensive, private capital would be pouring into trying to find an alternative. Instead we are taxing (stealing) money from everyone to fund both sides (keeping oil cheap and available plus finding alternatives that private capital no longer sees the need for now that gasoline is cheap and available) one side of which entails the murder of hundreds of thousands overseas... Socialism, war, and central planning is bad from every angle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-06/elon-musk-s-solarcity-plans-ipo-supported-by-solar-slump.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsAValueTrap Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 My prediction: SolarCity will have very high short interest when it goes public. (Probably 20%+?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsAValueTrap Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 http://www.teslamotors.com/en_CA/forum/forums/it-true-there-will-be-model-s-price-increase-near-future Tesla will increase prices on the Model S. Is this a sign that they are missing their margin targets at the current Model S pricing? *Not gonna lie... this has been an awful short so far. The borrow is ridiculous. We'll see how it all works out in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motownsf Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I know of 4 people who got the S and are having electrical/software problems. The car is awesome to ride in though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsad Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I know of 4 people who got the S and are having electrical/software problems. The car is awesome to ride in though. It will get better after each generation comes out. Remember the Hyundai Stellar or Pony...now look at Hyundai today! Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubuy2wron Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 I think I will let smarter guys than me figure out if ya should invest in Mr Musks ventures. He certainly has lead an interesting life so far and he seems to be having a lot of fun. His persona reminds me of some of the characters in Robert Heinlein novels from my youth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fareastwarriors Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 I think I will let smarter guys than me figure out if ya should invest in Mr Musks ventures. He certainly has lead an interesting life so far and he seems to be having a lot of fun. His persona reminds me of some of the characters in Robert Heinlein novels from my youth. He actually reminds me of Tony Stark from Iron Man. Billionaire, inventor/engineer/etc of course tony is way cooler... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 I think I will let smarter guys than me figure out if ya should invest in Mr Musks ventures. He certainly has lead an interesting life so far and he seems to be having a lot of fun. His persona reminds me of some of the characters in Robert Heinlein novels from my youth. He actually remembers me of Tony Stark from Iron Man. Billionaire, inventor/engineer/etc of course tony is way cooler... Oh you are really going to hate hearing this. It goes straight for the inner boy in all of us. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-13/elon-musk-the-21st-century-industrialist "Jon Favreau, a friend and the director of the Iron Man movies, has called Musk the basis for his version of comic book hero Tony Stark, the playboy inventor who builds a flying weaponized suit." Agh! Now tell me that does not hurt ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERICOPOLY Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Well, I intend to go long. These shorts are going to be squeezed (that's not part of the thesis, it's just fun to think of your detractors being skewered). Dang it, I really should have followed through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsad Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 More Tesla S vehicles sold than Mercedes, BMW or Audi's top vehicle. Cheers! http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/13/autos/tesla-sales-bmw-mercedes-audi/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsad Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I think I will let smarter guys than me figure out if ya should invest in Mr Musks ventures. He certainly has lead an interesting life so far and he seems to be having a lot of fun. His persona reminds me of some of the characters in Robert Heinlein novels from my youth. He actually remembers me of Tony Stark from Iron Man. Billionaire, inventor/engineer/etc of course tony is way cooler... Oh you are really going to hate hearing this. It goes straight for the inner boy in all of us. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-13/elon-musk-the-21st-century-industrialist "Jon Favreau, a friend and the director of the Iron Man movies, has called Musk the basis for his version of comic book hero Tony Stark, the playboy inventor who builds a flying weaponized suit." Agh! Now tell me that does not hurt ;) Really, isn't Richard Branson more like Tony Stark...he's not an engineer, but is taking people into space or funding alternative energy sources. Plus he's got the daredevil-marketing ploy angle covered as well...and the hot babes! Finally, isn't the Stark goatee alot like Branson's? Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VAL9000 Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I have a very small (<5%) position in Tesla. Mostly for the glamour. I tell myself that when my investment is worth enough to buy a Tesla vehicle, then I will allow myself to do so. Don't ask me what I'll be driving if the bet goes sour :P Since we're checking history on Tesla... This position is still < 5% of my portfolio, but is up 197% for me (from Oct 2011). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fareastwarriors Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I have a very small (<5%) position in Tesla. Mostly for the glamour. I tell myself that when my investment is worth enough to buy a Tesla vehicle, then I will allow myself to do so. Don't ask me what I'll be driving if the bet goes sour :P Since we're checking history on Tesla... This position is still < 5% of my portfolio, but is up 197% for me (from Oct 2011). is it enough to buy a tesla car yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VAL9000 Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I have a very small (<5%) position in Tesla. Mostly for the glamour. I tell myself that when my investment is worth enough to buy a Tesla vehicle, then I will allow myself to do so. Don't ask me what I'll be driving if the bet goes sour :P Since we're checking history on Tesla... This position is still < 5% of my portfolio, but is up 197% for me (from Oct 2011). is it enough to buy a tesla car yet? Not yet...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fareastwarriors Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2013/09/05/life-imitates-art-in-elon-musks-new-iron-man-routine/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_corp_intel Life Imitates Art in Elon Musk’s New Iron Man Routine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 One of Africa's finest exports.... ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grenville Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2013/09/05/life-imitates-art-in-elon-musks-new-iron-man-routine/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_corp_intel Life Imitates Art in Elon Musk’s New Iron Man Routine Looking forward to the next few years! Awesome and unbelievable stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CONeal Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Was able to pickup on the Einstein biography on his desk. Anyone else have a clue what the other books were? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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