Tesla Model 3

[ldjessee00]

Originally Posted by RedDevil

The first step is the biggest - more range, top speed, power, better trim for just $2,000 extra. That's deliberate, no doubt. Once won over to upgrade from the base model people may look ahead and take another step up.

Very deliberate! As well as in that partial premium interior and the base autopilot feature together is just $5k.

As someone pointed out on a YouTube video, once they get the parking lot navigation released to the public, when people see Tesla cars driving up to their owners for them to load groceries into or to avoid a long walk in some inclement weather condition... it will be a huge selling point and many buyers will want that option.

Since that is software and not hardware feature, it make the car have a larger profit margin...

Once again they have made obvious that Tesla have purposefully limited the range and speed via software and can upgrade it later as made evident again during the upcoming release... Many people think that they are trying to make sure the Model 3 does not 'outdo' the Model S. I am sure that had to be part of it...

I assume that it was for both business and consistency/reliability that these limitations were in place and that after being out in the 'wild' (ie, the public's hands) the data coming back let Tesla see they could ease up on some of the limitations.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by ldjessee00

Yes, and that they lowered the prices for several options/features.

Going to be interesting.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ccn...60-million/amp

https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/28/1...only-car-sales

1 billion of debt is due and Tesla is closing all its stores.

[ldjessee00]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ccn...60-million/amp

https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/28/1...only-car-sales

1 billion of debt is due and Tesla is closing all its stores.

Not sure what the big deal is, Tesla has several billion in the bank in cash and is making money.

Since most buy the car online anyway, not sure closing most of the showrooms will make a big difference. Also, this gets around those states that were trying to block Tesla's from being sold in the state. Now that they have no showrooms/dealerships, maybe this will allow them to get around those kind of blocks?

[JSH]

Originally Posted by ldjessee00

Not sure what the big deal is, Tesla has several billion in the bank in cash and is making money.

Since most buy the car online anyway, not sure closing most of the showrooms will make a big difference. Also, this gets around those states that were trying to block Tesla's from being sold in the state. Now that they have no showrooms/dealerships, maybe this will allow them to get around those kind of blocks?

The big deal is that Tesla is promising a Chinese factory, the Semi, the Model Y, and the new Roadster within 2 years. The Gigafactory alone will likely burn up all of Tesla's remaining cash this year. Where do they get money for tooling up 3 new models?

Tesla stock dropped 8% yesterday. Do you think the market is in the mood to loan Tesla another $5-6 billion in capital?

Closing their store in states that allow direct sales does nothing to allow Tesla to sell cars in states that don't allow direct sales.

[roflwaffle]

Originally Posted by JSH

The big deal is that Tesla is promising a Chinese factory, the Semi, the Model Y, and the new Roadster within 2 years. The Gigafactory alone will likely burn up all of Tesla's remaining cash this year. Where do they get money for tooling up 3 new models?

Tesla stock dropped 8% yesterday. Do you think the market is in the mood to loan Tesla another $5-6 billion in capital?

Closing their store in states that allow direct sales does nothing to allow Tesla to sell cars in states that don't allow direct sales.

The Shanghai factory is mostly being financed locally, and the Semi and Roadster are likely going to be lower volume, especially initially, so I don't think they'll have trouble there. They'll spend some more at GF1, but I don't think it'll run them dry this year because Panasonic provides the capital for the battery production hardware. They'll need a decent chunk of change for the Model Y, probably more than for GF1, although keeping it close to the 3 should help with that.

https://cleantechnica.com/2019/01/31...gigafactories/

[ME_Andy]

It looks like the Model 3 is on track to be the next Toyota Camry. I already see them everywhere, several per day.

It's kind of funny that the biggest risk to Tesla now seem to be Elon's Twitter habit. Put that into perspective.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by roflwaffle

The Shanghai factory is mostly being financed locally, and the Semi and Roadster are likely going to be lower volume, especially initially, so I don't think they'll have trouble there. They'll spend some more at GF1, but I don't think it'll run them dry this year because Panasonic provides the capital for the battery production hardware. They'll need a decent chunk of change for the Model Y, probably more than for GF1, although keeping it close to the 3 should help with that.

https://cleantechnica.com/2019/01/31...gigafactories/

The Semi will share almost nothing with any of the Tesla's current vehicles so they are starting from scratch. Even low volume production will be very expensive to tool up.

The Roadster is low volume but that doesn't make the tools any less expensive. A stamping tool is a stamping tool. (Unless we are talking soft tooling that will only run hundreds of parts). Tooling the body in white and interior panels will cost the same as a high-volume car.

The Model Y does share a large percentage of parts with the Model 3 but that includes things like nuts and bolts. The most expensive parts like body panels will be unique.

Tesla will need to kick off long-lead-time tooling at least 1 year before production so for 2020 production those tools need to be kicked off this year. Industry standards is 30% upfront for design / 30% to order materials and start building the tool.

[aerohead]

The other night,the CBS Evening News reported that Tesla, entry-level,low-cost Model 3 has been released for sale.
They mentioned that the store closures are a cost-cutting move.They want to concentrate on production.
Consumer Reports has pulled their recommendation for the Model 3,citing fit and finish issues and one other criteria that I didn't capture from the broadcast.Sorry!

[RedDevil]

Originally Posted by aerohead

The other night,the CBS Evening News reported that Tesla, entry-level,low-cost Model 3 has been released for sale.
They mentioned that the store closures are a cost-cutting move.They want to concentrate on production.
Consumer Reports has pulled their recommendation for the Model 3,citing fit and finish issues and one other criteria that I didn't capture from the broadcast.Sorry!

Yup
The CR report is remarkable, as the data from the survey which was used to pull the recommendation also showed the Model 3 to be the car its owners were most content with. The survey asked what problems users had come across but failed to investigate how these were resolved, nor did it justice to the severity of the problems. Hence the bizarre #1 user satisfaction but no recommendation... Their blinders must be comfy.

[roflwaffle]

Originally Posted by JSH

The Semi will share almost nothing with any of the Tesla's current vehicles so they are starting from scratch. Even low volume production will be very expensive to tool up.

The Roadster is low volume but that doesn't make the tools any less expensive. A stamping tool is a stamping tool. (Unless we are talking soft tooling that will only run hundreds of parts). Tooling the body in white and interior panels will cost the same as a high-volume car.

The Model Y does share a large percentage of parts with the Model 3 but that includes things like nuts and bolts. The most expensive parts like body panels will be unique.

Tesla will need to kick off long-lead-time tooling at least 1 year before production so for 2020 production those tools need to be kicked off this year. Industry standards is 30% upfront for design / 30% to order materials and start building the tool.

It'll be expensive, but I don't think it has to break the bank. A quick search suggests the Y will be between $200 million and $600 million for tooling. Apparently lower volume tooling can also be less expensive with the trade-off of being less durable, but I couldn't find anything on how much less.

https://www.quora.com/How-much-do-ca...to-manufacture

All things considered, I'm not sure how much the lines and tooling for the Y, Roadster, and Semi will cost, but Tesla has experience being involved in construction and can do at least some stuff in house. For instance one of their first acquisitions they made was a tool-and-die maker, so I wouldn't be surprised if they have some advantages in tooling costs.

https://phys.org/news/2015-05-tesla-...g-company.html

Tesla also seems fairly involved in construction and acts as their own contractor for the Gigafactory, which can be helpful.

https://www.buildzoom.com/blog/tesla...construction-2