I have read 3/4 of it so far and it is very entertaining. It would have been better if some editor had cut the parts that get too “personal”, in particular some parts of “A Culture of Secrets, Fear, and Abuse”.
There are tons of references and I can’t judge if it is true or not but it seems to be thoroughly searched.
The whole thing smelled of Theranos (but at least they have a viable product) and Trump.
To me this report is like these WTC conspiracy videos that I used to watch as a kid. Or listening to conspiracy theories in general. It can be very entertaining, because they pull out some facts, link them together and build a convincing narrative. It’s the same with this one. It’s awfully preconceived. The author managed to fit all good things going on for Tesla on one page.
Will Tesla achieve success and become profitable without the help of EV credits? I don’t know, it will be very difficult, but you can’t say they aren’t trying. Tesla is not a scam, the same goes for SpaceX. It’s already very impressive what they have achieved so far. When I get into a Model 3 with the minimalistic layout, white interior, glass roof, I feel like it’s exactly the kind of design that I expect. Why is no other major automaker doing this?
I wish as well that the author would have kept his tone more neutral and laid out facts as they are without adding much drama. He does not hide he is shorting the stock so of course there is due diligence to make on both side.
Nobody on this forum denies that Tesla are usually great cars, otherwise there would not be so many fans and happy owners recommending the car to their friends.
On the other hand, what I am taking out of the report and would like to really check are these 3 elements, which we will know soon enough anyway :
Anyway. In the meantime, let’s fetch some popcorn to see how it evolves.
Is your question related to automobile design or to EVs in general? It’s true that other carmakers have been slow to switch to EVs in general, but i suspect it is rather for profitability reason. Given their scale, big players like VW and Mercedes cannot afford to sell a float of EV at loss, and they cannot rely on equity raise or taxpayer money as Tesla does. Plus, let’s not forget that so far EVs are still quite expensive compared to ICE vehicles, so players like Renault cannot propose electric sedans because the final price would be simply too expensive for their target customers.
That said, they are slowly coming. VW has started to release its ID.3, which from what i understand is supposed to be the replacement of the golf (i.e a mass market vehicle). It is not as slick nor as premium as a TSLA but given the price difference I think they will be able to compete:
In the more premium segment, Mercedes will release next year its EQS (electrification of the S class), which looks quite interesting:
So after years of complacency, competition is coming. Let’s see how it turns out!
This VW looks boring, inside it looks just as it has for many years. The Mercedes: wow, that’s maybe even a bit too futuristic, but let’s see how the real car looks. When you get into a Tesla Model 3&Y, it just looks modern. It’s not trying too hard, there is no pretending.
Regarding the biggest worries:
To finish off, I am excited for battery day in September. Musk is really pumping that event and if he doesn’t want to lose credibility, they should announce something really big. Dry cathode? Maybe even solid state battery? If it’s anything underwhelming, I will be the first one to ring the alarm!
Executive fluctuations are definitely due to being in Silicon valley,where the competition for executives particular CFOs is brutal.
Having said that, Elon musk is the longest tenured CEO in the automotive industry. And is one of the longest tenure of the entire industry.
In a weird way, he is the most experienced automotive CEO
I already unsubscribed from this thread, but could not resist revisiting it for updates, which possibly speaks to the “emotions” dimension this company appeals to for potential investors. As I revisited the thread, I might as well spill my 2 cents …
This VW looks boring, inside it looks just as it has for many years. The Mercedes: wow, that’s maybe even a bit too futuristic, but let’s see how the real car looks. When you get into a Tesla Model 3&Y, it just looks modern. It’s not trying too hard, there is no pretending.
Your emotions about cars and how they feel are no doubtably real, but I would recommend against letting that interfere with your initial question, i.e. whether to invest in TSLA shares?
I like many things produced by many different companies, but that doesn’t mean I’m invested in the companies that produce these things. Vice versa, I’m. invested in companies whose products don’t particularly appeal to me. I’m sure some of you are, too, at least via index ETFs/funds?
Don’t confuse the product with the company.
Nice picture. Somehow reminds me of “Oblivion”. No bad pun intended, just my first association based on colouring impressions. 
I actually like the movie.
Regarding the biggest worries:
- Autopilot : I know that even among Tesla sheep, the belief that FSD is just around the corner is not unanimous. Many are happy with incremental improvements and even if it comes in 2030, it’s gonna be something great. They are, however, confident, that Tesla is in the best position to achieve it first and then they can just unlock it.
So, I wouldn’t be able to speak for myself working for a holding company that also works on autonomous cars. Even if I did, I would not be able to speak about my own experiences, as they would be NDAd. So, I heard this from … a friend. They told me they have recently (2020) ridden both “self-driving” cars engineered by Waymo and by Tesla. There’s just no competition (according to them). The Tesla is more or less around the level of modern ~same-in-price new cars with driver assistant systems (as they call them more carefully?). The Waymo car can really drive by itself without a driver. Period.
Caveat: restricted driving conditions, etc etc. However, according to my, er, friend, these AIs would really be leagues apart where with one player they would be comfortable letting their kids ride their local ride when with the competitor this would be completely out of the picture (i.e. no ride for the kids).
But who am I to know? 2030 sounds like a reasonable horizon to have self-driving locked-in. By some company. If it’s TSLA, I’d like to promise you to eat my hat, but 2030 is so far out, the hat would be rotten by then.
Cool narrative, I would recommend to read up on some SeekingAlpha analysis, doesn’t have to be entirely bears, just to get some perspective that maybe the revenue narrative is sustainable only for a few more quarters?
Um yeah, we’ll see.
On paper he might be the longest-tenured CEO, yes.
Most experienced though? Hardly.
First, he doesn’t have an engineering degree, second, he doesn‘t have much prior automotive experience, third he‘s only part-time executive in the automotive industry, spending considerable time on his other ventures.
Toyota‘s Akio Toyoda has trailed Musk only by a couple of months being at the helm of the company - but has been with the company since 1984, when Musk was a 12-year loner high school kid. Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada has been with the company since before Musk was even born.
Tesla anmounced a 1 to 5 stock split to make the company more accessible for smaller investors: https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/11/cars/tesla-stock-split/index.html
Now, all majors brokers offer fractional shares. I don’t think this is going to have a big impact.
Maybe, but this logic is going nowhere. Tesla will continue to lead on market share and technology.
At this point, I see two reasons why Tesla is not the first automaker on the market:
I don’t know what kind of Tesla they drove, but if it’s anything available to the public, then it’s no secret that it sucks! I know it, I used it. But it’s not about if you can quickly show good results in a limited area. Rather, it’s about where your approach will lead you. The big and expensive Lidar and meticulously mapped streets are not going to be easy to scale.
Tesla on the other hand has the cameras and their own chips already in customers’ cars and out on the road. They need to solve the software part. Recently Musk said that he has been testing the alpha version of the next autopilot update. He said that the old autopilot is kind of 2.5D when it comes to input processing. The new autopilot will be 4D, meaning it will not only build a 3D map of the surroundings but also take time into account. Let’s see if the update can deliver on his promise.
That this stock goes up so much based on a stock split announcement is really telling …
Are you kidding? Now instead of paying $1500 you will only need to pay $300. The stock will clearly get cheaper so it’s a great opportunity to buy! 1500? expensive! 300? take my money! 
Now 400$ after the split 
Missed out another +33% within a week.
Easiest 5k $ I‘ve ever made…
Are you bragging about getting lucky on a lottery? 
P/E hovering around 1000 as we’re speaking.
Shorting TSLA becomes a better idea of making big bucks by the day. Just unsure about the timing, when I should pull the trigger. Waiting for Cortana to buy…
Somehow it reminds me of the bitcoin hype, I guess it can be self sustaining for a while 
What’s wrong with a PE of 1000? Stocks are all about expectations from the future. Wouldn’t be shocked if Tesla hits 2T market cap in 5 years.
I guess what he means is that Tesla would have to multiply their earnings 40x to reach a more respectable P/E of 25, at the current price. Not sure if this can be achieved in 5 years.
We are going to watch this company become the biggest out there. 2T market cap incoming.
