What does Elon Musk know that others don’t?
Last week, Tesla released sketches of the future plant. It’s powered by renewable energy andshaped like a diamond. So why has Musk designed a gigafactory to produce batteries for half a million cars a year (twice the number that’s been put on the road by all companies combined)? Because it’s increasingly looking necessary.
Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Lache last month increased his estimate for sales of the Model S and Model X to 129,000 units in 2017, from a previously estimated 83,000. Tesla can reach its 500,000 annual run rate before the end of the decade, Lache said, in time to put the gigafactory to full use.
Tesla’s growth will be “much steeper, their mix will be much richer, and their costs will ultimately be much lower than we previously assumed,” Lache wrote in a report on Aug. 11.
This doesn’t mean you should rush out and buy Tesla stock. Just 11 out of 20 analysts tracked by Bloomberg give the company a “buy” rating, and the stock price is 261 times estimated earnings, compared with a 12.5 estimated P/E for Ford Motor Co. Even Musk admitted last week that the stock price is “kind of high” right now.
Still, it’s easy to get caught up in Musk’s vision for the future of cars. Defying skeptics, Musk has established the biggest U.S. solar company by market value, built a private space companythat’s making deliveries to the International Space Station, and has conjured a $35 billion car company out of thin air.
Now the dude’s got diamonds in his eyes.
Spelling nitpick: Extra “d” at end of diamond in headline.
Yeah, the dude has diamonds in his eyes, and maybe somebody has their hand in our pockets like the Solar Roadway and Clean Energy Tower “dudes”. I hope we haven’t got a “pump and dump” going on among the “investors” that make such rosy sales projections and tout Tesla. I wonder how much Tesla stock Lache owns and when he plans to sell it? A 261 P/E ratio is more than just “kind of high”—-does anyone remember the dot.com days?
Note that the “plug-in sales” graph seems to have hit a “hiatus” (like global warming?). Kind of flat for 2014. Will it make seasonal jumps in 2015 as it has seemed to do in the past two years and equal the growth rate there? If so, it will likely be because of the more affordable $25K to $40K plug-ins rather than the $70K to $95K Tesla. And gasoline is almost down to $3 a gallon in my area—the fossil fuel folks are manipulating prices to keep people hooked on IC rather than switch to EV. From a car sales comparison site:
“Apparently people don’t like high-priced electric cars. Telsa’s sales tumbled 22 percent last month compared to August 2013. It’s estimated they delivered 1,800 units, down from roughly 2,300 the year preceding. Shocking, isn’t it?”
And if the economy tanks again, there will be even less demand for Teslas and any high-priced vehicles. As more Americans fall down the income ladder, fewer will be able to afford Teslas. But not to worry, Tesla is going to sell his cars in China and other places around the world! If he can’t sell them here, what makes anyone confident that he will do so “over there”? And how long will it take before that high end of the market is saturated everywhere anyway?
Maybe I’m just down on Musk after hearing him talk about establishing a Mars colony of 80,000 and flying folks there for $500K, but my crap detectors are vibrating strongly here—–“….conjured a $35 billion car company out of thin air….” is really kind of scary.
“Apparently people don’t like high-priced electric cars. Telsa’s sales tumbled 22 percent last month compared to August 2013. It’s estimated they delivered 1,800 units, down from roughly 2,300 the year preceding. Shocking, isn’t it?”
Playing devil’s advocate, since Tesla only reports quarterly sales, that sounds like speculation. Also, didn’t they halt production to do upgrades to handle the Model X SUV assembly? That’s bound to have an effect on short-term sales numbers.
“As more Americans fall down the income ladder, fewer will be able to afford Teslas. But not to worry, Tesla is going to sell his cars in China and other places around the world!”
I’m in agreement on the potential sales drop in America but there does seem to be pent-up demand in China & elsewhere. If the Model X is well-received, Tesla’s sales will do just fine – I think.
“Maybe I’m just down on Musk after hearing him talk about establishing a Mars colony of 80,000 and flying folks there for $500K, but my crap detectors are vibrating strongly here”
Okay, if he said that, I’m worried. It seems that every brilliant, driven leader is also a bit off-kilter. I have concerns that he seems to be more interested in SpaceX than his more earthbound ventures.
Oh yeah, Musk has said a lot about going to Mars, and reading about it makes one question his sanity and science knowledge, if not his honesty. Google and you’ll get a half-million hits. A quote from the BI link quoting Musk’s comments on the Colbert show follows. Watch the Colbert clip and tell me you want to buy Tesla stock.
“First, he said, if humans become “a multi-planet species, humanity as we know it is likely to propagate into the future much further than if we are a single-planet species.” In other words, if and when Earth becomes uninhabitable, human civilization would still be able to continue if we’ve established settlements on other planets, like Mars. It’s “life insurance, collectively,” said Musk.
“But that practical argument aside, Musk admitted that he’s far more motivated by a second reason: “It would be the greatest adventure ever… really exciting and inspiring.” It may be a “fixer-upper of a planet,” said Musk, but he’s confident “it’s possible to transform Mars into an Earth-like planet.”
Yes, let’s become a “multi-planet species” and keep that “human civilization” going and have that “greatest adventure ever”. Musk is “confident” that we can “transform” Mars? A “fixer-upper planet”? Read the BI link to discover who’s going to pay for all this wishful thinking. As I said, the “investors” will want to pump and dump SpaceX-Tesla stock (once they’re done with SR and CWET).
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-and-colbert-talk-spacex-mars-2014-7#ixzz3DVDr1EMO
And re: “….pent-up demand in China & elsewhere. If the Model X is well-received, Tesla’s sales will do just fine – I think.” I’m glad you said “I think”, because China’s economy is faltering if you’ve been reading the news.
“because China’s economy is faltering if you’ve been reading the news”
There does seem to be a staggering dropoff in construction but overall they’re still growing and it looks to be 7% for at least the next handful of years.
The Western economies & Japan would being doing backflips to have projections like that for a single quarter, let alone multiple years.
Even India would appreciate a forecast like that for the next couple years.
Who says China will meet projection by economists (which is mostly crystal-ball gazing)? Here’s one view from Fox Business.
“It’s time to uncrown the Red Dragon. China will not become the world’s largest economy in the next decade”.
“The claims fall apart due to flawed measurements and the serious weaknesses overlooked in the Middle Kingdom’s economy. China is still significantly smaller and less wealthy than the U.S”.
The second paragraph says what many folks have been saying, and I for one will not be buying Tesla stock because he’s going to be selling cars in China.
And there are still guys flamboyant enough to place orders like these, although any current Tesla is no match in sheer luxury for a Rolls-Royce
http://www.businessinsider.co.id/rolls-royce-hong-kong-macau-casino-2014-9/
I do wonder if Saleen will see brisk sales of his upgraded Teslas, er, I mean Saleen FourSixteens.
http://saleen.com/foursixteen.html
All I can say is that I hope RR has gotten its money upfront, because I wouldn’t bet on it being there in a few years time .
Re: “brisk sales of the Saleen/Tesla 416? Dream on. “Pricing for the complete car from Saleen is expected to START at $152,000 (before tax credits)”. They’ll sell a few, but I’d bet it’s more a PR move than anything serious.
Those who can afford those kind of prices want real exhaust sounds and the smell of Castrol in the air. When I get around to buying the Ferrari that’s on my bucket list, I will want the sounds of a 3 liter TR surrounding me, not a “hum” or a synthesized “sound track” coming out of speakers.
Sheesh, you guys sound like the flocks of folks who said the Wright Brothers were crazy. The Technology jumps we’re talking about here are not any greater than that. Except the bit about going to Mars perhaps. But unlike you all I find his dreams exciting, not frightening. I’ve decided to buy a Tesla in the future and no more new IC cars. we will probably all own two cars for the next several decades, one will be a Tesla the other an IC for those 10% of trips a EV can’t do.
A rather glib and not too well thought out response, John.
It is a logical fallacy to bring up the tired old saw that “flocks of folks said the Wright Brothers were crazy” and that we “sound like them”. You do that merely to support your need to find Musk’s dreams “exciting”.
The brothers W were not crazy at all, just ahead of their time and inventive—-folks had been flying kites and watching birds fly for centuries. Leonardo Da Vinci even designed “flying machines”, and many others were trying ti fly around the time of the Wright brothers. The Wrights just got there first. If Morin Moss and I had been there, with the science knowledge we possess, we would have been rooting the Wright brothers on, not calling them crazy.
“The Technology jumps we’re talking about here are not any greater than that. Except the bit about going to Mars perhaps”, you say? WOW! NOT any greater? EXCEPT going to Mars? Our discussion here has centered around the potentially shaky economics of selling such an expensive automobile and relying on overseas sales, NOT the technology of EV, which is basically proven (except that batteries need some more work). You are woefully ignorant of the science involved if you think manned missions to Mars are remotely possible, never mind “transforming” that planet, establishing colonies there, and selling tourists tickets to fly there.
You need to reread my comments. I too find Musk’s dreams “exciting” the same way I find science-fiction novels and movies exciting as entertainment (and I have for 60+ years—I saw the original B&W “The Thing” in the movie theater in 1950).
To repeat, I said, “Maybe I’m just down on Musk after hearing him talk about establishing a Mars colony of 80,000 and flying folks there for $500K, but my crap detectors are vibrating strongly here—–“…conjured a $35 billion car company out of thin air….” is really kind of scary”. My point was that someone who is so out-to-lunch ignorant about going to Mars AND has his hands on a $35 billion car and space company SHOULD scare the hell out of anyone who has money invested with him. That’s what’s frightening, and it doesn’t scare me, because he’ll never see one penny of mine.
I’m glad you can afford a Tesla and plan to buy one. I may buy an EV also one day, but I will buy one of the ones that cost 1/2 as much as a Tesla and find better things to do with the change. Since you seem to have money to burn, perhaps you’ll book a Mars trip with Musk?. Buy a prepaid funeral plan when you do, because if you ever make it back, you’ll likely need it within a year.
John. Try this idea out. I just got a used car in good shape that gets 35 mpg mixed for 1600. I could get a ego metro that gets over 40 for 900. Check the box for 10% of trips. If it’s only few longer trips, you have passengers, you can get a mid size sedan, or even a full size police cruiser for well under 2k. Easy. The EV? A Nissan Leaf lease, 200/ month or buy used, 2011 lease, for 13-14k at 20k to 40k miles. Then your in town miles are covered with a car that saves big on fuel and maintenance. Edmunds estimates 7 k over 5 years. Easily enough to cover the used gas car maybe even the gas. Just me, I like working on cars, but I would rather drive a car that just keeps going and bores me with consistency. And I hate paying for repairs and maintenance. Just fooling with used cars reminds one of how few things require maintenance or repair in an EV.
I was in Sydney last week and had the opportunity to take the Model S for a test drive on Sydney streets. On a quiet backstreet I got to floor the thing and feel its full power and it was extremely impressive. The car was beautifully finished with high quality materials and detail. I spoke to the young bloke who is the national sales rep here about some of the things mentioned in comments above.
I understand the difficulty they have breaking into the car market with their type of vehicle. If they had no vision of a fossil free future and were just any other combustion car start up they could manufacture everything in Korea or India or China cheaply and offer cheap cars like Daewoo or Hyundai or whomever else comes to mind, but because electric vehicles are extremely expensive to manufacture, they have opted to aim at the high end by offering a high quality luxury vehicle to the people who can afford it. Some of those will buy one because its new, some because they want to show off and then there will be those that love the speed and power, the rev-heads with money. As it catches on and their production increases, costs will come down and they will be able to establish themselves alongside the European high-enders like BMW in terms of price if not output. In 3 years they will have a small model that will hit the Australian market at a price of around $35000. That is extremely competitive. They will sell plenty in the cities and if their plans to have recharging stations along the east coast from Brisbane to Melbourne comes to fruition I see no reason why they won’t capture 20% of the new car market here within a decade.
Given we only have 2 more years of our current mob of idiots in Canberra, the next lot will replace all the climate change policies that we have lost and that will also make the business of selling electric vehicles here much easier.
It’s a shame the current government has done so much to derail renewable progress.
I think Australia could be one of the 1st large countries to get near the 100% renewable goal, even if they have to build a nuke plant or 2.
“I think Australia could be one of the 1st large countries to get near the 100% renewable goal, even if they have to build a nuke plant or 2.”
Agree with the first part but we’ll have to agree to disagree on the second 🙂
You and everyone else has been impressed by the Tesla S. Most $75-$90K cars are impressive. The test will come when Tesla tries to sell its $35K model there, and has to compete with all the others that already make EV’s in that price range—-those are the ones most likely to “capture 20% of the market”.
You make a valid point but so far there is no one else here offering a fully electric vehicle and certainly no one offering free charging or 8 year unlimited km warranties. Personally I couldn’t care less who brings us an affordable electric vehicle. I just hope someone does. At this stage Tesla is the only one really interested in doing so.
There is no one else that offers a full size lux boat like the Tesla. Lux owners want exclusivity and excellence. Cadillac ELR is done. BMW had to respond. I8 or S? Too easy. The big ice lux boats like jags and mercs and BMW will still be around. Here all you see is new Tesla. It’s the new status symbol. Every exec and doctor wants to get one or has one. Yes I saw a doctor drive up in one. Why not?
Does Arcus know more about “investing” than he lets on? Is all this bright-sidedness because he is “pumping” Tesla stock and plans to dump it?
“It’s the new status symbol. Every exec and doctor wants to get one or has one. Yes I saw a doctor drive up in one. Why not?” would certainly lead one to think that he takes a rather shallow view of what’s important today.
I suggest he do some study on the Ebola epidemic to bring him back down to earth. Africa is headed for some very hard times (and the whole human race may be in more immediate danger from Ebola than AGW). Priorities, Arcus, priorities.
You are iconifying the characters in grumpy old men. I never mentioned stock, and I pushed the Leaf. Read first. Ebola? Yeoowww.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ePRYhNNdzwk
Do we have some competition for Omnologos developing here?
Whatever does “You are iconifying the characters in grumpy old men” mean? If anyone is “iconifying” here, it is Arcus, who seems to think that we should admire and emulate the execs and doctors who are buying Tesla S’s as status symbols.
Yes, “Read first” is a good motto. I would add “Then think, and then reread as many times as necessary to overcome motivated reasoning and cognitive dissonance”.
He “never mentioned stock, and pushed the Leaf”. He apparently doesn’t “read” our comments or his own stuff as he writes it, or he’d know that what he said does indeed extend to the concept of “stock” (and the Leaf is irrelevant when talking about “luxury EV’s”
As for “Ebola? Yeoowww”.? Yes, exactly so. A topic that we should perhaps all take some time off from AGW to pursue. But then again, that would require a sense of priorities, and some have difficulty with that.
=This doesn’t mean you should rush out and buy Tesla stock. Just 11 out of 20 analysts tracked by Bloomberg give the company a “buy” rating, and the stock price is 261 times estimated earnings, compared with a 12.5 estimated P/E for Ford Motor Co. Even Musk admitted last week that the stock price is “kind of high” right now.=
I don’t follow Tesla stock, but comparing a small growth company with a potential for large market disruption against an old, slowly growing dinosaur that has had years to garner steady profits through economies of scale and a large, established support infrastructure, bribing politicians/lobbying, becoming experts at managing cost and unity quality in their field, etc. is super dishonest. There is no way to traditionally quantify the value of a disruptive technology company (and be accurate). Putting those two P/E’s in the same sentence is means the author doesn’t understand 1) exponential growth and 2) scale.
Tesla’s annual revenue growth is a little over 100% right now. It’s five year average (annual growth) is 167%.
It’s net earnings are down right now because they’ve got a huge cost eating up all their profit: building an expensive giga-factory. So take that into account when looking at P/E (people that are willing to pay $260/share are). Also take into account all their infrastructure investing (i.e. big upfront costs that when paid off in the future will cause their net earnings up).
Look at it this way – all it has to do is multiply its earnings by 10 to have a forward PE of 23, everything else holding equal. A big-growth company can do that. [Coca-cola’s PE is 22 right now, for comparison.] S&P estimates a EPS of about 3x what it is now for 2015. Holding everything equal that would knock the PE to 87. If it did that again in 2016, that would be a PE of 29. If it did that yet again in 2017 the PE would be 9.6. That’s the power of exponential growth.
And they ain’t just selling cars: they sell electric drive train components and i think want to have a big foot in the door concerning nationwide EV charging stations.
The reason that $260/share sounds high is because we forget that we don’t have a choice on converting to EV’s in the future: it’s almost ‘do or die’. But make no mistake, its current price is pure speculation on its future value.
I’d wait until the broader market corrects (dragging it down) before going in….
Again, I don’t follow it, so don’t take anything I say too seriously….
Andrew-a good analysis. P/e is low because tesla is sewing money into the future rather than taking profits now.
Anfrew says “Again, I don’t follow it, so don’t take anything I say too seriously….” as he proceeds to offer an “analysis” very similar to the one he offered on another thread just before going on vacation.
Just as he did then, Andrew talks about the machinations of the stock market (and its parent—-capitalism), that wondrous invention that all the “bright-sided” think is going to make us rich and allow endless “growth” and “prosperity”. Perhaps naive and wishful thinking, but very human, so I can’t fault him too much.
Arcus supports him with “good analysis” and more wishful thinking. (and he has it backwards—Tesla’s P/E ratio is HIGH, not low).
Wake up and smell the (white painted red) roses, folks. Bernie Madoff and the Ghost of Ponzi are still with us.
Take a pill DOG. Grumbling is not educated comment. And while you are at it, try responding to ideas a little more and skip the personal. A few notes on writing style. A rehash play by play like a ringside announcer doesn’t appeal to most of the intellectual crowd, of which you are a member. I get cognitive dissonance trying to imagine that approach in an academic environment. If you can hand out couch analysis, then take some.
Tesla is not god, and their development exists in the capitalist system. If you think tesla is not sewing profits into expansion instead of payouts to investors prove it with a reference. Andrew is right. It is clear musk is more intent on establishing a lead. As long as investors are bullish, and cash and loans come easily, he’s going for expansion. I like Nissan better. A cheap used gas car and a Leaf does it for me. You can get a used Leaf for 14 k with 30 k miles easily. Or lease for 200/ month. Saves big on fuel and maintenance. 7 k over 5 years says edmunds.
Some here are not in love with capitalism. So how to get moving on GHG and change capitalism at the same time? Don’t know for sure. Naomi Klein has something to say on the matter. She is not as extreme as painted.
“the answer is far more simple than many have led us to believe: we have not done the things that are necessary to lower emissions because those things fundamentally conflict with deregulated capitalism, the reigning ideology for the entire period we have been struggling to find a way out of this crisis. We are stuck because the actions that would give us the best chance of averting catastrophe—and would benefit the vast majority—are extremely threatening to an elite minority that has a stranglehold over our economy, our political process, and most of our major media outlets. ”
http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2014/9/17/thursday_naomi_klein_on_her_new_book
Arcus says I’m “”grumbling? And that I should “take a pill”? And he cites Naomi Klein without seeming to realize that Naomi and I are actually on the same page? (And she is NOT extreme). I hope he doesn’t take it too “personally” when I say that he is confused and making misleading statements here yet again, just as he did when he gave us a 180 degree wrong take on P/E ratios (which is certainly “uneducated” of him).
My comments are full of ideas—-I suggest that Arcus develop a bit less knee-jerk self-centered sensitivity and instead try to deal with them.
And he’s giving lessons on “writing style” too? As in the Omnologos-like bit that follows:
“A rehash play by play like a ringside announcer doesn’t appeal to most of the intellectual crowd, of which you are a member. I get cognitive dissonance trying to imagine that approach in an academic environment. If you can hand out couch analysis, then take some”.
The confusion displayed in that mishmosh of mixed metaphors and non sequiturs is worthy only of a “what?”, and is followed by even more confusion that makes me think Arcus has a LOT to learn about the “capitalist system” and “investing”, and needs to take some lessons so that he can really understand what Andrew said rather than give his interpretation of what he WANTS to believe was said.
“Tesla is not god”? “So how to get moving on GHG and change capitalism at the same time? Don’t know for sure”?. Lord love a duck!
= Perhaps naive and wishful thinking, but very human, so I can’t fault him too much.=
It’s all about survival instinct: the game is ‘Can I extract enough capital out of the system and convert it into sustainable, self sufficient living before the peak oil [or peak commodity s, from the limiting set] hits the fan?’
It’s a tough game to win: the frackers plan on tearing up a good 1/3rd to 1/2 of America, and what the frackers don’t get, the strip miners plan on doing so. I ran several projections for Kanawha County, WV with regard to strip mining growth a while back (using area as the end point), and based on what phenomenon proxies one uses to define growth rate, the entire county could be stripped in 24, 54, or [forgot my last scenario] years were no political blow-back to occur [it will occur: long before the entire place gets stripped, the water, environment and aesthetic beauty will have become so poisoned that there will be a reaction].
The banksters are already buying up all arable land around the world, making the prices shoot up. A few mega investors concluded around 2000 that this will be the age of commodity inflation and have dropped traditional equities in favor of commodities and commodities derivatives. The billionaire class sees the writing on the wall as well and has designs to extract all the wealth out of the middle class to prepare themselves for leaner times. Modern feudalism is emerging in places like Los Angeles, where Blackstone and JP Morgan are buying up all the real estate to rent out to serfs, again packaging these securities up a la 2000 to 2008, to sell as REITs or other rent backed derivatives. Home ownership is down; renting is up.
As far as Tesla goes: they still have loads of room to grow, even in a broad, unrelenting, deflationary scenario as all they have to do is eat into the traditional car maker’s already existing, huge market. If they can pull off the $35k Model 3, then they’ve cleared the next growth hurdle. I personally like the Volt and i3 model, where most driving is electric, but there is a backup if you want to go out of town, or forget to plug in, etc. Colorado is amazing: you get the $7500 from the fed for a Volt, then you get something like $7500 from the state, bringing the car down to low $20k.
Welp, had a long day at work, so I’ll stop here…
Also, Tesla isn’t really a $35B company. If you’d look at assets – liabilities, they’re probably a $1B company or so. I haven’t looked. The $35B comes from the stock price multiplied by number of shares outstanding; the stock price is well, well, well, over book value.
I will repeat—Perhaps naive and wishful thinking, but very human, so I can’t fault him too much, although you do show more realistic thinking here.
What remains naive and wishful is the idea that there is any long-term survival down the human race’s present path. What you speak of is the mindless belief by the “fortunate” that they can somehow come out the other end of the coming disaster if they “play their cards” right. This “survival instinct” may work for decades, certainly beyond your lifetime. It will NOT work for centuries—McPherson is correct when he says “nature bats last” and the game is nearing an end.
Grumble grumble, Grumble grumble grumble. I will repeat. I grumble.
And I will repeat just once. Better to “grumble” than to be a mindless bright-sider that suffers from cognitive dissonance and reads into things only what he WANTS to see there.
better to be a mindless dark sider….
Sitting there just waiting to volley comments, huh? There is nothing mindless about “dark-sidedness” for most dark siders. I am not yet a full “dark-sider” myself, because I am hopeful that we will soon have Gilding’s Great Disruption and Great Awakening and launch a global war against CO2. There may still be time to avoid total disaster.
My present level of “dark-sidedness” results from decades of study and observation, and although I am not a genius, I have adequate science background, math skills, and reasoning abilities to go where the data leads and reach some valid conclusions.
That is in contrast to certain folks who are always looking for and citing links that they do not fully understand and constantly misinterpret, most often in a “bright-sided” way.
Supposedly, that $30,000 Tesla which is coming is going to have a 500 mile battery in it? If so, they won’t be able to manufacture them fast enough.
Where did you get the “500 mile battery” from? Isn’t it a “200 mile battery” that is planned for the $35K (not $30K) “cheap” Tesla?
And let’s start talking about that old problem—-the lack of a Tesla dealer network? Why would one buy an (expensive) Tesla that has to be taken out of state (in some places) for service when your local Honda-Toyota-Nissan-Chevy-Ford-etc. dealer is right there?
And why would you trust or buy stock in a company whose founder is enthralled with the idea of making Mars a second earth and seems overly focused on space “adventures” rather than cars—-and expects his stockholders to finance his “dream”?
While they may not have a dealer network, what’s there to prevent them from having a network of repair shops?
They can locate them near the Superchargers or some of the new non-Super but high amperage charging stations that they’ve been installing on the sly.
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/09/04/tesla-quietly-installing-higher-speed-non-supercharger-network/
I believe this will be the network of choice for the Model E as it’s doubtful they’ll allow those customers to use Superchargers for free – if the Model E is successful, there’ll simply be too many of them getting free electrons.
A battery with 200 miles realistic range on a $35k EV is quite a bit by current standards and will probably annoy the lower-end Model S owners.
I’m sure they’ll be clamoring for an upgrade if & when the Model 3 ships.
I don’t think it will annoy S owners any more than a 7 series BMW owner is annoyed by 3 series BMW . Have you driven an S? Velvet ride. Quiet enough to hear your heart beat. Range. Acceleration. Handling. Comfort. As good or better than any large luxury sedan out there. People don’t buy because it’s electric. It’s just a great car. So good, so overkill, and still within range, that it has spoiled the market for green luxury cars. Cadillac is stuck with the ELR. BMW i8 costs way more. It’s gonna be a while before others catch up in the luxury segment. With tesla entering the mid luxury segment, it is already forcing other mfrs to speed up plans to compete. Teslas success and Nissans is forcing change and that is great for us.
Where did you get the “500 mile battery” from? Isn’t it a “200 mile battery” that is planned for the $35K (not $30K) “cheap” Tesla?
From a buddy, who is a Tesla owner. We’ll see.
And when his car breaks, Tesla will send a repair crew to him.