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What a joke of a "luxury" brand this is.
A true luxury brand does these things promptly for no charge and gives you a loaner if they can't.
Of course at the rate they're going, owners will soon get to do everything themselves with no support or parts.
May as well get a head start on it...
I remember hearing a story in my youth of an owner of a Rolls Royce broken down on the road. The company sent a mechanic out to the scene who promptly repaired it. The "Serviceman", when asked what the problem was, replied to the owner, "Pardon me sir, but Rolls Royce automobiles simply do not fail", and left, with no compensation requested. I have no idea whether that was or was not a true story, but "that myth" is one of the things that made that brand legendary. There truly was a Golden Age of Automobiles, with the finest examples of the time (Rolls, Packard, Deusenberg) being iconic examples. If I were Elon, going after the lower end of the equivalent of that market in modern times, I'd strive to emulate that myth of invincibility of my product. Maybe a little late for that, but he needs to salvage as much of his own myth as much as possible.
For example, TFL Cars (auto reviewer) posted the other day they'd been waiting for weeks for repair parts for a broken taillight and bumper. A regional guy saw that video and is supposedly expediting repair parts. For God's Sake, Elon, try and do better, it's at the core of your problems.
What a joke of a "luxury" brand this is.
A true luxury brand does these things promptly for no charge and gives you a loaner if they can't.
Of course at the rate they're going, owners will soon get to do everything themselves with no support or parts.
May as well get a head start on it...
The list of things you can now service on your own:
Quote:
Restarting the Touchscreen
Pairing a Bluetooth Phone
Connecting to Wi-Fi
Programming HomeLink®
Adding and Removing Keys
Replacing the Key Fob Battery
Installing Phone Charging Cable
Installing Front License Plate Bracket
Replacing Cabin Filters
Checking and Adjusting Tire Pressures
Topping Up Windshield Washer Fluid
Replacing Wiper Blades
Manually Releasing Charge Cable
Calibrating Windows
Removing and Installing Aero Covers
Removing and Installing Lug Nut Covers
Some things, like replacing cabin filters are a little more intricate and would have generally been handled by the service center.
The cabin filter requires a service center visit
At least we can plug in a phone charging cable and top off our windshield washer fluid on our own like a big boy now.
I could easily change mine, but I own a luxury car so they do it for me. I am not doing that or anything else.
Luxury cars come with expectations. One of them is that it will not inconvenience me.
This nonsense is like paying for a maid and then having to do your own dishes because you can't count on her to show up.
A maid that doesn't show up is not my maid for long!
If I want to work on something, there's an old Merkur sitting in my garage that always needs attention.
Not intending to pile on, but my favorite automotive-related stuff review guy (John Cadogan) just posted his take on Tesla's latest speed bump (viewer warning, it's true, but it ain't kind):
Watch it, you're going to get gigged for quoting that leftist rag.
Followed by the fanboy crowd stoutly insisting that their last quarter or two of success somehow trump all the profitless quarters and mean this deep tank never really quite happened.
I don't think the economy and employment have much to do with it. The US buys about 17 million new cars a year, many in the same general ranges as the Tesla models. If buyers aren't choosing Teslas over high-end Toyotas and BMW and Mercedes and Audi, it's not because of general economic factors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziggy100
That’s what you don’t understand. Tesla has been a cash incinerator for 15 years even with no competition and every tax advantage. Who wants a part of that? Do people really think the entire global automotive industry just couldn’t compete? The only reason there is a market now is because 2 very huge automotive markets have essentially promised a market for EV’s. Previously manufacturers made compliance cars just for the purpose of losing money. They didn’t want you to buy one, because they wanted you to buy cars that actually generated profits. Tesla has no profitable back up plan. They’re a one trick pony. They offer no hybrids or PHEV’s. How profitable would Toyota be if they only made the Prius? Sure they have a following now, but so did Motorola, Nokia, Blackberry, Palm Pilot, Etc.
Tesla’s quite possibly the dumbest idea of the 21st century.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziggy100
Given the data we now know, I would say it's the 4th quarter data from last year that were a one off. Tesla's now taking out a capital raise which is not something you do when you think every quarter from here out on will be cash positive.
I know you think this is all part of the plan and is well known, but lets keep in perspective a few counterpoints to your points.
1) In the first quarter of 2019, Tesla manufactured 77K vehicles but only delivered 63K. We know exactly how many were theoretically headed for overseas markets. That's still down from 90K in the 4th quarter.
2) Tax credit did pull forward demand. The problem is Tesla is only saying this in retrospect. If you recall, they claimed all quarters would be profitable from here on out and they wouldn't need another capital raise again. Apparently they only came to this realization fairly recently. Why would they expect demand suddenly spike again? Sure there may be a bump when they start tapping the pent up demand overseas, but as we saw in America, that pent up demand seems to only be good for a few quarters.
3) The Model 3 is cannibalizing the Model S. The problem is sales for all models are down. But honestly the Model S and X have been fairly stagnant for awhile. The Model S is more profitable. It makes you wonder why they bothered with the Model 3 at all. Ferrari isn't in a rush to make a more affordable Ferrari. If they want to save the world from carbon emissions, why start with sports cars and not UPS trucks? Why offer a long range semi first instead of a local garbage truck? Everything they do is backwards. Don't get me started on Elon's fossil fuel guzzling rocket hobby.
4) I'm not buying the battery production excuse. Tesla made more cars than they sold. That's not a production issue.
Point is even Tesla isn't sure what their story is. They think they have a demand problem. They offered a $35K Model 3 in response, talked about shutting down stores, then walked back on that a week later, made the $35K nearly impossible to obtain, then fell back to their old fall back plan of promising better things to come to the point of being outlandish. In quick succession they promised a Model Y, a massive robot taxi program (in less than 12 months), a leaf blower, and an insurance company. WTF? Then took out a capital raise anyway. Apparently they're not feeling so hot about the near future. If Telsa wants to survive, Elon needs to go. He's clearly so disconnected from reality, there's really not much hope for him anymore.
Some actual sanity:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZeApelido
Unfortunately this thread is setup on a false premise - that the Q1 results are a systemic problem vs a one-off. Well, maybe 2, Q2 will not be ideal either. These are the known negatives:
1. They started selling cars internationally, but the inherent transport delays plus permit delays (esp in China) caused a delay of vehicles so some produced werent sold (temporarily sunk cost).
2. The tax-credit drop definitely pulled forward demand, as expected, in the U.S. For all models.
3. Model S is probably getting cannibalized some by model 3, and the rumored refreshed versions might have had people holding out longer (refresh is out now).
4. Battery production isn't where it should be for model 3. This is limiting production and obviously affects profitability.
Luckily, most of this stuff is temporary.
1. Battery production is supposed to be ramping up more (allegedly, we'll see).
2. Model 3 demand has already returned to $50k ASP in the U.S.
We'll see on S&X numbers, though Model 3 is most important.
In terms of valuation, Tesla could get to BMW level for consumer sedans/SUVs and that would be just fine. People are ignoring Energy, Heavy-duty vehicle, and Autonomous revenue channels.
Forget about Tesla the company, if business analyst were to look at this chart they would walk away and say it's a dying company like Sears but Tesla is still major growth company in the segment.
The economy is doing great, unemployment is low at 3.6%. They should have no problem selling cars like gangbusters the last 2 years. Even without tax credits most people lease cars and they should not have a slow down like the last quarter. So why the bad sales?
If they have another 2-3 quarters like this, it could easily balloon their debt $16Bn. That's gotta hurt their credit. I don't know how their investors can keep rewarding the company without demanding Tesla improve their bottomline and open up new markets.
And this is not a negative or attack article, I like to see Tesla succeed but I have disagree with how Musk is handling the direction of the company.
I drive a hybrid and I can easily swing for a Model 3 but I don't think it's better than my Prius. My monthly fillup is only $80.
Tesla will probably last longer than any other current car company. Tesla is so much better than Prius...but as long as you are happy with that slow gas guzzler Prius spewing poisonous fumes in your garage and neighborhood, enjoy.
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