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Old 05-04-2019, 01:33 PM
 
Location: NYC
20,550 posts, read 17,515,789 times
Reputation: 25616

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/02/b...ndraising.html

Tesla had a bad quarter which they burned through 2 billion and sales tanked in the US.

Their current Debt raised to $12bn, analysts project them to gain new business to shave off some debt next quarter.

https://ycharts.com/companies/TSLA/total_long_term_debt

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.
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Old 05-04-2019, 01:50 PM
 
Location: Aurora Denveralis
8,712 posts, read 6,671,750 times
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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.
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Old 05-04-2019, 02:47 PM
 
Location: NYC
20,550 posts, read 17,515,789 times
Reputation: 25616
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quietude View Post
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.
I understand they moved a lot of vehicles overseas but with the stronger dollar eats into their profits. Domestically there's a huge drop in sales this year. I don't see how Tesla can return to profitability with a limited product portfolio while removing the $35k model. Majority of car and suv sales are in the upper $30ks and into the low $40ks unless they are making a Tesla pickup truck soon.

I think sales reached a saturation point because cars sales in general have lagged across the board. You can blame Uber or just cars are lasting longer. I don't know many co-workers driving flashing new cars even though the economy is better. So I don't know how they can generate more business with just future trucks and SUV sales that they don't have the capacity yet to produce in mass without huge investments.
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Old 05-04-2019, 03:05 PM
 
Location: Newburyport, MA
11,973 posts, read 9,039,585 times
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Well, Tesla makes the best electric vehicles on the market, and most buyers love them. They've almost single-handedly driven the coming surge of EVs from other makers, who now see the potential of this market, inspired by Tesla's product vision and market acceptance.

However, they've struggled at times with production volume and quality control, and their burn rate is very high. CEO Musk is nothing if not bold- while that's a big part of their success, he often take risks that seem to go right to the edge. I certainly wouldn't bet against them - there have been gloom and doom predictions time and again that have already been proven wrong. However, I am not under any illusions that the company is invincible.

It's a great American company though, on par with Apple in my book, and I hope they last a long time.
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Old 05-04-2019, 03:07 PM
 
79,902 posts, read 43,892,008 times
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I really like electric cars and Tesla's are great so this is kinda two part. I believe Tesla's will be around a long time. Will Musk? I don't know. IMO he needs to concentrate more on the cars and quit trying to gets his hands into everything.
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Old 05-04-2019, 03:15 PM
 
Location: Aurora Denveralis
8,712 posts, read 6,671,750 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vision33r View Post
I think sales reached a saturation point because cars sales in general have lagged across the board.
I'm not sure that's true in any meaningful sense. Yes, the financial pages and especially the trade press go ape over every 10k shift in deliveries, but new car sales rates have been remarkably steady over the past decade.

Quote:
Originally Posted by OutdoorLover View Post
Well, Tesla makes the best electric vehicles on the market, and most buyers love them.
Which means bupkis. Technological superiority and quality products have never, ever been assured of success. You mention Apple, who makes undebatably fine products but relies far, far more on a carefully-grown and -managed brand than anything else for continued success. I can list ten companies of impeccable engineering prowess who no longer exist.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pknopp View Post
I believe Tesla's will be around a long time. Will Musk? I don't know.
Entirely possible, but my bet is that they will never be more than a niche company - maybe closer to BMW than Jaguar, but it could go either way. They simply don't have what it takes to become a mainstream player, and no amount of midnight app-coding will change that.
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Old 05-04-2019, 03:39 PM
 
79,902 posts, read 43,892,008 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quietude View Post

Entirely possible, but my bet is that they will never be more than a niche company - maybe closer to BMW than Jaguar, but it could go either way. They simply don't have what it takes to become a mainstream player, and no amount of midnight app-coding will change that.
The question wasn't whether they will become GM. I doubt anyone would complain if they became BMW.
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Old 05-04-2019, 04:11 PM
 
Location: Aurora Denveralis
8,712 posts, read 6,671,750 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pknopp View Post
The question wasn't whether they will become GM. I doubt anyone would complain if they became BMW.
That's a maximum-possibility outcome, IMHO - a 2% player with a good reputation.

That's not anything like their aims, and it's laughable to the fan club that thinks Elon is going to run the Big 2-1/2 out of business.
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Old 05-04-2019, 04:33 PM
 
79,902 posts, read 43,892,008 times
Reputation: 17184
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quietude View Post
That's a maximum-possibility outcome, IMHO - a 2% player with a good reputation.

That's not anything like their aims, and it's laughable to the fan club that thinks Elon is going to run the Big 2-1/2 out of business.
LOL, well I'm not sure who that is and I'll give him credit for what he has done but as I said, I wish he would concentrate on the cars. We have a few too many today that want to be the King of the World.
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Old 05-04-2019, 04:48 PM
 
4,985 posts, read 3,918,856 times
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well, could Tesla merge or get bought-out?
"Tesla by Toyota"?
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