Start posting a consistent profit and then we’ll talk.

Remember when Amazon didnt make any money for years and everyone said they would fail? Now Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the world.

Yes, I remember when Amazon lost a little bit of money on each sale but made up for it with volume.

I also remember that for everyone Amazon there were hundreds of dot.com bubble companies that did in fact go bankrupt.

Facebook wasn't the only social media company. Google wasn't the only search engine. Apple wasn't the only company making music players.

Musk has done an amazing job with his space rocket company. For his car company he has created a prestigious brand and an impressive sport car.

It really remains to be seen whether he can mass produce a mid-price car in sufficient volume and reliability to make a go of it. His track record so far is very poor.

I'm curious also as to why he thought it was better to jump to a full sized electric Semi instead of doing a smaller delivery truck. Long distance trucking produces all sorts of headaches regarding range and re-charging. An urban delivery truck that spends a lot of time loading/unloading and stuck in slow moving traffic wouldn't need near the same range and always returns to the same location at night for charging.

I'm curious what gives you this impression. Because they're short of his insane prediction of how long it would take to ramp up? If you pay attention to pretty much every business he's ever run, he sets insane deadlines, misses them, but still hits them in about half the time everyone else thought he'd be able to. That's basically what we're seeing here.

There hasn't been a successful car startup in the U.S. in the past 90 years. So what is his track record being measured against that has been so much more successful?

Which would make a bigger impact on reducing fossil fuel consumption and emissions? There's your answer.

It's baffling to me that people haven't figured out yet that Elon's goal isn't to make money.

History suggests that that'll probably happen by Q4 this year, but we'll see.

https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-conte...5/cashflow.png

None of this matters. Tesla will be out of business in less than 10 years...

Hot take.

When cars drive us there won’t be many car makers left.

Maybe 2019, maybe 2020. Who cares if it's late? So long as it destroys everything else out there and gets there first. Everyone wins, especially investors.

Daimler says the Semi brains the laws of physics at a 500 mile range, and Musk claims they'll achieve 600. Seems to me they'll have a sizeable lead.

Buehler, doing the math I'm using, the Tesla should weigh in at about the same as an average sleeper truck. They have the semis on the roads testing now. Not sure what's hard to believe about something that exists.

Whatcha vapin'?

I guess I don't think it remains to be seen, and I don't understand how he has a poor track record.

Tesla has MUCH better profit margins than traditional OEMs, aim for 25% across the board as o pad to the 5% industry standard. And production/profitability seems to literally be only a matter of time. At least, I can't think of any real hurdles to this. Really the hardest part is growing and managing your supply chain in unison.

As far as track records, I mean, hasn't he accomplished all of his goals since 2012 up until this point? I bet you'd be hard pressed to find others who have done so well.

As for going big rig first, it's all about destroying conventional solutions to destroy conventional wisdom.

If he came out with a competitor for the F150, there'd be all of this false narrative about an electric truck not getting the job done. They'd likely struggle to gain market share in multiple markets for years due to nothing more than ignorance and bias. If he destroys semis with an electric option, the news will get out, and those people spending ridiculous amounts on trucks will be forced to take notice immediately.

It's the "beat up the biggest guy in the prison yard" strategy coupled with what DaFace said.

OOOOOPS

http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2018/05/...tah-wreck.html

Currently 50/50@18nic at 15 Watts in a Kafun 5 on a Joyetech Elitar e-pipe.

So? Even if it ends up being software error why is it a big deal? I would happily have the roads crowded with semi-autonomous vehicles that are nearly 4 times safer than the average "dumb" car. As these systems gain wider use they will become more efficient and safer. The only reason these headlines grab any attention currently is because humans don't like the idea of their fate being decided for them.

Exactamundo. Media eats it up ever time a Tesla is involved in an accident. And they don't even know if it is on auto pilot or not in that previous. Very few people use Auto Pilot when there are stop lights present.

My autopilot actually saved me from an accident the other day on Ridgeview. Some guy tried to pull out of the car wash and go COMPLETELY to the otherside of the street to a business. And the car stopped in time. Combine this all with the fact that this is the first autonomous optioned car, ever (meaning they will constantly make improvements every year) it is a great success. Auto Pilot enabled Tesla's have been found to be 3-4 times safer than older non AP Teslas.....