Tesla

[Laconian]

Is her current car a hatchback or a sedan?

[mzziaz]

Interesting that you got such a bad impression.


Maybe some of it is because it that particular car has been abused as a rental?
s

[Speed_Racer]

Is her current car a hatchback or a sedan?

A 3i hatchback - great gas mileage

Interesting that you got such a bad impression.


Maybe some of it is because it that particular car has been abused as a rental?
s

I think I expected more from it based on the hype. But it being a rental may play a part in it as well.

[Laconian]

A 3i hatchback - great gas mileage

I'm surprised the Model 3 was too noisy for her. Sedans generally tend to be much quieter than hatches and wagons. Hmmmmm.

[mzziaz]

Yeah, even more so since there is no engine noise in the 3.

[r0tor]

Rentals almost always suck unless you get an extremely lightly used one

60k is a shit ton of miles for a rental.  Normally multiply the rental mileage by 2 or 3 to give you an idea of the real wear and tear on the thing.

[SJ_GTI]

Yeah, even more so since there is no engine noise in the 3.

I think I've read that once you get up to highway speed most of the noise from a car is from the air resistance.

[Char]

We went to Thailand a couple years ago, and the pollution and traffic in Bangkok were just horrible.

I was there last year, I agree.

[CaminoRacer]

I think I've read that once you get up to highway speed most of the noise from a car is from the air resistance.

And tires.

If you're in my El Camino, you get loud engine, loud tires, and loud wind. And loud stereo to drown it all out

[Morris Minor]

I'm surprised the Model 3 was too noisy for her. Sedans generally tend to be much quieter than hatches and wagons. Hmmmmm.

My CR-V has active noise cancelation to help you forget you're riding inside a tin drum.

[Laconian]

Yeah, even more so since there is no engine noise in the 3.

Are the tires on the 3 hard and economy-oriented? Is there heavy tread wear on the specific model that Speed Racer bought?

[afty]

Are the tires on the 3 hard and economy-oriented? Is there heavy tread wear on the specific model that Speed Racer bought?

The OEM tires are economy oriented* but have acoustic foam to reduce noise.  By 60k miles though I'd expect that car is not on the OEM tires anymore.  Also the recommended tire inflation pressure is very high, 42-45 psi, which doesn't help matters.

Car and Driver agrees the Model 3 is louder than the competition: "The Model 3 also isn't as hushed over the road as the traditional players; there's a lot of wind noise at 70 mph, and at 70 decibels, it measures one to two decibels louder at that speed than the segment norms." https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a30209598/2019-tesla-model-3-reliability-maintenance/ Anecdotally I don't find it any worse (or better) than my G35.

* Aside from the performance model which has Pilot Sport 4S tires

[Raza]

I wouldn't trust autopilot at all.  Shit is outrageously dangerous and a total failure of the NHTSA.

Neither would I. But my friend uses it as his own personal Uber, which I think is very dangerous. He has no qualms about drinking more than you should and then letting Autopilot take him over the bridge back home. It worries me.

And then there's the inevitable and unstoppable fire that all Teslas are fated to end up as.

[Char]

Tesla down almost 30% in France YTD. All those goofy, entrylevel Evs are eating that market share.

France: In May 2020 Plug-In Electric Car Sales Up By 61% https://insideevs.com/news/429635/france-may-2020-plugin-car-sales/

[MrH]

Neither would I. But my friend uses it as his own personal Uber, which I think is very dangerous. He has no qualms about drinking more than you should and then letting Autopilot take him over the bridge back home. It worries me.

And then there's the inevitable and unstoppable fire that all Teslas are fated to end up as.

That's wildly dangerous for both him and everyone on the road.  This is one of many problems with Tesla.  They're encouraging this reckless behavior.

Maybe show him tesladeaths.com and the number of lawsuits going on regarding this and he'll hopefully wisen up.

Tesla purposely disables Autopilot is it senses an accident is imminent for liability reasons too.  It's the most slimy implementation you can imagine.  All other car companies force drivers to pay attention, and will try to intervene to reduce damage and injury.

[MX793]

Oof

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2020/06/teslas-are-the-most-unreliable-new-cars-in-the-us-survey-finds/?amp=1

Also note that Tesla won't even permit JDP to survey owners in the 15 states that require manufacturer permission.

[Laconian]

JDP is trash, though.

Dodge is at the top = that survey has issues.

[Eye of the Tiger]

JDP is trash, though.

Dodge is at the top = that survey has issues.

But most of Doge's lineup is so old that they have worked many of the bugs out ...

[MX793]

JDP is trash, though.

Dodge is at the top = that survey has issues.

Initial quality, which is like the first 3-6 months of ownership.  Dodges are generally pretty nice when fresh from the factory.

[Rich]

It's just initial quality.  If it has a 4 speed auto made since the early 80s, it's probably going to have all the early glitches fixed by now.

It doesn't cover long-term durability/reliability. 

[Rich]

IIRC most of the initial quality issues now revolve around the infotainment system, and IIRC dodge has one of the best right now.

[MX793]

IIRC most of the initial quality issues now revolve around the infotainment system, and IIRC dodge has one of the best right now.

Yeah.  And Tesla integrates everything through their infotainment system...

[FoMoJo]

Interesting termination strategy...Tesla gave workers permission to stay home rather than risk getting covid-19. Then it sent termination notices.

When he defiantly reopened the company's plant in Fremont, Calif., against county orders last month, Elon Musk promised Tesla employees they could stay home if they felt uneasy. They would not be penalized.

If "you feel uncomfortable coming back to work at this time, please do not feel obligated to do so," he wrote in an email sent to the company's factory workers in early May that was viewed by The Washington Post.

Nonetheless, two Tesla workers say they received termination notices alleging a "failure to return to work" after they opted to take unpaid leave to protect themselves and their family members when the factory restarted production the second week of May.

[Char]

I hate Tesla and Elon Musk. Full stop.

[MrH]

https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2020/06/26/1593160826000/Who-s-going-to-be-the-next-Wirecard-/

Who could they possibly be referring to?

[r0tor]

... Now most valuable car company in the world...

[Morris Minor]

$200bn market cap. Bigger than Exxon.
Someone asked Musk about a stock split - which would make sense - he seemed amenable.

[SJ_GTI]

So Tesla had its fourth consecutive profitable quarter. Its almost starting to look like a real auto manufacturer...

[MrH]

No, it's not, at all.  GAAP Income was $104MM this quarter.  They booked $421MM in regulatory credit sales.  Without regulatory credits, they are massively unprofitable.



Where are these regulatory credits coming from?

They have a 1.1B Euro deal with FCA for ZEV credits that FCA is going to use through 2023.  In their accounting disclosure "We recognize revenue on the sale of automotive regulatory credits at the time control of the regulatory credits is transferred to the purchasing party as automotive revenue in the consolidated statement of operations."  Because they inked this deal with FCA, they're pulling the trigger on this as needed to book a profit.  This well is almost dry already.  They did this in previous quarters too.

To put it bluntly: "Tesla appears to be "selling" regulatory credits based on cars they may not have yet sold to people who have not paid for them. They gave a fresh, weird explanation for accounts receivable. The quarter is a conjured profit to get in the S&P (no surprise there)."

This all shows up in their AR balance.  A company that makes cars, that require payment up front prior to handing over to the customer, is now up to an AR balance of almost $1.5B.

This is totally a bullshit "profit".  And I haven't even gone into the signs of channel stuffing in China yet.  When a company who desperately needs to show profitability is changing revenue recognition policy quarter by quarter, red flags should go up for every one.

[r0tor]

Regulatory credits are part of their business... Hey looky, of you remove their profits they don't make monies!