Tesla

[Laconian]

Wifey and I giggle a lot about increasingly specific qualifiers.

The USA is absolutely drowning in PR bullshit.

[r0tor]

The Model 3's competitors are not just electric cars.

Wow, then the Volt must be an absolute turd

[MX793]

Wow, then the Volt must be an absolute turd

Nobody's hyped it up nearly as much as the Tesla.

[12,000 RPM]

Wow, then the Volt must be an absolute turd

"But what about"

Model 3 is damn near vaporware at this point. Of course it's gonna be "impressive"

[SJ_GTI]

Signs that Tesla is figuring out their production issues?

http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/18/autos/tesla-model-3/index.html

Tesla is going to exhibit its electric car for the people, the Model 3, at five showrooms in four states so the customers who ordered it might actually get a chance to see it up close.
Tesla (TSLA)said it will display the Model 3 on Friday at its showrooms in Manhattan and Boston, and also in San Jose and Walnut Creek, California, according to a company spokesperson. This weekend, Tesla will also exhibit the Model 3 in Miami.

This is the first time the company is displaying the Model 3 on the East Coast, according to a Tesla spokesperson.

I am curious to see how many they ship out in January (do they report monthly sales like the other automakers?).

[Laconian]

I've seen several of them where I live.

[Soup DeVille]

Here too. Tesla still has a small presence in the area though, and they might not have been production units.

[2o6]

Here too. Tesla still has a small presence in the area though, and they might not have been production units.

I don't think that exists for Tesla. I get the gist that all body-in-white prototypes were customer cars.

[Laconian]

Followed a new Model 3 to work today. It was maddeningly strict in following the speed limit. It braked as soon as we hit a 25mph zone, no coasting. Autopilot is going to be such a killjoy for the folks stuck behind these cars.

[Soup DeVille]

I don't think that exists for Tesla. I get the gist that all body-in-white prototypes were customer cars.

that may be true. Typically, I'd say that I'd be pissed to find my brand new car to have thousands of miles on it, but fact is that Tesla-fanatacism is so deep that anybody paying for an early production model will probably be thrilled to have an actual Tesla engineer's butt dents on their driver's seat.

[AutobahnSHO]

Followed a new Model 3 to work today. It was maddeningly strict in following the speed limit. It braked as soon as we hit a 25mph zone, no coasting. Autopilot is going to be such a killjoy for the folks stuck behind these cars.

[12,000 RPM]

Signs that Tesla is figuring out their production issues?

http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/18/autos/tesla-model-3/index.html

I am curious to see how many they ship out in January (do they report monthly sales like the other automakers?).

Back 2 realitee

It should be noted that any new factory, particularly one making an all-new product, is not going to hit the ground running, and the assembly of lithium-ion cells into battery packs is a precise operation, with the cells needing to be properly aligned. Eventually, that operation will be automated, with the accuracy and repeatability that only machines can perform, but a Tesla engineer told CNBC that as of December a lot of that work was still being done by hand, resulting in a high scrap rate. That hand work is being replaced as the machines come on line, and some of the Panasonic employees have been transferred back to their regular jobs, but another Tesla engineer said the automated lines are still not up to capacity, and worse, they have no backups. Allegedly, even the automated equipment isn't meeting quality standards.

"There's no redundancy, so when one thing goes wrong, everything shuts down. And what's really concerning are the quality issues."

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2018/01/whistleblowing-tesla-engineers-say-model-3-batteries-made-hand-slowing-production-creating-potential-fire-hazard/#more-1610358

Elon will Trump staffer him... maybe draw and quarter him in the break room

[Galaxy]

^

Mercedes had similar issues with the first M class.

New factory, new workers, new suppliers.

[Galaxy]

From Cnet:

"Unlike the vast majority of cars on the road, the Model 3 lacks a stalk or indeed any physical controls to manipulate the wipers, beyond a single button on the headlight stalk on the left. Push the button for a single sweep of the wipers, hold it to spray the wash. If you want to actually turn on the wipers you need to either swipe or tap your way into the wiper interface and toggle them there."

[Raza]

From Cnet:

"Unlike the vast majority of cars on the road, the Model 3 lacks a stalk or indeed any physical controls to manipulate the wipers, beyond a single button on the headlight stalk on the left. Push the button for a single sweep of the wipers, hold it to spray the wash. If you want to actually turn on the wipers you need to either swipe or tap your way into the wiper interface and toggle them there."

Facepalm is right.

[Morris Minor]

Buddy of mine has been told his Model 3 will show up sometime between February & June.

[12,000 RPM]

Buddy of mine has been told his Model 3 will show up sometime between February & June.

Of this year?

[Morris Minor]

Of this year?

That was my question when he told me:
"...of 2018??"
"Yup"

This guy's a quiet, cautious, prudent finance VP. Not interested in cars. All his life he's bought used Camries & the like and run them until they dropped. But when the Model 3 was announced he got in early, put down a deposit. He caught the Tesla bug.

The laws of nature dictate that TSLA's insane market cap valuation will eventually succumb to gravity & plummet, & the company will be snapped up by one of the big guys: marrying production expertise with Tesla's awesome tech ideas. I'm surprised they've held out this long.

[Laconian]

Crypto currencies get by with less promise. The market today is insane.

[MrH]

Elon Musk is now making a flame thrower. Pre orders are $500.

I wish I was kidding.

[MX793]

Elon Musk is now making a flame thrower. Pre orders are $500.

I wish I was kidding.

Is it electric and environmentally friendly?  What sort of automated features will it have?  Are all of the controls placed in menus on a single touchscreen?

[Laconian]

It's a branded propane yard torch.

[giant_mtb]

Really wish they'd stop using the word flamethrower.  Because it's just a torch. 

[Lebowski]

What a joke.

[CaminoRacer]

How long do you think it'll run for? Decent sized flame but it doesn't look like it has a very large tank.

[Soup DeVille]

Elon Musk is now making a flame thrower. Pre orders are $500.

I wish I was kidding.

Burning the carbon out of the greenery directly cuts out so much effort....

[MrH]

The guy is a really creative mind, but geeze, you'd think he could focus a little more on his car company that can't seem to deliver anything on schedule.

[r0tor]

Really wish they'd stop using the word flamethrower.  Because it's just a torch. 

Who doesn't want an assault torch?

[Morris Minor]

"Assault torch" is just a fabricated word used by the clueless anti-torch brigade and their mainstream media propagandists.  They're never going to take my yard torch.

[Raza]

Really wish they'd stop using the word flamethrower.  Because it's just a torch.

When I was growing up, this was a torch: