Are you also investing in Tesla?

[Jaff]

I'm not sure that TM will ever officially disclose this...think about the ICE world for a moment...does any car manufacturer ever disclose their profit margin on a per model basis? I can't see how disclosing their profit margin / model would be beneficial to TM in any way.

Yeah, that’s what I remember also. As long as it doesn’t get pushed back anymore then it shouldn’t be too much of a problem but with them losing $30 million a quarter they can’t afford too many more delays.

One thing that I’m really interested in is how much they'll be making off of each Model S and how many they need to sell in order to operate comfortably. I know they said their first year goal is 20k but I’m curious to know where that positions them if they achieve that goal. Personally I think they'll be able to crush the 20k goal. If people are even half as enthusiastic about the cars as I am they'll be selling like hot cakes.

[dsm363]

Hrm, I heard 80 KW direct-DC charging available at time of launch. Wasn't clear if it was proprietary. The default Model S pack is 70 KWh and estimated charge time is 45 minutes from near-empty to near-full.

My question is who will deploy these? If they only work with the Model S and Tesla deploys these, I don't think there will be enough of them. If they somehow use the J1772 connector that can be used with the Leaf and other upcoming cars, it may work better.

[Brent]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/tech...-big-loss.html

[jasonhi]

I'm not sure that TM will ever officially disclose this...think about the ICE world for a moment...does any car manufacturer ever disclose their profit margin on a per model basis? I can't see how disclosing their profit margin / model would be beneficial to TM in any way.

From their 3rd quarter results (http://ir.teslamotors.com/releasedet...leaseID=528807):

Revenue / Automobile sales: $23,350,000
Cost of revenues / Automobile sales: $19,457,000

So it looks like the Roadster has a "profit-margin" of 17%, at least as they have accounted for costs. Of course it is way more complicated than that, as some portion of costs in "sales, general and administrative" are going to be directly connected to those sales, but it was interesting to see that number when I read the earnings report.

BTW Jaff -- someone in Seattle is getting a white sport (sitting in the store the last two day). It looks REALLY good. I'm assuming based on your picture that yours will be white. That was my second choice color, but I thought it needed the carbon fiber body package to look best, and couldn't justify the added expense. It looks great in all white it turns out. I'm going to love the radient red. It may be the most common color, but Roadster's are so uncommon anyway!

[Jaff]

Thanks for the info Jason...I had the same dilemma as you...I was sold on the Fusion Red with the upgraded rims in silver...then I test drove the new Arctic White & CF 2.5 that the Toronto store received and that vixen Roadster flat out seduced me!

Yes, without the CF accents, the white loses some of its appeal to me as well...agree, the Roadster is an eye-catcher in any colour configuration imo.

You are of course correct in your quoted figures from TM's financials...public company, public knowledge...I guess I was referring more to an actual statement / press release from TM diclosing their profit margins / vehicle was unlikely.

[Fr23shjive]

Shares jumped approx 20% today on lower than expected losses. Imagine how the stock is going to perform once they actually start selling the Model S.

[jasonhi]

Thanks for the info Jason...I had the same dilemma as you...I was sold on the Fusion Red with the upgraded rims in silver...then I test drove the new Arctic White & CF 2.5 that the Toronto store received and that vixen Roadster flat out seduced me!

Yes, without the CF accents, the white loses some of its appeal to me as well...agree, the Roadster is an eye-catcher in any colour configuration imo.

You are of course correct in your quoted figures from TM's financials...public company, public knowledge...I guess I was referring more to an actual statement / press release from TM diclosing their profit margins / vehicle was unlikely.

Fun decisions to have to make! (on color).

I didn't meant to sound like I was disagreeing with you.... I don't think manufacturers disclose profit margins on models. It just so happens that with only one model it looks like we can infer some of the numbers for now (and since the company is public). I probably should have replied to Fr23shjive's post .

[roblab]

Probably related to this news:
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showt...s-30M-in-Tesla

(Just in case someone hadn't seen that yet.)

Just got home, called up TSLA stock quote. No new buy ins from Panasonic, or auto makers. Stock jumped second time this week, another 15%. Hope you all have TSLA stock.

[dsm363]

I went through the same decision between fusion or Radiant Red or white. The car looks amazing in Red but decided to get the white with CF too. Glad it looks cool as well. Either way, it's still a Tesla Roadster so I'm sure I'll be happy. Waiting for delivery is tough!

[TEG]

Just got home, called up TSLA stock quote. No new buy ins from Panasonic, or auto makers. Stock jumped second time this week, another 15%. Hope you all have TSLA stock.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-1...n-analyst.html