Worried about teslas and model s future

Eldictator · 02-04-2010, 04:02 AM

I'm being pessimistic but all the talk about acquisitions and going public seems like the slow path to the death of the company, what does everyone think?
Tesla hires new manufacturing lead, but there's more — Autoblog Green

Tesla’s Elon Musk Can’t Cash Out Quite Yet | Autopia | Wired.com

Cobos · 02-04-2010, 09:55 AM

That was a lot of doom and gloom. I'm pretty sure Tesla has thought this through, after all the IPO is a PUBLIC offering. They knew someone would read through the IPO documents and the facts that revealed still can't imply they think they will fail.
Also keep in mind DOE supposedly did their due diligence before they approved Tesla for that loan, so they too must think the road to the Model S is doable.
After all the fact that the Roadster will be gone for a while might actually increase sales, at least if they finally get started on the factory for the Model S so they silence the cries of vaporware.

Cobos

Majerus · 02-04-2010, 10:34 AM

It seems like there is a lot of news concerning the future stake of Tesla as a whole. With the IPO option along with a few other things, i'm starting to think that my dream of driving a model s may already be over before it really started. Its a shame I hope that Tesla can pull through and deliver the car that they promised.

vfx · 02-04-2010, 10:52 AM

I guess everyone has a different level of comfort. Compare this minor blip in Tesla's history to back when we had no idea if there would be any car. Now they have 1000 cars and the US loaning the company 1/2 a Billion. And where is the fear?

Arnold Panz · 02-04-2010, 11:16 AM

An IPO is a tremendous sign of strength for any start-up company, not weakness. There are many reasons to go public, and many factors that go into the timing of when to actually do an IPO, but clearly on of the main factors, if not the #1 main factor, is the belief that the company has created enough comfort with potential investors that they will draw a high price for their shares, and the price will hold after the IPO date. If Tesla were truly on a downward trajectory, they definitely would not be doing their IPO. Nothing could be worse for a small company than to go public and have its shares tank immediately. You never see this happens because their bankers wouldn't take it public if it was even a reasonable possibility.

I should also note that, if I told you the entire business model (take reservations months or years in advance of receiving a car, and in most cases, the person has never seen the car in person nor driven one), you'd think I was an idiot if I said there would be no cancellations or refunds requested, so the fact that some Roadster reservers and Model S reservers have asked for their money back is totally normal and expected. The fact that Tesla has probably more than 2000 reservations (at a minimum of $5000 a pop) for a car not scheduled to come out until late 2011 at the earliest and that no one has been able to test drive is truly remarkable, and probably a much better sign to the (investor) marketplace of Tesla's viability for the future.

Majerus · 02-04-2010, 01:25 PM

Very good point. I really hope this will all just pull together, and then everything go as planned.

steve841 · 02-04-2010, 07:23 PM

I was leery about pulling the trigger on a $5K deposit but did.

With DOE approving a loan, an IPO, and announcements about filling positions, I sleep a little better.

But, no one else is heading down the Tesla path. WHEN, not if, gas hits that magical $4.00 / $5.00 per gallon. That Tesla name is gonna ring in everyone's ear loudly.

With the Middle East in a never ending struggle to kill each other, Iran developing nukes, Jihadists targeting oil... I think my $5k deposit will cover my butt in 2 years at the gas pump....

Iz · 02-05-2010, 10:38 AM

I've seen several posts regarding cancellations and am wondering if current reservation holders are re-sequenced in the queue?

Kevin Harney · 02-05-2010, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iz

I've seen several posts regarding cancellations and am wondering if current reservation holders are re-sequenced in the queue?

If it is anything like the Roadster then everyone moves up in line accordingly. I think that TM actually sold some of the ealier reservation #s for the Roadster to celebs and high profile people when they became available but for the most part I think the whole line just got lower numbers.

Iz · 02-05-2010, 11:50 AM

Kevin, thanks for the reply. Not that I want TM to lose reservation holders but it would be nice to move up in the queue a bit. We also do not know the initial Model S rollout in terms of numbers.