Entire Supercharging Team Fired?

News yesterday is that the entire 500+ person word-wide SC team has been let go. That is alarming. Why would Elon sack the execs and all the employees of this important part of Tesla's business? Could Tesla be selling the SC network off to a third party? Opinions? Other theories?

 

[gearchruncher]

Or I threw a test. Congrats on your response but does it bother you that no one before you seems to know that?

Ahh, the ever popular defense of "I meant to do that to test you!" and "You're a nerd for being right and it doesn't matter I was wrong, dork!" Are we 12 here?

Literally nobody else in this thread thinks Elon has a controlling share. It's the whole reason the vote on re-instating the pay package matters. Hell, if Elon had a controlling share, the 2018 pay package wouldn't have gone to court since you'd only need to ask the person with the controlling share if they were misled, and they would say "no."

Find me a post in this thread that indicates Elon has controlling shares.

 

[EatsShoots]

So? The base Tacoma starts at $31,500, which is well under the price of an average car transaction in the USA.

The $74K Tacoma is sold and equipped like a full race truck. It's not for people looking for a forever transport car. It's a very specific niche vehicle for people that can afford it.

This is like saying did you know you can option a Toyota Corolla to $50K!? Yeah, that's a full race car basically. Or you can option a F-150 to almost $130K if you want by buying the Raptor trim with the $30K engine and all the other goodies. Companies have sold "hot" versions of their vehicles forever at highly profitable margins. Tesla does it too, and used to do it more successfully with the margins on cars like the Plaid editions before they flattened pricing.

C'mon dude. There aren't any $31,500 tacomas. That's like musk saying the model 3 would start at $35k (it took five years to get there).

I think you have a very broad view of what constitutes a racing vehicle, btw.

Good luck actually being able to find a $33K (MSRP+destination) Tacoma.

You'll find plenty of them in the $40-50K range.

Correct. This is simply what tacomas cost now. Other than a scant couple of outliers all of the ones locally available to me are in the $46-54k range. If you sign up and wait you can probably get one of the $32k ones. Or one of the $74k ones.

 

[EatsShoots]

shhhhhht. that's a thing here.... any vehicle *not* made by Tesla: let's quote the highest config/trim level and also claim there's another +$10k in dealership markups

any vehicle which is a Tesla: let's quote the lowest price possible *after* tax/ fuel savings....

$74k is a build config directly on toyota's website, and does not include any dealer markup.

 

[ken_neth]

The best thing for Tesla would be to make Musk the Chief Creative Officer and find an adult to run the business. His ego won't allow that, though.

Nah. The best thing for Tesla would be for Elon to launch a Cybertruck and stage races between it and the already orbiting Tesla Roadster MK1.....

 

[gearchruncher]

Do you know how he was involved in the cave rescue? He wasn't. Not at all. Not a bit. He wasn't involved. He had no part in that at all. He was just an armchair quarterback commenting from the sidelines. He got on some talk show, only because he was a diver and had done cave exploring, so media wanted more TV coverage and found him to give opinions.

Do you realize how weak of a defense that is? The if you replaced "diver" with "CEO" then this could be about Musk as much as Vern Unsworth.

And then for that, your defense is hilariously wrong. This testimony literally occurred in court:

The lead rescue-diver, Rick Stanton of Coventry, testified that Mr Unsworth was essential in providing a detailed map of the cave that helped him locate the boys and eventually bring them to safety.
.....

He said he thought Mr Musk arrived in Thailand with the craft to “showboat”.

Mr Unsworth was also one of the first people on the scene. He had detailed knowledge of those caves, flood patterns, sizes of openings, etc. I mean, the wikipedia page on the event opens with:

British caver Vern Unsworth, who lives in Chiang Rai and has detailed knowledge of the cave complex, was scheduled to make a solo venture into the cave on 24 June when he received a call about the missing boys.[35] Unsworth advised the Thai government to request assistance from the British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC).[35][36]

Yet you call him "not involved at all". Seems like you are using the same gaslighting playbook that Elon likes to use, and you're not much better than someone that calls someone else a "pedo" with no evidence just because they hurt your feelings.

Even worse, you somehow think that being insulted is justification for Musk calling him a Pedo with no evidence. As if your reader is supposed to go "oh yeah, I can see why the CEO of Tesla did that, it's cool, what an amazing genius Musk is, I'm glad he's so focused on Tesla's success"

 

[Eric33432]

Tesla has built a lot of chargers that work very reliably, and I believe most have been built without government money, but Tesla probably got some tax breaks. Anyone know for sure if that is correct? Tesla has done an amazing job of it while others just talk about it.

538 new stations turned on in 2023

2023 was another record breaking year for stations as Tesla opened up 538 new sites to bring the total to 2,362 sites in North America. I'm expecting close to 700 new stations in 2024 with the pace that they are on.

teslamotorsclub.com

Yes, there are some areas, mostly in the west, that need filling in.

He said existing SC locations would be expanded as needed, and that additional SC locations would be added, just not as fast.

Meanwhile, supposedly other companies have massive plans to build out charging locations.

I have heard some complain that it is just as easy to build a new SC location as to expand an existing one, but how do the people that say that know that? Leasing and buying sites is one of the most difficult parts of a new location, and if a location has room for more stalls, it seems to me it would be easier to expand than develop a new SC location, even if a second utility transformer is needed for the additional charging equipment and stalls.

Apparently the ~500 person team that develops sites was at odds with Musk's vision and he fired them all in a rage. Musk should not have left contractors, potential site owners, and other car manufacturers in the dark, and should not have fired everyone in a rage.

 

[gearchruncher]

$74k is a build config directly on toyota's website, and does not include any dealer markup.

C'mon dude. There aren't any $31,500 tacomas. That's like musk saying the model 3 would start at $35k (it took five years to get there).

I think you have a very broad view of what constitutes a racing vehicle, btw.

$32K is also a build directly on Toyota's website. What is your point in picking the very most expensive config and not discussing the base one at all? Toytoa has 8 models between that $32K and $64K base price. And like you mention, the $64K ones are as rare as the $32K ones.

The $63K one with $11K in options is literally a "TRD PRO"- Toytoa RACING Development truck with a bunch of off road recovery gear selected as "options."

Meanwhile, Model 3's are $72K, and Model S's are $128K because they can be optioned that way, right? What is Tesla even doing anymore!?

What is your point here? Yes, companies have expensive versions of their more standard products. News at 10.

 

[zoomer0056]

Apparently the ~500 person team that develops sites was at odds with Musk's vision and he fired them all in a rage.

Your take, or do you have something supporting this? If it's true, then "not seeing the same vision" is a good reason. I bet there's a lot more going on, not just one dimension

 

[EatsShoots]

$32K is also a build directly on Toyota's website. What is your point in picking the very most expensive config and not discussing the base one at all? Toytoa has 8 models between that $32K and $64K base price.

The $63K one with $11K in options is literally a "TRD PRO"- Toytoa RACING Development truck.

Model 3's are $72K, and Model S's are $128K right because they can be optioned that way? What is Tesla even doing anymore!?

What is your point here? Yes, companies have expensive versions of their more standard products. News at 10.

lol, yes, TRD stands for "racing", in the way a pinstripe makes a car faster. You can even get a TRD Sequoia. Pretty sure that's not tearing up the baja 1000 any more than the TRD Avalon is winning any races. I think you're not at all familiar with Toyota. It makes a couple of modest changes and throws a TRD badge on it. It has nothing to do with racing, and it sure doesn't make something a "full race truck".

My point with the example is Toyota is asking too much for vehicles. Don't just take my word for it, though. It's an opinion shared by the bulk of people on this thread at the toyotatacoma forum @ reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ToyotaTacoma/comments/1ajljsu/2024_tacoma_worth_the_price_anymore_when_the

 

[gearchruncher]

Your take, or do you have something supporting this? If it's true, then "not seeing the same vision" is a good reason. I bet there's a lot more going on, not just one dimension

Do you have some evidence that Musk's "vision" goes beyond "sales are down 20%, so there are 20% too many of you, and there better be 20% fewer of you in my vision on Tuesday morning"?

 

[Sunvalleylaw]

I'm going to guess that a year from now, nobody will care about this event and there will be many more fast chargers to use even if they don't have TESLA printed on them.

a brief look at future sites for EvGO, EA, chargeplug tells you the opposite... and some of those "future non-Tesla sites" have been listed for YEARS and still aren't there. so yeah.... not holding my breath

I am thinking where I am it will be somewhere between those two realities. It is looking like at least one north/south route will open up, but it will be the long way around and not the one I would prefer. And I bet that one waits a while. These from Idaho's updated NEVI plan. One thing to note is that even where there is DCFC charging exists, very few really comply with NEVI standards yet. But you can see that North South route that goes just a bit out of the way for me in Hailey. I really want one up in Stanley, up highway 75 and US 93 from me in Hailey, for more direct access to the Missoula area. I bet that will come but it will be a while.

Here is the link to Idaho's NEVI project in case it is of interest. IDAHO NEVI PROGRAM.

No one is expecting to see the McCall supercharger any time soon now. And also, as I said above, one that was long supposed to open first by 2022 and then 2023 is now way long overdue, and no sign of anything happening that anyone I know has been able to tell. So no, Elon is not helping. McCall looks to add Tesla Superchargers to public lot

 

[gearchruncher]

My point with the example is Toyota is asking too much for vehicles. Don't just take my word for it, though. It's an opinion shared by the bulk of people on this thread at the toyotatacoma forum @ reddit:

I love that the link you shared as evidence that "Toyota is asking too much for vehicles" is titled "Is a Toyota Tacoma worth the price anymore when the alternative is a Toyota Tundra?" Clearly Toyota pricing is driving everyone to Toyotas

But, who can afford a $74k truck? Not the kind of person to keep a vehicle for 10-15 years, so who is this for?

Who can afford a $72K Model 3 or a $128K Model S? Who is this for?

I think you're not at all familiar with Toyota. It makes a couple of modest changes and throws a TRD badge on it.

I think you aren't familiar with all automakers including Tesla, who charges $15K for software, $4,500 for larger wheels or $15K for brakes.

And this relates to Tesla and supercharging layoffs how?

 

[zoomer0056]

Do you have some evidence that Musk's "vision" goes beyond "sales are down 20%, so there are 20% too many of you, and there better be 20% fewer of you in my vision on Tuesday morning"?

?

 

[HitchHiker71]

Ahh, the ever popular defense of "I meant to do that to test you!" and "You're a nerd for being right and it doesn't matter I was wrong, dork!" Are we 12 here?

Literally nobody else in this thread thinks Elon has a controlling share. It's the whole reason the vote on re-instating the pay package matters. Hell, if Elon had a controlling share, the 2018 pay package wouldn't have gone to court since you'd only need to ask the person with the controlling share if they were misled, and they would say "no."

Find me a post in this thread that indicates Elon has controlling shares.

Precisely - likely anyone who is a TSLA investor knows that Elon holds roughly 12% of the outstanding share base at this time - he'd still have a share base in the low 20 percentile range had he not chosen to sell off a ton of shares to buy Twitter.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

C'mon dude. There aren't any $31,500 tacomas. That's like musk saying the model 3 would start at $35k (it took five years to get there).

I think you have a very broad view of what constitutes a racing vehicle, btw.


Correct. This is simply what tacomas cost now. Other than a scant couple of outliers all of the ones locally available to me are in the $46-54k range. If you sign up and wait you can probably get one of the $32k ones. Or one of the $74k ones.

There’s no $35k Model 3. Presently the Model 3 RWD starts at $39k.

 

[gearchruncher]

Precisely - likely anyone who is a TSLA investor knows that Elon holds roughly 12% of the outstanding share base at this time - he'd still have a share base in the low 20 percentile range had he not chosen to sell off a ton of shares to buy Twitter.

Also, if Elon held 58% of shares in TSLA, he would have been worth $700B+ in 2022, making him the richest person on earth by about 3X, and he'd be worth about $500B today, instead of $200B. I mean, assuming being the majority shareholder didn't enable him to run Tesla into a much smaller valuation like he's done with other wholly owned companies of his.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

Precisely - likely anyone who is a TSLA investor knows that Elon holds roughly 12% of the outstanding share base at this time - he'd still have a share base in the low 20 percentile range had he not chosen to sell off a ton of shares to buy Twitter.

He had to sell a ton of Tesla shares to fund the brilliantly conceived and executed takeover of twitter for $44B…. A company currently estimated to be worth $12B per fidelity analysts

 

[gearchruncher]

There’s no $35k Model 3. Presently the Model 3 RWD starts at $39k.

They are referring to the claim in 2018 that there would be a $35K Model 3. Which actually did ship for a while in 2019, not 5 years later as claimed. I know two people that have had them since 2019. But they were rare and Tesla didn't really want to sell them given how well the more expensive models were selling.

Remarkably, in 2024, you actually can buy a Model 3 for way under $35K in 2018 dollars. $39K in 2024 is about $32K in 2018.

 

[tivoboy]

Also, if Elon held 58% of shares in TSLA, he would have been worth $700B+ in 2022, making him the richest person on earth by about 3X, and he'd be worth about $500B today, instead of $200B. I mean, assuming being the majority shareholder didn't enable him to run Tesla into a much smaller valuation like he's done with other wholly owned companies of his.

Not to be pedantic, but the entire company is only worth 571B TODAY, so how would - even if he had 58% - of 571B be 500B? Are you also adding in some portion (42%??) of SpaceX ~ 170B as well to these maths?

 

[gearchruncher]

Not to be pedantic, but the entire company is only worth 571B TODAY, so how would - even if he had 58% - of 571B be 500B? Are you also adding in some portion (42%??) of SpaceX ~ 170B as well to these maths?

He's worth $200B today with 12%, which is only about $65B in TSLA. So I was adding about $130B to whatever TSLA he would theoretically own because that's what he supposedly has in other places.

58% = $330B, plus $130B = $460B, which is as accurate to $500B as any numbers Elon ever gives. I'm still waiting on my FSD free trials "this week" and it's been 6 weeks.