Tesla, TSLA & the Investment World: the Perpetual Investors' Roundtable

[EVNow]

Amazon has been working on their own shipping fleet and is currently using third party delivery drivers. The Rivian full frame chassis could support a delivery box-truck style body.

Not sure it makes much sense from this perspective. They would be better off just buying EV delivery vans from any vendor. The last thing you want to do is to bank on a new auto maker for your critical infrastructure.

 

[KarenRei]

I'm making myself watch this Trump speech to see if there's any market-moving news. Man, does this guy ever stop talking? It just rambles from topic to topic.

 

[1101011]

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway does a rapid U-turn on Oracle - CNN
Somewhat sudden - following Ellison joining Tesla board. Anti-Elon?

Do I need to buy a tin foil hat or can I just make one?

Available on Amazon, free shipping with Prime.

 

[Dan Detweiler]

I'm making myself watch this Trump speech to see if there's any market-moving news. Man, does this guy ever stop talking? It just rambles from topic to topic.

Uhhh...it's a speech. Those are usually pretty one sided conversations. Just sayin'

Dan

 

[ggies07]

Shell acquires home battery/EV charger company sonnen

Nooooo... ..I hope Shell doesn't lock their product up....

 

[CharlesSr]

Something I don't understand about Rivian. Their entry-level truck with a 105kWh battery pack and 4 motors starts at $69,000. That price does not seem to be realistic. They plan to sell their higher-end truck with a 180kWh battery pack first. I wonder how many people will buy a truck that is going to be at least $100k.

 

[mongo]

Not sure it makes much sense from this perspective. They would be better off just buying EV delivery vans from any vendor. The last thing you want to do is to bank on a new auto maker for your critical infrastructure.

What vendor has an EV van in the cargo size and quantity Amazon would be looking for? As long as the tech is viable, Amazon could buy the entire company and take it internal (like the Kiva warehouse robots).
They already have delivery systems in place, so it is not critical. However, going electric would be a cost saving for a fleet. By buying into the company, Amazon gets to set design characteristics in their favor, direct support from engineering, and purchase units at a lower cost.

 

[Intl Professor]

I'm making myself watch this Trump speech to see if there's any market-moving news. Man, does this guy ever stop talking? It just rambles from topic to topic.

That's why it's called "word salad." Tasteless.

 

[RobStark]

Electric truck start-up Rivian announces $700 million investment round led by Amazon

told ya what MS-AJ was up to ....

Lex Luther has teamed up with Clark Kent to battle Tony Stark......

 

[EVNow]

Electric truck start-up Rivian announces $700 million investment round led by Amazon

told ya what MS-AJ was up to ....

This is interesting.

The business case for an electric pickup or SUV could be stronger than one for a sedan, given how much money companies have had to sink into electric batteries and motors and how difficult it has been for companies to make money on electric cars.

Which companies sank money into "batteries" ? Motors are hardly that expensive …

Ofcourse, making new cars is expensive. Batteries are expensive and bulky - so it makes sense to start with more expensive SUVs, except the CW has been to try to make cars with good aero to keep the batteries smaller. Cars like i3, Kia Soul EV and Bolt - get worst of both world by being small but with bad aero.

 

[elasalle]

.

Lex Luther has teamed up with Clark Kent to battle Tony Stark......

Big picture, more like Avengers going after ICE

 

[SebastianR]

Something I don't understand about Rivian. Their entry-level truck with a 105kWh battery pack and 4 motors starts at $69,000. That price does not seem to be realistic. They plan to sell their higher-end truck with a 180kWh battery pack first. I wonder how many people will buy a truck that is going to be at least $100k.

In all fairness a lot of folks think the same about a $35k Model 3 (including right now Tesla that indicates that further cost reductions are needed before they can sell that car - they will get there, but when it was announced, it was not feasible...)

What vendor has an EV van in the cargo size and quantity Amazon would be looking for? As long as the tech is viable, Amazon could buy the entire company and take it internal (like the Kiva warehouse robots).
They already have delivery systems in place, so it is not critical. However, going electric would be a cost saving for a fleet. By buying into the company, Amazon gets to set design characteristics in their favor, direct support from engineering, and purchase units at a lower cost.

Streetscooter. Home | StreetScooter GmbH E-Nutzfahrzeuge Elektroauto Elektro Transporter Lastwagen
(EDIT: the company was created, when German Postal Services Deutsche Post didn't find a suitable EV in the market place, now they have their own line-up, start to sell to 3rd parties and are the biggest EV maker in Europe in their class of vehicles with some +20k / annum vehicle volume).

 

[gora321]

Vincent‏ @vincent13031925
The first batch @Tesla Model 3 （with MX & MS) in Tianjin port of China

Congratulation to Model 3 owners in China

Delivery should start really soon for you guys! 恭喜恭喜！ $TSLA #Tesla #Model3 #China #TeslaChina #特斯拉

7:53 AM - 15 Feb 2019
Vincent on Twitter

 

[gora321]

Ihor Dusaniwsky‏ @ihors3
$TSLA short interest $7.56 billion; 24.88 mm shares shorted; 19.81% of float; stock borrow @ 30 bps fee. Shares shorted down 609k YTD; up 179k in Feb; & down 29k over the last week. Shorts are up $679 million in YTD mark-to-market profits.

7:53 AM - 15 Feb 2019
Ihor Dusaniwsky on Twitter

 

[ReflexFunds]

This is interesting.



Which companies sank money into "batteries" ? Motors are hardly that expensive …

Ofcourse, making new cars is expensive. Batteries are expensive and bulky - so it makes sense to start with more expensive SUVs, except the CW has been to try to make cars with good aero to keep the batteries smaller. Cars like i3, Kia Soul EV and Bolt - get worst of both world by being small but with bad aero.

Motors themselves are not that expensive, but the whole EV powertrain excluding battery pack and cells adds up to c.$4.5k in a Model 3. I expect the capex for this is not immaterial. Its also worth noting a more efficient powertrain can significantly reduce the battery size needed for a given range, so investment in better motors can lead to huge savings on battery costs.

 

[gora321]

Lasse Edvardsen‏ @nasalahe
First official Model 3 customer cars registered in Norway 1 hour ago! https://teslastats.no/ #model3 #teslamodel3 #tesla #registration #norway

5:54 AM - 15 Feb 2019
Lasse Edvardsen on Twitter

 

[Unpilot]

Uhhh...it's a speech. Those are usually pretty one sided conversations. Just sayin'

Dan

I think Karen's point is the are multiple sides with his speeches and little to knit them together.

 

[gora321]

C Y‏ @travelalot2018
US trade negotiation team in Beijing. Look positive @MelissaLeeCNBC @business @carlquintanilla @SaraEisen @michaelsantoli @HalftimeReport @ReformedBroker @BeckyQuick

C Y on Twitter
4:00 AM - 15 Feb 2019

 

[gora321]

Never OT!

Ben Quinn‏Verified account @BenQuinn75
8-year-old boy with his mum on #climatestrike in London @newscientist asked him what the thought the world would be like when he was older... “Burning,” he said.

7:28 AM - 15 Feb 2019
Ben Quinn on Twitter

 

[NicoV]

16x greater electrode production density, sure. But that doesn't apply to all parts of the production process.

The way I understood it was that dry electrodes save 16x space because the drying step (i.e. conditioned storage space for god knows how many batteries they produce during the drying tume) is not needed anymore. That may be a significant part of the footprint of the gigafactory.