Just sold my Ferrari to buy more TSLA

You realize this makes no sense. I only charge at all when I travel more than 200 miles. Around home where you and I drive 95% of the time I just plug in at home and never have the inconvenience of having to go to a local gasoline station. Never, ever. Not since last summer actually and never again. Still have to take the Ferrari for local gas though.

When I travel long distances I stop every three hours regardless of what kind of car I'm in so I can eat or take a leak. There's no way you fill your gasoline tank with gasoline, take a leak and get on the road in less than ten minutes. However long it actually takes it costs you $50-$75. It may take me five minutes more but it costs me exactly zero. There's no charge to supercharge.

This time at the pump argument is nonsensical unless we all want to include the value of our time spent at traffic signals and behind semi's.

 

Just for the heck of it, I looked at historical stock market prices on 02/11/2014 when the thread started versus the close last Friday:

02/11/2014 Tesla 196.62
03/06/2015 Tesla 193.88

02/11/2014 Dow 15994.77
03/06/2015 Dow 17856.78

I didn't realize that Tesla stock has been flat over the past year.

 

That's not true. A couple weeks ago I checked a charging station at a local Walgreens. It costs .49 per kwh, you have to insert your credit card. So the "fill up" would cost about $40. I noticed a local Stop & Shop also has chargers in their parking lot. Next time I'm over that way I'll check their pricing.

And I don't believe it takes you five more minutes to put 80 kw in your battery than it takes me to put 20 gal. in my car.

I'm not knocking the car, it's a very nice car, just not for everyone.

 

What I do not understand about the Tesla is why buy a car that can't drive more then 250 miles without a recharge why not put a gas or dismal powered generator in the car combine that with kinetic recharge and maybe solar panels and the car could go on forever then it would likely be a fine car but as of now seems like a BMW I 8 type car makes far more sense .. If you want to buy anelectric car
Re the stock is tremendously over valued ...IMHO

 

The I8 is a pretty interesting test bed but in terms of economy BMW's claims of 100 mpg+ are being proven by owners to be total BS.

Hybrid's that do 40mpg in the real world are no solution to anything. An electric car that easily provides the range the vast amount of people need on a daily basis with a single charge makes far better sense long term.

In terms of chargers, Tesla's charging stations are free forever to owners. Most employers are also beginning to offer that charging ability free of charge.

 

First off, maybe biased because I don't buy into global warming or climate change. That's the only reason I see most people that will buy these things. Acceleration 0to60 maybe thrilling for a few times, but get old after awhile. Don't see people buying on acceleration alone.

As a car, the body panels and paint are of GM quality, as in poor overall. Same with the interior. Road handling is also not that great. As it sits its a car for the liberals amongst the 1%. Not enough to generate sales enough to justify its current stock value. The free charging stations, while an interesting sales gimmick, will bite them in the behind!

I have the stock on my short list.

 

I like the i8 but also love the fisker Karma...(not sure if they are still in production) it´s a beautifull car and avery smart one...if i could, i'd probably buy one...

 

Global warming It´s not a buying thing, ity´s a fact....

 

There are several discussions about it in the politics forum section.

 

Not putting anybody down, but if there's anything I personally don't need, it's a politics forum!

The OP was originally talking about Tesla as an investment and I think "Splitting Atoms" put that in perspective. I really don't think anyone at Ferrari is losing sleep over Tesla regardless how good it is...apples/grapefruit 😊 Both good but for totally different reasons.

 

Tesla peeps are fanatics and treat Musk like some gawd. Having said that I think it's a fad car company and when the big manufacturers put their mind to it will be able to squeeze them. If I were a big manufacturer I'd let a little guy pave the way and then move in later. F will go whatever way they need to to hold the niche luxury sports car market. All bets are off with Monte gone.

 

I'm not sure which was more chilling in today's WSJ article: that Elon is laying off 50% of the chinese Tesla team, or that the team had grown to TEN THOUSAND FTEs!!!, or that they only sold ~550 cars in China last year. If this guy pulls if off it will be a major coup in the history of business, especially the auto business. But all other indicators sure point to Tucker/Bricklin/DeLorean and other less auspicious antecedents…

 

>Non-Tesla stuff deleted<

However, I am not a fan of the Model S. At all. Let me state up-front that I've never driven one. But in terms of fit/finish of the ones I've looked at very, very closely, the quality is equal to cars around half their price. I think people ooh and aww over the gimmicks like the pop-out door handles, and the large, ugly, and unergonomic flat screen console. These are all drawbacks to me. The high performance is also gimmicky. It is high performance but you could never really lap or track the thing -- the batteries and rest of the car won't hold up to continued high performance output. I have no interest in one of these cars. No comment on the stock.

 

Tesla Superchargers charge Tesla's only. Google Tesla Superchargers for the info. Those EV chargers at Walgreens are for Leaf's and Volts and whatever. Tesla's don't use or need those. No cost to charge at a Tesla Supercharger. Zero. Takes about 20 minutes to replace 200 miles of range and you're on you're way. There's no cost to travel in a Tesla.

I agree, Tesla's are not for everyone. i.e those who prefer slower acceleration, hauling around a heavy inefficient power plant, and paying to refuel. To each his own.

 

Again, I'm not putting the car down and like you said, not for everyone. HOWEVER, the cold hard truth is there are no free lunches. At what point will any manufacturer, especially a one horse company struggling to make a profit, stop giving away free go juice? Owners are on borrowed time.

 

Look at this map of the supercharger locations. If you are not along highly-populated areas of the east coast or in California the thought of using these as a viable way to drive your Tesla for "free" is laughable.
Supercharger | Tesla Motors

But even assuming you are in these areas it seems like a Catch-22. If the number of Teslas suddenly quadrupled, your 20 minute charge would mean waiting for a free spot for an indeterminite amount of time, then the 20 minutes charge time starts. And if Tesla builds more supercharging stations due to this sales growth in hopes of one day reaching a "critical mass" where use of supercharging stations is viable for everyone, they won't be giving it away for free anymore.

At some point Tesla will have to actually start making money or see its stock price collapse. The easiest way will be to monetize the supercharging stations.

 

Please stop saying it takes 20 minutes to replace 200 miles or range. Tesla's own website states it's longer. To get a full charge will take over and hour.

 

I agree. How do you tell the pioneers from the settlers? The pioneers have the arrows in their backs...

I'll give Musk credit for making a go of it but long term I am skeptical.

As to a danger to Ferrari... well, if you think of them on brand terms, if Tesla can endear itself as an aspirational brand then it could one day be an issue for Ferrari. Not now though.

 

OK, I did Google it. From the Walgreens location in Marlboro, Mass., whose charger won't work on my Tesla, I now have to drive either 25 miles due west to Auburn, or 25 miles due east into downtown Boston (not advisable during rush hour).

Of course there is a charging station in their Watertown service center only about 18 miles away, but this is quoted from their website-

Charging
1 Model S and 1 NEMA 14-50, available by appointment only

Really? You have to know the day and time you're going to need a charge? Really?

And by the way, according to Tesla it takes 30 minutes for an 80% charge.

 

Sorry to hijack this Tesla stock thread with facts about the car itself. I love my Ferrari and don't have any reason to care one way or another whether other Ferrari guys appreciate a new American automobile technology or not. When things change, as they certainly are now, good information is often lacking and opinions form around misinformation. i.e. this discussion about Walgreen chargers and now NEMA 14-50 outlets. Tesla Superchargers are unique, are only for Tesla cars, are free for the life of the car (presumably included in the price of the car) and add 200 miles of range in ABOUT 20 minutes. The charge rate varies somewhat every time and is much faster initially, then tapers. The last 20 - 30% of the charge takes about as long as the first 70-80%. There are no appointments and I've never seen anyone have to wait. Plug in, get a drink, check your email and go.

You only need a supercharger when you're traveling. I drive from Sacramento to Santa Barbara, about 400 miles each way, and charge up twice in the time it takes to grab a coffee and take a leak. Around home I plug into a dryer plug in the garage (NEMA 14-30) when I get home and never think about the charge.

I used to hate getting in previous cars and realizing I needed to go to the gas station and buy gas in order to have enough range to get to my destination. Range frustration. I haven't bought gas since September. The solar on the roof of my house fuels my car and my 'tank' is always full. No more range frustration. Pretty cool.

I took a Tesla test drive last summer after a fellow F1 fan bought one and said it was the best car he'd ever driven. Four seconds in I knew I was going to buy it, and did the next day. No question it's the best car I've ever experienced.

Surely not for everyone. It's different (e.g. no power curve, no gears, regenerative braking) but in most ways it's simply superior to cars carrying around a power plant with hundreds of moving parts and combusting liquid fuel. The F430 will be the last internal combustion engine vehicle I own, without doubt.

Cheers

 

I don't know what the fuss is all about, Tesla is a very good car that needs some improvement, just like any other car every made! Ferrari nor Mercedes wasn't perfect right out the box. Heck we can't even get a consistent good paint job on $300k cars!

 

Musk is a genius. If he is not spread too thin by his ideas and yes men he will likely have an incredible impact on mankind in one way or another. The company is where it is because people believe in the man. Only time will tell what will happen to Tesla.

 

This is interesting: Is the Most Bearish Call for Tesla by Merrill Lynch Finally Making Sense? - Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) - 24/7 Wall St.

 

Tesla is surging - Business Insider

 

Anybody knows how long the batteries are supposed to last? Cost of replacement?