Official Tesla Model S thread

[braineo]

You have not seen nothin' yet. Current valuation will seem cheap when it is noticed that TESLA is grabbing more batteries than the whole laptop market of the world. Panasonic is re-starting battery factories to cover Tesla growth needs. Superchargers will soon allow you to criss cross the country. Let me have a model X with a tent and inflatable mattress and this Boomer Hobo will start driving all over the place just because you can do it without any gas.


I''e been long in Tesla since $28. Everytime my Leaf looks itself in a mirror it sees a Tesla as its future self.

 

[GeekEV]

I mean, come on, for a company that has yet to make a profit on its cars...

What are you basing this on? Not Tesla's quarterly shareholder letter:

While profits were still modest in absolute terms and not our primary mission, net income increased by 70% from last quarter... Total non-GAAP gross margin improved to 22%, up from 17% last quarter. ...automotive gross margin excluding zero emission vehicle (ZEV) credits improved by 8 percentage points. This was in addition to the 9 percentage points of improvement last quarter. ...expected to continue to improve non-GAAP automotive gross margin to our target level of 25% (excluding ZEV credits) in Q4 this year. We are cautiously optimistic that a number above that level may be achievable in future quarters.

On a non-GAAP basis, at least, they sure sound profitable to me.

 

[GRA]

I mean, come on, for a company that has yet to make a profit on its cars...

What are you basing this on? Not Tesla's quarterly shareholder letter:

While profits were still modest in absolute terms and not our primary mission, net income increased by 70% from last quarter... Total non-GAAP gross margin improved to 22%, up from 17% last quarter. ...automotive gross margin excluding zero emission vehicle (ZEV) credits improved by 8 percentage points. This was in addition to the 9 percentage points of improvement last quarter. ...expected to continue to improve non-GAAP automotive gross margin to our target level of 25% (excluding ZEV credits) in Q4 this year. We are cautiously optimistic that a number above that level may be achievable in future quarters.

On a non-GAAP basis, at least, they sure sound profitable to me.

When they can do that on a GAAP basis and show a profit purely on car production, I'll agree with you.

 

[planet4ever]

Hey, guys, the Tesla stock thread is over HERE.

Ray

 

[KJD]

Tesla Battery In The Model S Costs “Less Than A Quarter” Of The Car In Most Cases

that translates to a total maximum cost of about $20,250 or $238/kWh.

http://insideevs.com/tesla-battery-in-the-model-s-costs-less-than-a-quarter-of-the-car-in-most-cases/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Tesla Battery In The Model S Costs “Less Than A Quarter” Of The Car In Most Cases

that translates to a total maximum cost of about $20,250 or $238/kWh.

http://insideevs.com/tesla-battery-in-the-model-s-costs-less-than-a-quarter-of-the-car-in-most-cases/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"in most cases?"

prices should go down but not sure I am onboard with the math. you cant really take a "per Kwh" price from a large pack to a smaller one. there are fixed costs that are nearly the same that apply to any capacity battery

 

[edatoakrun]

...there are fixed costs that are nearly the same that apply to any capacity battery

But the fixed costs of the pack, as well as operational costs over time, are not the same, but are higher for any ATM battery pack design than for any passive TM design, like the LEAFs.

IMO, If battery cost ever really get to the ~$100-$200 a kWh range that many now predict, passive cooling, or just with a thermostat controlled vent fan to cool with ambient air, will probably become the norm for most all BEVs.

 

[GregH]

Tesla Battery In The Model S Costs “Less Than A Quarter” Of The Car In Most Cases

that translates to a total maximum cost of about $20,250 or $238/kWh.

http://insideevs.com/tesla-battery-in-the-model-s-costs-less-than-a-quarter-of-the-car-in-most-cases/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

50 kWh of lithium power would only translate to a maximum of $11,900 in costs…

Wow.. Wouldn't it be great if Nissan could do 24kWh for $5700?!!?! I was prepared for the 24kWh to cost $11,900.. Perhaps someday we'll find out.

 

[GRA]

...there are fixed costs that are nearly the same that apply to any capacity battery

But the fixed costs of the pack, as well as operational costs over time, are not the same, but are higher for any ATM battery pack design than for any passive TM design, like the LEAFs.

IMO, If battery cost ever really get to the ~$100-$200 a kWh range that many now predict, passive cooling, or just with a thermostat controlled vent fan to cool with ambient air, will probably become the norm for most all BEVs.

This article and the comments go into a great deal of detail re Tesla battery costs:

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1084682_what-goes-into-a-tesla-model-s-battery--and-what-it-may-cost" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

...there are fixed costs that are nearly the same that apply to any capacity battery

But the fixed costs of the pack, as well as operational costs over time, are not the same, but are higher for any ATM battery pack design than for any passive TM design, like the LEAFs.

IMO, If battery cost ever really get to the ~$100-$200 a kWh range that many now predict, passive cooling, or just with a thermostat controlled vent fan to cool with ambient air, will probably become the norm for most all BEVs.

This article and the comments go into a great deal of detail re Tesla battery costs:

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1084682_what-goes-into-a-tesla-model-s-battery--and-what-it-may-cost" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ya seen it and as always, betting there is a lot more to the story than is stated.

if the story was above board what is stopping one of the electro geniuses on this board from throwing together a LEAF pack for $5,000? or even $6,000?

 

[GRA]

From an ABG article on the new firmware updates:

" There's an interesting "feature" to the maps change, too. Tesla admits that, "Note that the map labels will not adjust as the map rotates so they will be upside down when you are driving south.""

It's a $70k+ car, and they can't rotate the names on the map? IIRR, the map display previously only allowed north-up orientation, so allowing heading-up is a nice option, but (to borrow an acronym from the Air Force) YGBSM.

 

[mitch672]

From an ABG article on the new firmware updates:

" There's an interesting "feature" to the maps change, too. Tesla admits that, "Note that the map labels will not adjust as the map rotates so they will be upside down when you are driving south.""

It's a $70k+ car, and they can't rotate the names on the map? IIRR, the map display previously only allowed north-up orientation, so allowing heading-up is a nice option, but (to borrow an acronym from the Air Force) YGBSM.

They are using bit images/tiles, not vectors, that's why the street names are fixed.

 

[GeekEV]

From an ABG article on the new firmware updates:

" There's an interesting "feature" to the maps change, too. Tesla admits that, "Note that the map labels will not adjust as the map rotates so they will be upside down when you are driving south.""

It's a $70k+ car, and they can't rotate the names on the map? IIRR, the map display previously only allowed north-up orientation, so allowing heading-up is a nice option, but (to borrow an acronym from the Air Force) YGBSM.

I haven't gotten the new firmware update yet, but that definitely sounds like something to fix in 5.1!!! :shock: :lol:

 

[evnow]

This maps stuff is not easy - as Apple found out !!

If Tesla is supposed to follow in Apple's footsteps, are we going to see some really screwed up maps ?

 

[GeekEV]

At least they're not trying to do they whole maps themselves. They're using Google Maps. They can probably switch to Google's new vector based maps to solve this problem, but that would take more time.

 

[Zythryn]

...
It's a $70k+ car, and they can't rotate the names on the map? IIRR, the map display previously only allowed north-up orientation, so allowing heading-up is a nice option, but (to borrow an acronym from the Air Force) YGBSM.

They are moving from North Up only maps to Car Facing up maps.
The intermediate step is definitely an improvement in my mind.
If it bugged me that much I would simply leave it on North Up until they finished the transition.

 

[ebill3]

I guess I'll wait until I see it. Maybe tonight? Probably, not, as I really drained the battery today, and my puny system will take most of the night to recharge. Don't think they download during charging, or do they?

 

[Zythryn]

I guess I'll wait until I see it. Maybe tonight? Probably, not, as I really drained the battery today, and my puny system will take most of the night to recharge. Don't think they download during charging, or do they?

The download occurs pretty much anytime from what I understand. Once it downloads then you get the alarm clock notification telling you it is available.
You can then schedule it to install at a time of your choosing.

During the installation the car can't be driven and can't be charged. It will tell you how long it should take. Typically about 45 minutes.

 

[gaswalla]

Only the beta testers have received 5.0 so far.. I'd wait another month before it rolls out to everyone

 

[Zythryn]

Only the beta testers have received 5.0 so far.. I'd wait another month before it rolls out to everyone

This is not the case. New cars are being delivered now with 5.0. Just sat in one at a service center that had 5.0 and parking sensors.
I have to say I loved the implementation of parking sensors!

No word yet on the roll out for the firmware updates, but it should be fairly soon.