This past week I had the opportunity to do a full interview with former TSLA analyst, Andrea James (formerly of Dougherty & Co). The interview provided some helpful insight on the research and roles of a TSLA analyst. If you're a TSLA shareholder, I highly recommend watching it. The video is linked below in the TSLA section.
Tesla Energy
Elon Musk wants to sell you an entire 'solar roof'
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and chairman of SolarCity, hopped on an earnings call Tuesday night amid acquisition talks between the two companies to announce that SolarCity plans to release a "solar roof." Not a roof with solar panels, mind you. A solar roof. "It's a solar roof as opposed to a module on a roof," Musk said on the SolarCity earnings call. "It's not a thing on the roof, it is the roof."
A solar roof can be game-changing if it works well and is affordable.
Model S
Watch a refreshed Tesla Model S sort of break a quarter-mile record
According to some enthusiasts on the Tesla Motors Club forum, the power output of the 90-kWh battery increased earlier this year, perhaps in conjunction with the Model S refresh in April, reportedly allowing the motors to put out 50 to 70 additional horsepower. Theoretically, this would enable the all-electric sedan to shave enough time to get into the 10-second range, and now this recent record run is being held up as indisputable proof. Others, though, argue that the time improvement comes down to lower weight on this particular car – no heavy panoramic roof or other burdensome options, along with a svelte driver. Without the aid of of a dynamometer or a heads-up comparison with an older Model S, we can not definitively say whether or not this is actually the case.
Model X
Tesla is now listing ‘new Model X inventory’ for sale, over 150 vehicles available
Now that Tesla significantly ramped up production of the Model X, the automaker is having more and more units for test drives, display and loaners, which means the company is bringing those vehicles in a rotation and now selling them as “new inventory vehicles”. Tesla is now listing over 150 Model X vehicles on its website.
Autopilot
Tesla Autopilot 2.0: next gen Autopilot powered by more radar, new triple camera, some equipment already in production
The new sensors have yet to be introduced in production vehicles, but everything points toward a release fairly soon. Several components have already been introduced in the production cars, like wiring harnesses and as previously mentioned, the housing for the triple camera system on the rearview mirror cutout. With this said, there are also several other essential components to Autopilot 2.0 that need to make it to the vehicles before Tesla can release the system and we can’t confirm at which stage of development/production they are at the moment and therefore, we can’t offer an expected time of arrival for Autopilot 2.0.
I Just Drove Eight Hours on Tesla Autopilot and Lived to Tell the Tale
When the conditions are right, Autopilot unburdens us of the most tedious tasks of driving. The machine maintains a fidelity to the center of the lane when humans would stray. It stops and goes with traffic and adjusts with the speed limit. It liberates drivers to look up, enjoy the view, groove to the music and engage with their children. And that, of course, is Autopilot’s biggest weakness: the distractible human driver.
TSLA
Andrea James (former TSLA analyst) interview by DaveT
In this Google Hangout interview, DaveT (editor of teslaweekly.com) discusses with Andrea James what life was like as a TSLA analyst and her current view of Tesla. Andrea James was Vice President, Senior Research Analyst at Dougherty & Company from 2010-2016. She was best known for being a sharp analyst covering Tesla who understood the potential Tesla had as a company from early on.
Other News
Check Out Tesla's New San Francisco Store
Electric car company Tesla Motors plans to open its first store in San Francisco this Friday as part of a strategy to rapidly expand the company’s retail footprint. The store, which is its largest in the U.S. at 65,000 square feet, is located at the corner of Van Ness Avenue and O’Farrell Street. The three-story space will sell cars, educate consumers about electric vehicles and service customers’ cars.