Editor's Opinion
Elon puts an end to new car discounts
For the past few weeks Tesla has been selling new cars at a heavy discount (as I shared in my last edition newsletter). These cars were never-driven new cars directly from the factory and they were oddly classified as “inventory cars” by Tesla. Typically “inventory cars” are showroom or loaner cars that have been a decent amount of miles and age on them and thus Tesla is able to justify a discount. Recently though these new never-driven cars from the factory were getting discounts of $6.5k-12k off. It appeared that Tesla had changed their “no discount, no haggle” policy and was becoming more like a traditional dealer.
However, this past week Elon took to Twitter and discovered that these new car discounts were happening. He then wrote a letter he tweeted that re-affirmed Tesla’s previous “no discount” policy. What’s strange about all of this is that it appears that Elon didn’t know about the heavy discounts on new cars that were being given on Tesla’s website and in all the showrooms in the U.S. Perhaps Elon was busy, or perhaps there was a miscommunication and misunderstanding among Tesla management. Whatever the case, I think Tesla would be well-served if they hired a competent Chief Operating Officer (COO) that could take some of the operation oversight off of Elon. This would allow Elon to focus more on his CEO roles of new products, strategy and vision. As Tesla grows even further, especially with the acquisition of Solarcity, it will become even more crucial to have a competent COO that can manage Tesla’s growing diversity of business lines.
On a side note, Tesla’s 3rd quarter is ending today and Tesla will announce the total number of delivered cars in the quarter by Oct 3rd. Investors will be keenly awaiting the numbers as it will show if Tesla can show profitability before their pending capital raise in Q4.
Tesla Energy
Tesla and AMS win another major energy storage contract, 34 MWh of battery capacity for water treatment facilities
Only a few weeks after announcing one of the biggest energy storage projects ever, Tesla Energy won again a massive energy storage contract. The automaker’s energy division will supply ‘Powerpacks’ to its energy storage deployment partner, Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS), for a major new project: a 7 MW / 34 MWh network of battery systems to support water treatment facilities of Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD).
Model S
Elon Musk says ‘likely best quarter in Tesla history’, puts a stop to discounts on new cars
In an email he shared on his Twitter feed, Musk reminded employees of the importance of Tesla’s fair price policy that everyone should pay the same price for the same car: “That said, it is absolutely vital that we adhere to the no negotiation and no discount policy that has been true since we first started taking orders ten years ago. This is fundamental to our integrity and we maintained this policy even through the terrible depths of the great recession of 2008/2009.” He clarified when it is OK to give a discount and when it is not: “It is fine to have a discount on cars that have been floor models , were used in test drives or were damaged before delivery. All we are doing there is assigning an accurate price to the vehicle. However, there can never — and I mean never — be a discount on a new car coming out of the factory in pristine condition, where there is no underlying rationale. This is why I always pay full price when I buy a car and the same applies to my family, friends and celebrities, no matter how famous or influential.”
Tesla Responds to Chinese Hack With a Major Security Upgrade
Tesla added a measure that requires any new firmware written to components on the CAN Bus—the internal network of computers that control everything from steering and brakes to windshield wipers—be digitally signed with a cryptographic key only Tesla possesses. The new protection, known as code signing, was pushed out wirelessly in a software update earlier this month to all Tesla S cars and Tesla X SUVs. It amounts to far tighter control over who can reprogram sensitive components. The upgrade makes Tesla’s in-vehicle security systems less like a malware-prone Windows PC and more like a locked-down iPhone.
Tales from a Tesla Model S at 200k miles
Tesloop’s first vehicle, a Tesla Model S they put into service in July 2015, has reached a new milestone: 200,000 miles on the odometer. Tesloop, you’ll recall, ferries passengers between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in electric Tesla vehicles, making it easy to rack up that many miles in a year. The bigger issue, and the bigger question that everybody asks about, according to Sonnad, is battery degradation. That was my question too. The Tesloop Model S has only degraded about 6%, even though it’s being charged to 100% every day, rather than the default—and recommended—90% charge.
Model X
Tesla and supplier Hoerbiger settle in court over Falcon Wing doors
Tesla Motors Co and a U.S. subsidiary of Swiss auto supplier Hoerbiger have agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the electric car maker over problems with a proposed hydraulics system for the luxury Model X's "falcon wing" doors, court records show.
TSLA
SolarCity Adds Financing, Names CFO Ahead Of Tesla Vote
On Wednesday, the No. 1 solar installer said it had partnered with Citi on a fund to finance more than $284 million in U.S. residential solar projects and an additional $63 million fund for project for small and midsize businesses in California. Separately, SolarCity announced it had promoted Radford Small to chief financial officer.
Elon Musk
SpaceX's Big Rocket That Will Go To Mars
At 400 feet tall, it’s the height of a 40-story skyscraper. At 40 feet in diameter, a school bus could fit entirely underneath its footprint. It’s more than three times the mass and generates over three times the thrust of the gargantuan Saturn V—the rocket used in the Apollo mission—which currently stands as by far the biggest rocket humanity has made.
[video] Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species
SpaceX Founder, CEO, and Lead Designer Elon Musk discusses the long-term technical challenges that need to be solved to support the creation of a permanent, self-sustaining human presence on Mars. The technical presentation focuses on potential architectures for sustaining humans on the Red Planet that industry, government and the scientific community can collaborate on in the years ahead.
Other News
Mercedes announces new all-electric brand ‘EQ’, unveils SUV with ~250 miles range: ‘Generation EQ’
Mercedes announced its new all-electric brand called ‘EQ’ at the 2016 Paris Motor Show today. The German automaker says that the name EQ stands for “Electric Intelligence”. Under the new brand, Mercedes will not only sell electric vehicles, but it will also deploy charging stations, sell home chargers and even home battery packs. Does it remind you of anything? More importantly, Mercedes unveiled the first vehicle under its new brand: the ‘Generation EQ’. ‘Generation EQ’ is an all-electric SUV with two electric motors on the front and rear axles for a total power output of up to 300 kW. Mercedes says that it will be able to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in under five seconds. Mercedes says that the ‘Generation EQ’ battery pack will be scalable up to a total capacity of over 70 kWh for a range of ‘up to 500 kilometres’ (310 miles). Of course, that’s based on the NEDC standard and the real-world range or EPA-rated range would be expected to be significantly less.