Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

Martyn1981

JKenH said:

Tesla Full-Self Driving Beta Rollout Starts, Is "Slow & Cautious as It Should"

Am I being cynical in thinking it is more than a coincidence this was released before tonight’s Q3 earnings report? Can Tesla now legitimately book all the FSD revenue generated?

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/tesla-full-self-driving-beta-rollout-starts-is-slow-cautious-as-it-should-150422.html

No they can't, it's a start to a Beta rollout, they can't realise all the monies till the product is delivered. They are able to move some of the monies from Escrow to the P&L as they rollout features, but at the moment I think almost half of the monies have not yet shown up as GAAP profits. They have launched a cut price* FSD package in the US for $4k (I think) where customers only get the features that have been rolled out so far.
*Technically it costs more, again from memory, they then need to pay another $5k for the rest of the FSD package, so more than the $8k price, though FSD prices do keep rising as the product expands.
More importantly for today's earning call, will be the impact of Elon's remuneration package. Whilst it's a share deal, and will be 'free' to Tesla as they issue more shares and dilute the total a small amount, it will still need to be reflected in the P&L and BS, so will impact profits.

Martyn1981

This is probably obvious to all, but the efficiency of the BEV also has a charging impact. A more efficient BEV charges faster in terms of mph and also the number of stops necessary v's a similar vehicle that's less efficient. So for long(er) distance travel an efficient BEV with fast charging capability and availability will save time ...... if that's an important issue.

shinytop

Martyn1981 said:

This is probably obvious to all, but the efficiency of the BEV also has a charging impact. A more efficient BEV charges faster in terms of mph and also the number of stops necessary v's a similar vehicle that's less efficient. So for long(er) distance travel an efficient BEV with fast charging capability and availability will save time ...... if that's an important issue.

Agreed.  I would be happy with a small(ish) BEV with 150 miles and a widely available 20 min 80% top up.  We don't all need 5/6 seat 2 tonne SUVs with 300 miles range. 

JKenH

shinytop said:

Martyn1981 said:

This is probably obvious to all, but the efficiency of the BEV also has a charging impact. A more efficient BEV charges faster in terms of mph and also the number of stops necessary v's a similar vehicle that's less efficient. So for long(er) distance travel an efficient BEV with fast charging capability and availability will save time ...... if that's an important issue.

Agreed.  I would be happy with a small(ish) BEV with 150 miles and a widely available 20 min 80% top up.  We don't all need 5/6 seat 2 tonne SUVs with 300 miles range. 

I can add about 60 miles in 20 minutes in my 40kWh Leaf but then it starts to slow down. With my lifestyle that isn’t too much of an issue but for many it is. Still it only cost just over half what an M3 costs. You pays your money and takes your choice.

silverwhistle

I splashed out on an MG EV just over a month ago which has an official range of 163 miles, although I've yet to charge it to 100% or use a fast charger so can't compare speeds but I've seen a YT video which showed a brief peak at 78kW (on a 150 kW charger ISTR). At least no marginal costs yet by charging through solar and supermarket. My Agile/OHME charger situation should be sorted soon. It's bigger than I really need, but was good value. I looked at S/H Ioniqs with their very good fast charging and efficiency, and Souls, but the firmness of the market and difficulties of sourcing meant I went blow it, and got a deal at a local dealer.

It lacks certain things such as an app and everything isn't as slick as some competitors but it appears well built. I think motoring journalists and others who change cars more often will have more points of comparison, and think everybody wants all the ultimate in tech, but coming from an 11 year old car it's fine for my purposes and I still haven't investigated all the buttons on the steering wheel, stalks and screen! I've not bothered to set up Android auto as I can't see the point, nor have I used satnav yet.

Two thirds of the next boatload of 2000K MGs arriving in the UK are EV of some sort, and can only help their reputation for having cars available now at the lower end of the market.

JKenH

I am sure there is a market for sub £20k and sub £25k family BEVs in the UK. New EV buyers concerned about battery life would be attracted rather than paying £18k for a 2 year old BEV. MG are shifting cars in filling that niche and I understand  Vauxhall are there with the Corsa E. I just don’t understand why Nissan persist with the high list prices for the Leaf when it is so heavily discounted. Would they not do better if they advertised it at £22-25k which is what people are actually paying for it after shopping around? 

JKenH

Elon Musk: We Will Make A Dense Tesla If It Matters

https://www.torquenews.com/11826/elon-musk-we-will-make-dense-tesla-if-it-matters

JKenH

Tesla Model 3 Refresh Goes Live With 353-Miles Increased EPA Range

https://www.torquenews.com/11826/tesla-model-3-refresh-goes-live-353-miles-increased-epa-range

JKenH

Martyn1981 said:

For some reason I thought this had already been mentioned, but can't find it, so apologies if it's a repeat - so Tesla is to ship TM3's to Europe from China. At the moment there is a shortage of 3's as the US production lines switch to the model Y ramp up, and Berlin won't solve the problem soon, as it is (wisely) to focus on TMY production first.
Have to admit my initial reaction was would we want Chinese made 3's, but then I thought that they may well make a better product than the US, especially as Tesla focuses on the 'machine that builds the machine' so each new factory/production line, tends to be better than the last. I think, if I had the choice, I'd probably go for a Chinese model over a US model?
It might even mean a price drop as I assume(?) the Chinese made 3's will cost a bit less to build.


Tesla is starting to export made-in-China Model 3 to Europe

Electrek’s Take

This is quite an important move.

If I may venture into some speculation, I think that with Fremont focusing on Model Y production and Tesla ramping up capacity at Gigafactory Shanghai, it may make more sense for Tesla to send Model 3 vehicles from China to Europe until they have local production at Gigafactory Berlin.

I would be interested to know why Chinese built cars are being shipped to Europe unless Chinese demand is less than expected. That would certainly surprise me but it doesn’t make sense otherwise. These comments from Aljazeera would seem to suggest that it was never Tesla’s intention to export to Europe but it seems there is excess capacity in China so may as well make the most of it. The price cuts in China also suggest demand there is an issue.

Elon Musk said in 2019 that the facility would only make lower-priced versions of the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover for the Greater China region, and predicted there would be enough local demand to potentially necessitate several factories in the country.

The Shanghai factory has helped Tesla expand in China, and the company has said it has capacity to produce 200,000 vehicles a year at the site. Monthly registrations of locally made Teslas have been in the 11,000 range for several months, falling to 10,881 in September, according to data from state-backed China Automotive Information Net.

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/10/20/china-made-tesla-electric-cars-to-start-selling-in-europe

michaels

If you were a manufacturer who could make a car model 3 in two different locations, A and C to supply market E (where you can sell it for more than you can in either market C or market A) and it was cheaper to make it in location C would you make it in location A - especially when you could use the production facilities in A to instead make car model Y which is more profitable and can't currently be made in location C?