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Tesla Inc.

Tesla Inc.111 posts

Tesla Inc. is a California-based company that builds electric cars, batteries and powertrains. It was founded in 2003 and initially financed by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Elon Musk became its chairman a year later and, in 2008, its CEO. The company produces the Model S, Model X and Model Y. It has stores in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

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28 Mar, 2014

Will install high-strength battery shields

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TeslaTesla announces plans to reinforce the undercarriage of about 16,000 cars with high-strength shields to reduce the risk of damage from a crash starting a fire. The NHTSA did not ask Tesla to issue a recall for the Model S. Tesla said the retrofits are voluntary and that federal regulators did not find a “safety-related defect trend.”

30 Apr, 2015

Adds battery into DemandLogic system

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SolarCity incorporates the Tesla battery into its DemandLogic energy storage system to increase the utility cost savings customers can realize from using stored solar electricity. DemandLogic, which is being adopted by several of the largest retail, biotech and Internet companies in the U.S., allows businesses to reduce energy costs by using stored electricity to reduce peak demand, and can also provide backup power during grid outages. DemandLogic’s management software automates the discharge of stored energy to optimize savings on utility demand charges for customers.

6 May, 2015

Reveals timeline for Model 3

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in an earnings call Musk reveals a tentative schedule for the Model 3, which is expected to cost $35,000 before government subsidies, saying the company plans to unveil the model in March 2016, and a sale date of mid 2017, but probably later.

I mean, we are hoping to show off the Model 3 in approximately March of next year. Again, like, don’t hold me to that month, but that’s, like — that’s our aspiration.

20 Oct, 2015

Withdraws recommendation

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Consumer Reports withdraws its recommendation for the Tesla Model S, after surveying 1400 owners, because of “worse-than-average” reliability. The car previously had the best rating possible.

As the older vehicles are getting up on miles, we are seeing some where the electric motor needs to be replaced and the onboard charging system won’t charge the battery. On the newer vehicles, we are seeing problems such as the sunroof not operating properly. Door handles continue to be an issue…Despite the problems, [Consumer Reports] data show that Tesla owner satisfaction is still very high: Ninety-seven percent of owners said they would definitely buy their car again.

Tesla Motors share price drops 10% before recovering to close off 7%.

24 Aug, 2018

Musk not taking Tesla private after all

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After a board meeting on Thursday, Musk announces that he will not be taking Tesla private, after all.

In talking to our public investors, most were supportive of optimizing for long-term value creation over quarterly earnings. This was also a factor in remaining public.

26 Sep, 2022

Report: Tesla China to hit over 80k deliveries this month

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A report from China says Tesla is targeting deliveries of about 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles domestically this month, despite insurance data from previous weeks suggesting that Tesla seemed to be having delivery challenges in the country.  The report says that shorter waiting times mean scalpers who had bought the cars in hope of a large profit will now be undercut as Tesla customers wait for a possible October price cut. Estimates in China reportedly suggest that Tesla will reduce its Model 3 prices by RMB 20,000 ($2,700) and the Model Y by RMB 28,000 ($3,900). Report:

There is a tradition of price reduction: Historically, Tesla has been ahead of the market regardless of whether the price has been raised or lowered. There is room for price reduction: Tesla’s 22Q2 single-vehicle profit is 8,000+ US dollars, and its 22Q3 single-vehicle net profit hits 13,000 US dollars, equivalent to 80,000 yuan, which is extremely profitable.

27 Sep, 2022

Tesla expects ‘high volume’ of deliveries, asks staff to help

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In an email to staff, the car company says it is expecting a high volume of deliveries in Q3 and asks all employees, even those who don’t work in the sales and delivery department, to help with delivery tasks, include moving vehicles around, washing and preparing vehicles, delivering vehicles directly to customers, and answering customer questions on delivery day.

We will be delivering a very high volume of vehicles to eagerly waiting customers during the final days of Q3. To help ensure we can delight as many customers as possible, the delivery team is requesting additional support with key delivery-execution tasks.

28 Sep, 2022

Hertz CEO: Tesla rental demand ‘very, very solid’

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CEO Stephen Scherr of Hertz, which ordered 100,000 Tesla vehicles in October 2021 , says demand for the vehicles is very strong. Hertz is looking to have 25% of its fleet be electric vehicles by the end of 2024, up from 5% today.

Demand has been very, very solid. And remember, we’re seeing demand not only among leisure travelers but also corporate travelers, where in fact, corporations want their employees in an electric vehicle to satisfy some of their carbon footprint objectives. And of course, we’ve been renting to Uber and Lyft as part of their ride-sharing network. Demand across all three has been very strong.

Scherr also said the vehicles are less costly to maintain:

I’d also point out from a financial point of view. For Hertz, the maintenance is appreciably lower on (the) electric vehicles. We’re seeing it 40-50% lower, just given the nature of the car itself.

29 Sep, 2022

Tesla wants ‘thousands of humanoid robots’ within its factories

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A Tesla job listing for a mechatronic technician says the company wants thousands of humanoid robots in its factories:

Tesla is on a path to build humanoid bi-pedal robots at scale to automate repetitive and boring tasks. Most importantly, you will see your work repeatedly shipped to and utilized by thousands of Humanoid Robots within our factories.

The company’s Autopilot Division aims to hire 20 software and firmware engineers, deep learning scientists, actuator technicians, and internships, to work on its Optimus humanoid robot. Musk wants the robot to work beyond car production and do household chores and care work in millions of households.

Musk teases Tesla AI Day 2

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Musk teases Tesla’s second AI Day, which will showcase the company’s artificial intelligence programs. The event runs from 5 to 11pm PST on September 30, 2022.

There will be lots of technical detail & cool hardware demos.

Expected technology reverals include the Hardware 4 computer and The Tesla Bot. He also responds to a Twitter user that, despite the expectation of a luckwarm response by the media:

AI/robotics engineers who understand what problems need to be solved will like what they see. As well as advanced chip & supercomputer engineers for next-gen training & inference. Note, this event is meant for recruiting AI & robotics engineers, so will be highly technical.

Musk: Waterproof Cybertruck can cross rivers, lakes

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Musk says the Cybertruck will be able to cross rivers, lakes, and seas, because it will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat.  The Cybertruck would need to be able to scale the 6.5-mile float from Starbase to South Padre Island for SpaceX-related logistics activities. Musk did not disclose any indication of how the Cybertruck would be propelled, nor did he give any estimates as to what speed he would expect it to travel, although the Cybertruck as a boat would likely travel between 5 and 10 knots.

Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes & even seas that aren’t too choppy.

30 Sep, 2022

Government agencies mock floating Cybertruck

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Musk’s claim that Cybertruck will be able to ‘serve briefly as a boat’ is mocked by two government agencies.

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources responded with a photo of a submerged car and said:

Our derelict vessel crews are begging you to understand that anything that “serves briefly as a boat” should not be used as a boat.

And, after a Twitter user suggests Cybertruck would put the San Francisco Bay Ferry out of business, they responded:

Announcement: to prepare for the inevitability of the Nintendo 64 floatie truck flotilla rendering us obsolete, we’re adding little wheels to our ferries. Landboat will be able to serve brief as a bus, so it can cross bridges, parking lots and highways that are not too congested

7 Oct, 2022

Tesla Semi deliveries to Pepsi start Dec 1

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Musk says the Tesla Semi truck will start production with deliveries to Pepsi on December 1. He says the Semi has a 500-mile range and is super fun to drive. Pepsi ordered 100 of the all-electric Class 8 trucks in December 2017, a month after it was announced.

20 Oct, 2022

Musk: Tesla could be worth ‘more than Apple and Saudi Aramco combined’

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Pointing to past performance as an indicator, Musk tells analysts during an earnings call, that he sees a path for the auto manufacturer to become the most valuable company in the world.

I see a potential path for Tesla to be worth more than Apple and Saudi Aramco combined. I see a way for Tesla to be roughly twice the value of Saudi Aramco. This is the first time I’ve seen that potential.

Apple and Saudi Aramco are valued at about $2.3 trillion and $2.1 trillion. That growth would imply an over $4T market cap for Tesla. Musk has previously made good on bullish promises. For example, he proclaimed in 2015 that the automaker would exceed a $700B valuation. At the time, the company was worth only about $25B.

17 Apr, 2023

Angry Tesla Shanghai workers take to social media over bonus cuts

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Workers at Tesla’s Shanghai factory take to social media in an attempt to appeal to Musk after their supervisors informed them of upcoming cuts to their performance bonuses. The posts are appearing on Twitter as well as forums like Baidu Tieba, with some even containing appeals to Musk’s mother, Maye Musk. Two workers at the plant, where Tesla employs around 20,000, said they were informed by their supervisors over the weekend about a cut to their quarterly bonus payout, which is linked to the factory’s performance. The workers said Tesla supervisors mentioned a “safety incident” when they were asked about reasons for the cut.

15 May, 2023

Musk to personally approve all Tesla hires

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Musk tells Tesla employees in an email that he wants to personally approve every new hire at the company (which hires about 30,000 people per year). He says that he wants to get a better understanding of hiring at Tesla.

No one can join Tesla, even as a contractor, until you receive my email approval.

16 May, 2023

Musk: U.S.-China tensions ‘should be a concern for everyone’

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Asked if he was concerned about “the growing belligerence” between the U.S. and China, Musk says that people should be concerned about tension between the two nations.

I think that should be a concern for everyone.

Musk believes China wants to take control of Taiwan – a country Tesla depends on for processors.

The official policy of China is that Taiwan should be integrated. One does not need to read between the lines…I think you should take their word seriously.

The Chinese economy and the rest of the global economy are like conjoined twins. It would be like trying to separate conjoined twins. That’s the severity of the situation. And it’s actually worse for a lot of other companies that it is for Tesla. I mean, I’m not sure where you’re going to get an iPhone, for example. There are some constraints on our ability to expand in China, and so we’re making as many cars as we can. It’s not a demand issue.

 

21 May, 2023

Reynolds, Musk trade deepfake ad likes

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In response to a deepfake ad of Reynolds promoting Tesla:

How much do you think it would cost to own a car that’s this f–kng awesome?!…Whose balls do I have to fondle to get a Tesla instead of a s–t Corolla?”

Musk says:

Nice

Reynolds, in turn, responds to a deepfake ad featuring Musk promoting his Aviator Gin brand.

Nice

23 May, 2023

Musk: Tesla will ‘strongly consider’ building Gigafactory in England

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In an interview for The Wall Street Journal, Musk says Tesla is preparing to look for a location to build a new battery factory later this year and would assess England as an option.

I will strongly consider England for a future location of a gigafactory. We are not currently looking at new locations but we will probably towards the end of this year.

Tesla already operates several production facilities in Fremont, California, Austin, Texas, Berlin, Germany, and Shanghai, China. A factory in Mexico was announced in early 2023, but ground has not been broken yet.

25 May, 2023

Musk: Tesla might ‘open source more code’

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Musk says Tesla might open up some of its operating system code to other automakers. Responding to Ford CEO Jim Farley, he says Tesla would:

…be helpful on the software front…In the same way that maybe Android is helpful to the phone industry as sort of a general standard, like we could potentially open source more code.

Musk and Farley also hinted at other potential partnerships in the future, including in the supply chain, and when Farley questioned him about Tesla’s Corpus Christi lithium refining plant, Musk said he does not believe there are enough entrepreneurs in the U.S. digging into raw materials mining and processing. He wishes Tesla didn’t have to pick up the slack. With its nickel-based cathode refinery in Austin, Tesla might also have to get involved in anode manufacturing, but “hopefully not,” Musk says. He also believes that there will be a huge market for synthetic graphite (graphite is the main material in most lithium-ion anodes).