Tesla falling on very hard times

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When Tesla released what amounts to a $40k lotus for 2X+ the cost I thought it was a silly idea and a poor proof of concept, since the biggest PoC we need now is cost efficiency. It was never in doubt that a car could be fast and electric. Tesla brought nothing meaningful to the table and the jig appears to be coming to an end.

Who really thinks they'll be cash flow positive in 6 months? I sure don't, lol.

 

[dug777]

Big oil sabotaged them

*runs and hides*

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: dug777
Big oil sabotaged them

*runs and hides*

/Thread!

 

[EvilYoda]

I love how they started off saying "we don't need any 'auto industry' types!" and then they realized, oh shit, we don't know what we're doing within the industry past making a vehicle. And now, all Detroit employees are being laid off supposedly as Musk takes over and does all sorts of crazy stuff.

Interesting to watch

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yeah, this car never really made much sense.

The Lotus Elise is a car that is tiny, almost to the point of being unusable as a daily driver. It is completely impractical for most people but at $40k it is a performance bargain IMO. Its appeal is to those who put performance and driving excitement at the top of their list.

Why would anyone who would buy an Elise want to spend twice that to get a heavier electric version with a relatively unproven powertrain and a company with zero history standing behind their product?

At least with the Lotus you get a proven Toyota powertrain so you know it's going to be fairly reliable.

 

[cheesehead]

A lot of people seem to be interested in buying it simply to say that they've got an electric car.

Of course, if I were to modify a Lotus, I'd make it lighter and more powerful, not the other way around. A 400 horsepower 2.8 liter Hartley V8 weighing under 200 pounds would be a pretty good upgrade, I would think.

What Tesla should have done is based their car off of the Ultima, a very fast kitcar based off of a small-block V8. Unlike the Lotus, the Ultima can easily deal with the extra weight, and because each chassis is hand-welded anyway, asking for a few small modifications would have been easy. It's a shame it's just so pig-ugly.

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Yeah, this car never really made much sense.

The Lotus Elise is a car that is tiny, almost to the point of being unusable as a daily driver. It is completely impractical for most people but at $40k it is a performance bargain IMO. Its appeal is to those who put performance and driving excitement at the top of their list.

Why would anyone who would buy an Elise want to spend twice that to get a heavier electric version with a relatively unproven powertrain and a company with zero history standing behind their product?

At least with the Lotus you get a proven Toyota powertrain so you know it's going to be fairly reliable.

I don't think people would shell out 100k for a car that is intended to be a daily driver. It is designed as a sought after concept that will likely enable the company to move forward and incorporate the same kind of technology in a cheaper version of an electric car.

I think they have the right moves. It's unrealistic to assume that a new company would emerge and suddenly start cranking out cheap and long range electric vehicles.

And its no longer a Lotus anymore since they had to redesign the entire car.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: zoiks

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Yeah, this car never really made much sense.

The Lotus Elise is a car that is tiny, almost to the point of being unusable as a daily driver. It is completely impractical for most people but at $40k it is a performance bargain IMO. Its appeal is to those who put performance and driving excitement at the top of their list.

Why would anyone who would buy an Elise want to spend twice that to get a heavier electric version with a relatively unproven powertrain and a company with zero history standing behind their product?

At least with the Lotus you get a proven Toyota powertrain so you know it's going to be fairly reliable.

I don't think people would shell out 100k for a car that is intended to be a daily driver. It is designed as a sought after concept that will likely enable the company to move forward and incorporate the same kind of technology in a cheaper version of an electric car.

I think they have the right moves. It's unrealistic to assume that a new company would emerge and suddenly start cranking out cheap and long range electric vehicles.

And its no longer a Lotus anymore since they had to redesign the entire car.

When I said Lotus in my post I was actually talking about the Lotus Elise...not this electric thing that looks like a Lotus.