Featured Tesla is Going Out of Business, says former GM Vice Chairman.

11/17/2017: Tesla is 'going out of business,' says former GM exec Bob Lutz

Tesla is a "losing enterprise" that won't last, Bob Lutz, former vice chairman of General Motors, told CNBC on Friday.

"The company, folks, is going out of business. At this rate they'll never get to 2019," the well-known Tesla skeptic said in an interview with "Power Lunch."

Among the issues facing the electric-car maker are fixed costs that are out of control, an inefficient manufacturing operation and no dealership network, Lutz said.

Plus, there's nothing about Tesla (TSLA) that can't be easily duplicated by other automobile companies, he argued.

"There is no secret sauce in Tesla. They use the same lithium-ion batteries as everybody else."

In fact, he thinks GM (GM) might even have an advantage because its batteries are arguably more capable and lower cost.

Tesla revealed a new electric semitrailer and sports car at an event Thursday night. On Friday, large trucking company J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) said it reserved "multiple Tesla Semi tractors" and Wal-Mart (WMT) said it wasgoing to test the new trucks.

Tesla shares were up nearly 3 percent Friday morning but gave back much of those gains, closing 0.8 percent higher.

Lutz believes the announcements were a way to deflect from the company's financial troubles.

"They are hemorrhaging cash. They're going to have to go for another capital raise," he said.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

— CNBC's Robert Ferris contributed to this report.

 

Just ran across this article. Guess (k)Lutz didn't hear about Wrongmart or has selective memory.

Posted 11/17/2017, Walmart says it's preordered 15 of Tesla's new electric tractor trailers

Walmart is planning to test Tesla's electric tractor trailers and has already preordered 15, the retailer told CNBC on Friday.

Five of the preordered vehicles will be for Wal-Mart U.S., and 10 will be for Wal-Mart Canada, the company said.

"We have a long history of testing new technology – including alternative-fuel trucks – and we are excited to be among the first to pilot this new heavy-duty electric vehicle," the company said in a statement to CNBC.

"We believe we can learn how this technology performs within our supply chain, as well as how it could help us meet some of our long-term sustainability goals, such as lowering emissions."

The pilot is planned for the U.S. and Canada. Wal-Mart's fleet has about 6,000 trucks.

In an expansion from personal vehicles, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled an electric semitractor-trailer Thursday that has a 500-mile range on a single charge and is electronically connected with a fleet's management system. The vehicle allows the driver to stand and puts the steering wheel in the center with a touchscreen panel on both sides of the driver. Musk said the truck is set to go into production in 2019, although the company has fallen far behind on its production schedule for the Model 3 mass market consumer vehicles.

Tesla shares closed up 0.8 percent Friday.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced earlier on Friday it has reserved "multiple" new electric semis just unveiled by Elon Musk.

A company could save tens of thousands of dollars if the Tesla Semi is, as Musk said, 25 cents cheaper to operate per mile than a standard diesel truck.

The average number of miles driven a year per large truck is just over 100,000, according to industry analysts. That means each Tesla Semi could save a company at least $25,000 a year.​

 

I remember reading an article (WSJ/Economist/Time/MSN/some reputable site) a few months back about the most likely immediate impact of autonomous vehicles will be shipping.

The article pointed out that shipping companies will be the early adopters b/c transportation will be FASTER and CHEAPER. Coast to Coast transportation could be done in 2 days vs 7 days w/ a human driver. Amazon, FedEx, UPS, Wrongmart, Target, etc.

Autonomous shipping has already begun, albeit it is in its infancy.
Uber and Anheuser-Busch Make First Autonomous Trucking Beer Delivery | Fortune
Just a matter of time.

Hope anyone who is a Long/Short Haul driver will be retiring before he/she is replaced, unvoluntarily.

 

For entertainment and amazement, there are various YouTube videos of Tesla Model S's vs various ports cars. All the videos I have seen, the family sedan Model S blows away the competition. When the Model S is put against a top dollar 2 seater sports car, Model S way ahead, but the super sports car does catch up and win. In this situation, it was a Model S vs Ferrari 458, say $120K vs $300K;

The future muscle car/import tweeking scene will be interesting. It will be about batteries, elec motors, and even more carbon fiber body parts.

 

Article says Walmart placed an order for 15 prototypes. No information was given on cost and a delivery date, so I can not answer what was not stated. Kindly contact Walmart or Tesla if you want specifics, which they will likley not give, due to a likely contractual non-disclosure agreement in the contract.

Everything you state and question about Tesla is well known, so, no news there.

When will the Street stop funding? Who knows.

One thing for certain, Tesla is a disruptor. The big auto makers thought it was going to just be a niche for the wealthy. Then came the pre-order day of the Model 3 in 2016: 325,000 @ $1,000 deposit = $325,000,000! No one saw that comming; some orders yes, but not to that magnitude. All the other automakers were put on notice, and saw the future. They had Tesla envy and are now playing catch-up.

As Bisco pointed out, Amazon was unprofitable for a crazy long time and yet those who believed and had high risk tolerance have been rewarded handsomly. Maybe you had the crystal ball to buy Amazon during the IPO period of $16-$18. Where's that stock price at now?

As for the long term future of Tesla, time will only tell.

 

You may like this article, or may have already read it. A pretty good explanation on why hybrid technology was incorporated into $upercar$.
Why It Took So Long for the World's Fiercest Supercars to Go Hybrid | WIRED

 

Maybe ProdigyPlace was being sarcastic? The drawback of written communication: verbal/non-verbal cues are lost, and the meaning can get lost.

I do agree that there are probably a lot of Tesla fans. I am one. Would love to own a Model S; in another lifetime perhaps.

Ahh, the EV-1. Yes. Bad GM.