Posted on 05/23/2019 6:08:16 AM PDT by artichokegrower
As the EV risk pool grows, battery insurance and battery leasing similar to how GE leases jet engines to airlines (”power by the hour”) will emerge. Munich Re already does this in Germany.
Ford (and probably others...) has an interesting idea. They're going to market electric vehicles on the same platform as all the rest of their models. Where EVs have been a separate, niche market in the past, Ford is going to market "Electric" as just another powertrain option. For instance, you buy an Electric Explorer, instead of a V-6.
Sez me, that might work. People would switch at their leisure, instead of being pushed into adoption.
I'd certainly consider electric for some cases - for instance if I drove in the city 90% of the time, or just needed a simple grocery-getter, or as a second car. Heck, for years my grandfather had a Cadillac for a main car, but more often than not used his golf cart to get around in the retirement community where he lived. As did most of his neighbors.
Borrowing money to buy stocks is a really bad idea. Black Tuesday comes to mind. It appears that Musk is at October 28, 1929 and the clock is ticking.
Less than 3 grand. It happened at about 70,000 miles (yeah, out of warranty) and lasted until I got rid of the car for other reasons at about 90K with absolutely no further issues. An accident involving an icy road made the tranny a moot point.
My sister and her husband owns a Tesla 3. They live in eastern Iowa and have to drive to Chicago to have it serviced. Plus a two day wait. But they are diehard fans and consider this a minor inconvenience.
I suspect that before they go bankrupt, another major car company (GM, Toyota, Honda) will be buying the company on the cheap for it’s technology pattons and will be in a much better position to make these cars profitable.
There’s a market out there I believe for these vehicles if the economies of scale can make it less expensive. Only one of the bigger auto manufacturers can pull this off.
And they turn into crematoriums for the vehicle occupants in accidents due to the lithium batteries.
If I had the extra money, I'd buy one, if only because I like to tinker with new things. I'd still rely on my combustion engine cars for everyday use so this would be sort of like a toy for me. Something to drive around on weekends just for the novelty.
For the average Joe making an average paycheck, it would obviously be a bad investment at this point. But if you have the cash and time to be an early adopter, why not? It is a pretty cool-looking car.
People buying Tesla 3s are stretching their budgets, from what I see. They’re out in deep winter and hottest summer. Tesla S owners use their IC cars in both very cold and hot situations. That tells me everything I want to know.
The Hyundai Kona Electric seems a much better deal.
The other issue I have with buying a Tesla is that the company does not have a track record.
If the company folds your stuck with an expensive lawn ornament once the thing breaks down. There isn’t a couple million of these cars on the road to from which to pillage parts.
And to return to the battery. In ten years there may not be any replacement batteries available. Will Tesla still be making replacement batteries for the models coming off the line today?
A replacement gas tank is simple Sheetmetal work or injection molding. A lithium ion battery the size of a steamer trunk is not so simple.
And, if a stock is really getting beat up, they will make “margin calls” intra-day.
In other words, brokers have the legal authority to sell your stock at any time - if the stock is crashing and you bought it with margin debt.
I would be a little surprised if Musk actually bought Tesla stock shares - it is much easier to control your costs, and buy a very large position, if you buy put or call options, which you cannot buy on margin.
By the way - "short interest" in Tesla is almost 22%. The market average is around 3%, so 22% is a very dangerous signal to the downside.
Any tips for getting a good price on this, and what type of place or person to trust with it? My Exploder is just sitting there, with a pristine appearance, but dead trannie, and I need to fix it but finances are tight right now. Thanks.
I used Meineke.
They had experience with ‘em.
Now, keep in mind this was over a decade ago so I am sure the price is different. Best of luck!!!
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