Lutz on Musk

[Xcentric]

Bob has never been shy. His opinions on Tesla are long-standing. Even so, his latest outburst (10/16 Road and Track) is an attention getter.

Asked about Musk's strategic vision he says:

"Contrary to the Musk-besotted faithful, I believe the whole house of cards is going to collapse. Model S sales have slowed dramatically in recent months. The Model X appears to refuse to let itself be built. The battery Gigafactory is a white elephant, and at press time, Tesla has announced a deal to buy the cash-hemorrhaging SolarCity, putting two gigantic money eaters together and hastening the ultimate catastrophe. I don't know what Musk's megastrategy is or if he even has one. Two things are sure: He knows how to enthuse people and get their money, and he doesn't have a clue about actually running a car company."

Whew!

I thought the Gigafactory was the strategy. White elephant? How so?

Bob, are you shorting Tesla?

Sent from my P008 using Tapatalk

 

[Cobrar]

PT Barnum
Had his chance to sell earlier in the game and make a killing. Government bailout in the near future.

 

[Sinovac]

I hear you Rex and I've wondered when it would collapse, but I find it difficult to bet against the man who pulls this off:

[video=youtube_share;RPGUQySBikQ]http://youtu.be/RPGUQySBikQ[/video]

 

[Cobrar]

Even a blind squirrel can find a nut. ;-))

 

[andymlow]

Just bought a Model S 60 for the misses. Awesome product. Mostly that is what running a car company should be about. Make a killer product and give good value. I think he is doing that. I remember people saying Apple was toast about 15 years ago. There were all kinds of bogus reasons for that opinion but they ignored the positive points and look at Apple now.

 

[Sinovac]

Andy,

The cars are an exceptional value because they continue to sell at a loss. There is no doubt they are great cars, but how long can the company keep hemorrhaging money? Tesla has no real competitors at this point. It had better figure out how to become profitable before the big players get into the luxury EV market.

 

[andymlow]

How do you know they sell at a loss. If you include all the development costs and the cost to start a company from scratch I would agree. If you talk about the actual raw cost to produce the car I would suspect that is not the case. Just guessing though. Elon is estimated to be worth over 12 billion dollars so I'm not too worried about him.

 

[GTdrummer]

At the risk of name dropping, Bob is a good friend. Yes, he does not keep thoughts to himself. He is not big at all on Tesla. He would be happy to sell you a Fisker, however. He is also very big on the Vette and his still drives past his age.

 

[Kayvan]

Sour Grapes.

People used to knock Jeff Bezos like that too until he single handedly created E-commerce.

Musk is the only human in 100 years to create 3 $ billion dollar enterprises essentially from scratch.

Vast majority do one, and rest inherit or marry; and lose it by 3rd generation.

Recommend this be a sticky so in 2026 we can look at this, and laugh all the way to bank.

 

[RickH]

Tesla has become a "cult" stock amongst the believers. They are also in a cash burn mode. I don't see how combining Tesla with Solar City is a plus. Tesla is just trying to prop up Solar City at Tesla's expense. They will be needing to raise new capital again in the not too distant future. Another drain on equity holders. Not to mention the fact that without the government support/tax incentives they probably wouldn't still be around. Why would you give 5 figure federal tax breaks to people who can afford 6 figure price cars. The government at it's best. Just my .02, fwiw.

 

[twobjshelbys]

Tesla has become a "cult" stock amongst the believers. They are also in a cash burn mode. I don't see how combining Tesla with Solar City is a plus. Tesla is just trying to prop up Solar City at Tesla's expense. They will be needing to raise new capital again in the not too distant future. Another drain on equity holders. Not to mention the fact that without the government support/tax incentives they probably wouldn't still be around. Why would you give 5 figure federal tax breaks to people who can afford 6 figure price cars. The government at it's best. Just my .02, fwiw.

Musk was one of the backers of Solar City. Solar City (and all the others) were making it big because of the net metering system in Vegas (and all of Nevada) but that got cut off last fall and all of the installers stopped doing business here. Those who had net metering before that date are now grandfathered but with a cut off date something like 20 years (which probably matches the life of the panels).

 

[MTV8]

I am not sure of the long term prospects for Tesla, but keep in mind this is the same Bob Lutz that thinks the mid engine Corvette will drastically outperform the new GT.

 

[BtwoG]

Tesla is a cult stock. The stock price is completely irrational. They can have a disastrous quarter and the stock remain unchanged. I stopped trying to trade it long ago. Musk can lie to the public and press, and they love his BS. There was a great article that talked about Musk facing something like a $400M margin call if SolarCity went under. He's building a house of cards with cards that are burning. It will be interesting to see if and how they get out of this.

 

[Sinovac]

I am not sure of the long term prospects for Tesla, but keep in mind this is the same Bob Lutz that thinks the mid engine Corvette will drastically outperform the new GT.

The ME Corvette will be a force to be reckoned with. It wouldn't surprise me if it's as quick or quicker in some respects.

 

[Cobrar]

The ME Corvette will be a force to be reckoned with. It wouldn't surprise me if it's as quick or quicker in some respects.

Agree on ME Vette. New Porsche looming as well. That said, long term success in racing necessitates change and improvement. I trust that Ford's GT was developed with a dynamic mindset, that is, flexible in content/execution.

 

[Sinovac]

Agree on ME Vette. New Porsche looming as well.

At least we know we have absolutely nothing to fear from the new NSX. :lol

 

[Cobrar]

At least we know we have absolutely nothing to fear from the new NSX. :lol

That wasn't very nice....:lol

Remember, we do not live in a static world. The NSX has already morphed at least a couple of times since it was first 'leaked' in 2012. In current state tho, it looks to be headed to GT3.

 

[djs]

I have no horse in this race, but I found this interesting.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/x-ed-o.../?src=nl&mag=cdb&list=nl_dvr_news&date=101216

 

[Awsum GT]

I have faith in Musk... I also believe Tesla is a long term stock... not for the day trader.

 

[Sinovac]

The NSX has already morphed at least a couple of times since it was first 'leaked'.

"Morphed" and "leaked" are apt descriptors of the NSX design, but I still want a ride.