Replies to post #76194 on Tesla Inc (TSLA)

[Scumbag Fraudsters]

If you're living under a rock, perhaps.

But anyone who pays attention to the news knows that's a false claim.

It's not all about production numbers. Would you say Lamborghini or Bugatti aren't competition for other manufacturers merely because they don't produce as many units annually?

If share price is anything to go by, Tesla is in trouble. The market capitalisation of the electric vehicle (EV) company has fallen by 73% from its record high in November 2021, causing concern for investors.

On the face of it, there is no crisis. The cars are still the benchmark for performance. The underlying technology and the sophistication of the software remain preeminent. The supercharging network of fast EV charging stations is the envy of competitors. Its cutting-edge assembly plant and gigafactories (for large-scale production of EV batteries) support peak productivity.

And after first reporting a profit in 2020 – following years of losses in a dash for growth – in the 12 months to September 2022 Tesla profits reached US$11.19 billion. This was more than double the previous 12 months. So why the concern?

Tesla’s position as market leader is being threatened by growing competition in EV production just as rumours have started to swirl that investors might be concerned about Musk’s ability to successfully lead both the car company and Twitter. He bought the social media platform last October following fraught negotiations with its board. He has since suggested he will step down as Twitter’s CEO but has yet to announce a timeline for that. Meanwhile, Tesla clearly needs more attention than it is currently getting.

Traditional vehicle manufacturers and new entrants are crowding into the EV market, encouraged by government mandates on ending sales of petrol and diesel cars. Tesla’s technology edge is being eroded, putting pressure on the premium positioning of the brand. Tesla has been fortunate in that supply constraints, especially in semiconductors, have thus far reduced this pressure. As those supply constraints ease, however, the pressure on Tesla will grow.

Tesla has also endured its own setbacks. Musk has been able to transition the company to true mass production, but he famously described the company’s new plants in Germany and Texas as “gigantic money furnaces”.

Investor sentiment is obviously key when it comes to Tesla’s declining share price, however. The company could manage this by being more cautious when announcing forecasts for production, sales, new models and technology breakthroughs to avoid surprising or disappointing investors.

With this in mind, it’s not surprising that, for investors, the biggest issue to be resolved at Tesla may be Musk’s role. There are two questions involved: is Musk sufficiently engaged in the future of Tesla and can Tesla continue to prosper from association with Musk?

In Tesla’s latest tranche of stock sales in December 2022, Musk reduced his share of the business to 13.4%, although he remains the largest single shareholder. Some observers linked this sale to the need to finance other business interests, notably Twitter.

The risk is that Musk becomes more of a liability than an asset to the business. While also running Twitter, Musk may not be able to give Tesla the attention it needs as it grows, and as its competition becomes more intense. But Musk’s maverick personality, and especially the management style he’s displayed while running Twitter, could potentially damage the Tesla brand and unnerve Tesla employees and investors.

Indeed, the characteristics that have made Musk such a successful disrupter may not be so appropriate for a maturing and institutionalised multinational. Musk and Tesla have long seemed synonymous. It seems that the time may have come for that to end.

https://is.gd/sqdKGU

[Scumbag Fraudsters]

NEW 2023 Tesla competition - LA Auto Show EV highlights

[Meticulous1]

Ford Motor Co. expects to lose about $3 billion on its electric-vehicle business this year, a reminder of how far
traditional auto makers have to go in turning their EV portfolios profitable.

Ford disclosed the figure Thursday while outlining a new financial-reporting structure intended to give investors
better insight into the performance of its three business units: Model e, its EV business; Ford Blue, the traditional
part of the company that sells internal-combustion-engine vehicles; and Ford Pro, its sizable commercial-vehicle
division.

Ford finance chief John Lawler described the EV division as a startup inside the 119-year-old company, and said it
is normal for a fledgling business to rack up losses. Ford today sells three electric vehicles in North America, its
largest market: the F-150 Lightning pickup truck, the Mustang Mach-E SUV and a plug-in cargo van.

"Startups lose money as they invest in capability, develop knowledge, build volume and gain share," Mr. Lawler said
during a media briefing.

Mr. Lawler said the Model e business will gradually erase its losses and achieve an operating-profit margin of 8%
by the end of 2026, near the 10% target for the company overall. Last year, Ford's operating profit was 6.6%.

Ford shares rose about 2% in early trading Thursday.

The Dearborn, Mich., auto maker also reiterated the forecast it originally issued in early February of $9 billion
to $11 billion in operating profit this year companywide.

Analysts had expected a pretax loss on the EV business, with some projecting it would fall in the $2 billion-to-$3
billion range.

Ford said the contribution margins on its EVs -- representing revenue minus variable costs -- are expected to
approach breakeven by year's end, even as it invests heavily to build out new factories and its EV lineup.

Colin Langan, a Wells Fargo automotive analyst, said the outlook was worse than the firm's forecast of $6,000 per
vehicle on a variable-cost basis. He added that it was unclear how Ford would achieve its 8% margin target for the EV
division by 2026.

"This implies [battery-electric vehicles] are currently losing money on each model sold, rather than covering any
fixed costs," he wrote in a note Thursday.

Ford Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley in the past has discussed the need for Ford to close the gap on EV leader
Tesla Inc. in terms of profitability, citing a cost advantage of more than $10,000 per electric car sold. Tesla lost
money for more than a decade before it began posting consistent profits in recent years. Last year, its operating margin
was 16.8%.

Mr. Farley last year separated the company's electric-vehicle business from the part that works on gas-and-diesel-
engine vehicles, a strategy he said would allow Ford to move faster as it targets the rapidly growing global market for
battery-powered cars.

Historically, Ford has reported profit-and-loss by regions. Now it will break out results for each of the three new
business units, rather than providing regional results. Ford said it would use the revised reporting for the first time
when it posts its first-quarter financial results, scheduled for May 2.

To acclimate investors and Wall Street analysts to its overhauled financial reporting, Ford disclosed the past two
years of results for its three business units.

The Model e electric-vehicle division's losses grew to $2.1 billion last year, from $900 million the year before.
Mr. Lawler attributed the mounting losses to investments Ford is making to increase EV production in coming years,
including construction of two new battery-cell factories in Kentucky and a third in Tennessee, along with a new plant to
make EV trucks.

The traditional Ford Blue business, dominated by sales of its highly profitable F Series pickup trucks, posted
operating profit of $6.8 billion last year, more than double that of 2021, when a semiconductor shortage hurt vehicle
output.

The company said its Ford Pro division, which sells pickups, vans and other vehicles to general contractors,
landscaping companies and other commercial buyers, posted $3.2 billion in operating profit last year.

Ford said it is on target to reach an annualized production rate of 2 million electric vehicles by the end of 2026.

Mr. Farley last year said Ford looked into a spinoff of at least one of its business units but decided against it
because they depend on one another and Ford didn't need to raise capital to fund the transition to EVs.

Executives at rival General Motors Co. have said the company decided against a formal separation of its electric
and internal-combustion businesses.

France's Renault SA has among the most far-reaching strategies for its electric-vehicle business, saying last year
that it plans a separate stock-market listing for its EV division. The company will put its conventional gas-and-diesel-
engine business into a joint venture with a Chinese company, it has said.

Write to Mike Colias at [e-mail]


(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-23-23 1039ET
Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

[Scumbag Fraudsters]

Tesla is no longer alone in the electric vehicle race

Oct. 22, 2022

More than a dozen new electric vehicles are set to hit the market over the next year as carmakers make the shift to greener vehicles. That could spell trouble, auto analysts say, for a company that was once the only American electric carmaker.

“Tesla has been the dominant EV player for so long but we’re seeing a lot more competition coming in, not only with luxury EVs but also mainstream vehicles that come in different body types and price points,” says Kevin Roberts, director of industry insights and analytics at CarGurus.

Tesla’s electric vehicle market share is likely to decline from about 70% in 2021 to the “low teens” by 2025 as a result of the onslaught of EVs coming from other manufacturers, predicts John Murphy, the managing director and lead auto analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

“Demand is a little harder than it would otherwise be,” Musk said. “But as I said earlier, we are extremely confident of a great Q4.”

Even so, a number of analysts left Tesla’s earnings call feeling uneasy, particularly as competition ramps up. The company’s shares fell around 7% in the hours following Musk’s call, and have dropped 47% since the start of the year.