Some are talking about Tesla waging a price war against other EV manufacturers (as well as ICD manufacturers?). https://www.yahoo.com/now/analysis-tesla-uses-profits-weapon-165504732.html I just don't see that argument as being valid. Tesla was making about $15K profit per vehicle before the recent price cut, while Ford right now is making about $3K profit per vehicle. Given that Tesla has been shortening its wait times and has promised to expand toward lower priced vehicles, so they dropped their prices by a few K. They are still making FAR more profit per car than legacy manufacturers are making, at least on average. It's not like they are dumping or doing something else that is anticompetitive and might draw the attention of the SEC. This doesn't sound like a price war to me. The reason other manufacturers are struggling is that they were late in figuring out what people want. Is this really a price war?
I hope they are in a price war, it would help th3 consumer. The idea Ford is going to go under because of this is completely retarded.
This was foreseen more than half a year ago. Ford CEO Sees Electric Vehicle Price War as EV Costs ... https://www.usnews.com › News › Business News Jun 1, 2022 — Ford's chief executive says the global auto industry is headed for a huge price war in the coming years as electric vehicle costs drop and ...
The legacy manufacturers have options. GM hedging their EV bet. Business Jalopnik GM Is Investing Almost $1 Billion in New V8 Engines
If Tesla drives the legacy manufacturers out of the market then that market will remain quite small and there will never be a robust network of charging stations.
Well, the total auto market isn't likely to shrink by any significant percent in the coming years. The reasons for driving aren't reducing by much. We are not being particularly successful at public transportation, for example. Maybe the working from home movement will help a little. As for charging, Tesla has been working toward opening their charging network to all those using public charging. So, there is a shortage of charging stations today, but I don't see that as a lasting problem. Stations are being built. Most people are charging at home or work. Charging will be in demand for those building and maintaining apartments. EVs are always going to have an advantage in manufacturing as EV manufacturing is more completely automated. ICE manufacturers have to assemble way more parts. They buy numerous parts from suppliers, spreading their profits to those suppliers. Regardless of whether legacy auto manufacturers actually fail in the near term, it's only a matter of time before BYD and others will enter the US market - somewhat like Toyota, Nissan, and others did years ago. BYD is closing in on UK. They make highly competitive EVs in various price ranges. They are legitimate competitors with Tesla. We don't here about them, as their major manufacturing is in China and they don't sell cars in the US right now. Even if BYD never sells cars in the US, they are contributing to the shrinking foreign market for US cars.
Do you seriously think Tesla will drive legacy carmakers out of the market without a robust network of charging stations?
In Australia if you buy a V8 nowadays you're either a hoon, uneducated or you've got a big 'L' printed on your forehead. Must be a different culture...
Tesla can certainly drive legacy manufacturers to reconsider their EV investments. That, in turn, would diminish support for taxpayer-funded EV indrastructure.
Lots of different views in Australia. On Election Day, Australia Commits Climate Suicide 2022 › 06 › 05 › on-election-day-australia-commits-climate-suicide-2 The Australian Suicide ... On Saturday, May 21, 2022, Australia held its triannual ... issues—the Australian Labor Party, and equally typically, the other—a religious (in Australia, Christian
Tesla price target slashed 40% as 'price war starts unfolding ... https://www.proactiveinvestors.com › companies › news 3 hours ago — Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has triggered a price war in electric vehicles that analysts believe will have “industry-wide consequences”, with a 40% price target ...
I'm not sure what you are suggesting here. Americans will want what they want. And, capitalism will provide. My comments have been about concern for our legacy manufacturers of autos who are NOT the only choices we have today, and they won't be in the future, either. Tesla made a price cut that leaves Tesla still making FAR more profit per car than legacy manufacturers make. And, the result was far more demand than they can meet today. Given capitalism, I do suspect our legacy manufacturers face a serious challenge. Some toss VW, Honda and Toyota into that mix, too.
To be a failure due to "hype" it would need to have a lasting false component. I think the issues of range, charging, fuel cost, etc., are not being falsely advertised. In fact, I think the change in technology has a segment of the market spooked - a factor that will reduce as real limits and benefits are understood by the public. That is, proof is being developed with each EV sold. Plus, manufacturers are learning what they need to provide.
Tesla is opening its charging infrastructure to all EVs. And, why shouldn't they? It's a major income opportunity. Their new charging station designs make serious use of solar energy and storage batteries to supplement any electricity that they need to buy from the grid. This is not like gas stations having to buy gas from some megacorp, thus being tied to the world market for oil and all the volatility that carries with it. Plus, solar energy is seriously inexpensive! This is a huge opportunity for anyone who wants to build profits from solar energy.
Hype or not, these analysts do project a problem on the horizon, as manufacturers are rapidly speeding manufacturing. "By 2026, North American EV demand will hit a level of about 2.8 million vehicles a year, said industry forecaster Warren Browne. But North American EV factories will be capable of assembling more than 4.5 million vehicles, putting overall capacity utilization at just under 60%, he said." https://www.reuters.com/business/au...,653 in gross,according to a Reuters analysis. So here's the profit picture today: This is total sales data - not just EV. Tesla and BYD are WAY out ahead of all other manufacturers of autos, and thus have a strong opportunity to offer real value at lower prices. BYD is primarily in China right now, so they need to figure out how to close the distance between gross and net profit, obviously. I don't know what China is doing to them! So, will you be right that sales will grow as slowly as Warren Browne projects - or worse? I don't think so. I think the EV war chest offers huge ability to increase value to customers, while legacy auto, such as Ford, is facing a serious struggle for life. If Tesla can create huge numbers of cars, they can increase demand through pricing (ignoring everything else). And, Ford can't. In that time frame, I think they have to pray that the Lightening is a winner, that they can do better at automation, that they can control their sales network, and that they manage to reduce their huge warranty repair problem.
This fledgling industry is allowing start ups to compete with the behemoth car companies instantly. There are plenty of foreign companies too. This car industry is about to change quickly, IMHO, just like how the Internet changed end consumer commerce. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Electric_vehicle_manufacturers_of_the_United_States
and lord knows the left will soon get tired of all the monster pits being dug with child labor to fuel the car. Pretty soon they'll be crying for horse buggies. I think EVs are robbing countries of resources and raping their landscape. America doesn't seem to care, which is sad not sure why I would expect anything else these god awful 1000-acre solar panel nonsense in traditional farming ground is lunacy.
The issue from the start has been the expense of EVs. There are numerous claims all over social media and through those writing on economics and transportation that EVs are a too expensive. In fact, YOU have claimed that they are just a rich boy toy. Throughout this period, I've pointed out that significant new technology is almost always more expensive at the outset. We saw that with cars before the Model T era. Over the last decades we've seen that with TVs, computers, cell phones etc. When manufacturing gets more mastered and when the huge initial engineering and manufacturing investments are paid off, prices come down in order to address the vast market of those NOT ready to pay exorbitant prices. The example I posted to you is that of big screen TVs, which started out costing in the neighborhood of $15K. VERY few were sold. When prices came down (due to paying off investments, competition, etc.) EVERYBODY wanted a big screen TV. There is no evidence that it will be otherwise with EVs.
