Last month, I wrote about Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s contemptuous and breezy dismissal of questions asked by financial analysts about the cashflow situation at Tesla. Would the company need yet another infusion of money to remain afloat? Lame! Next question.
That was Musk’s response.
As it turns out, it’s Tesla that’s lame. The company – Musk – just laid off several thousand employees, about 9 percent of its workforce – which is one way to raise cash (by not spending it on worker salaries) when you don’t want to admit you need another infusion from investors – or realize you might not be able to get one because those investors are becoming gun-shy about giving money to Elon.
I’ve been pointing out for years that Tesla is a net money-losing operation, despite all the crony capitalist advantages – including electric car quotas in states like California, which force other car companies to either build EVs they can’t sell (or sell at a loss) or buy “credits” from an electric car manufacturer (Tesla) which the electric car company then uses to offset its losses.
Even so, Tesla has lost something on the order of $5.4 billion dollars so far, according to most estimates. Yet – until quite recently – most media coverage of Tesla has focused on what amounts to financial Fake News of the most egregious kind, such as the hype-driven value of Tesla stock. It’s true the stock price zoomed upward like a bottle rocket on the 4th of July. But what was driving this?
Not anything of value.
Analysts refused to analyze the fact that Tesla loses money on every car it sells. That it remains in business only because of investor infusions and deposits given on cars that never seem to materialize.
Well, the electric chickens may finally be coming home to roost.
At some point, you either make money – or you don’t. If you don’t, you have to find people willing to give you more of it. When you can’t do that anymore, you are forced to scale back. You let people go in order to husband what resources you’ve still got, in the hope that maybe you’ll be able to ride it out.
Elon is running out of money. His operations aren’t sustainable.
That is the real story behind the mass layoffs at Tesla and it’s still not being told. A healthy and growing company doesn’t have to cut its workforce by almost 9 percent. There will likely be more cuts, too – unless Elon can raise another $1.3 billion or so, which is the sum Tesla is expected to lose over the next four quarters. Moody’s Financial Services said in March that Elon might need as much as $2 billion to keep the doors open another year.
That would bring the total losses to more than $7 billion dollars so far.
To put that figure in some perspective, Ford – which mostly makes non-electric cars – earned a sum last year almost exactly equivalent to what Tesla has lost since the company first began making electric cars fifteen years ago. The Blue Oval reported a net profit for 2017 of $7.6 billion dollars (PDF here).
But how many people outside the car business know who the CEO of Ford is? Do you? He is not the light of the media’s eyes, the subject of flattering profile pieces touting his far-sighted genius. Elon is.
Why?
The guy has been losing other people’s money for fifteen years!
And: Battery powered cars are nothing new. They are hardly . . . Teslian. Tesla – the man – was a brilliant theorist and inventor who among other things gave us AC current and so made the transmission of electrical power over great distances both practical and economical, two qualities which this writer has for years now been pointing out Elon’s cars lack. Because Elon chose to focus on (and spend other people’s money on) electric cars that are speedy, sexy and techy on the theory that – like iPhones – these would wow the rich and then through economies of scale draw in the less-well-heeled.
But the iPhone is still expensive, an elite product for people with the disposable means and the inclination to spend three or four times the cost of a perfectly serviceable generic smartphone.
Very much like the Tesla – the car – which likewise remains too expensive to be other than an elite product for people with the disposable means and the inclination to spend three or four times the cost of a perfectly serviceable IC-engined car. A $15k Corolla may not be as speedy or as sexy or as techy as a $40,000 Model 3 – but it gets them from A to B for about one-third the cost of Elon’s electric luxury-sport sedan.
The tragedy is that if Elon had never come along and carny-barked investors into investing in a losing product, there might be a practical and economical electric car on the market. But thanks to Elon, everyone making electric cars thinks they have to make them like Elon does – speedy, sexy and techy rather than simple and cheap.
The real Tesla would have grokked the difference immediately.
. . .
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Some more good Tesla news….. lol.
3000 packs a week now, nice try when you were supposed to be making 5000 cars, haha.
then again, all those packs must’ve been piling up big time….
More important question:
Why does it take 5.5 million square feet to assemble 600 packs a DAY?
Must be refining the lithium from dirt in there too.
But Elon did find another source of cash by selling to the casino’s.
All run through by now likely….
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/jul/03/all-humanity-has-left-the-area-the-cities-paying-for-tesla-gigafactory
When this crashes, hope they do lock him up…
No more taxpayer funded grants or subsidies for this arrogant fool who like Obummer, overpromises and un- delivers.
“They’d hate the real Jesus….and He likewise hates them”
Well, you know, Jesus probably wouldn’t hate them, but he is likely to slap the piss out of a couple of them. Anyway, that’s what I think. It would be kind of funny seeing some of those fakers get the piss slapped out of them by Jesus. I would probably laugh my ass off.
It might be bad for business if the cars you make catch fire and burn their passengers to death. I came across a website that has catalogued all the cases of this that it could find. http://www.teslabears.club/t/so-how-many-teslas-have-caught-fire-so-far/187 has pictures of these cars. It appears that there have been quite a few. There was just another case of spontaneous combustion of a Tesla on June 16th in the Los Angeles area.
I know this won’t be well received here as people are pretty dug-in to their anti-Musk positions, but I think this a typical case of libertarians attacking any of their own that become successful.
I don’t understand the anger.
1. Tesla is subsidized cars for the rich.
=> they are tax credits. Don’t we always claim to be pro loophole? Anything that allows people to pay the government less is a good thing right?
2. They received a loan during the crisis.
=> so did every other American car company, actually to a much larger extend. Tesla was the first to pay back.
3. They aren’t making a profit and the other car companies are
=> they are obviously in a didn’t phase, without the assets and trying to build the infrastructure for an automotive revolution. You may not want an electric car but and that’s fine(I have no intent on buying one) but there is obviously a market for them and all reports are that they drive much better than gas cars
Attacks on the cars are usually that they take too long to charge up and they are expensive. Yes they take longer, but they put the gas station in your garage. With a 300 mile range, it Would make life easier in 99.99% of situations even with a 5hr charge.
The plan is clearly to try to iterate down to a less expensive car. The Model 3 has disappointed as it will compete more with BMW and Audi than Toyota, but the Model Y is next up.
People expecting this company to go bust seem to think Elon isn’t capable of simple math. I don’t know how he plans to fund the next 2 factories, but he obviously has one and it is simple strategy to not disclose it. A quick search on his background will show that he is quite capable with quantitative thinking. A detailed search will show he is one of the more brilliant analytical minds in the world. He has contempt for NY finance guys who aren’t rigorous but pretend to be.
Musk has always described himself as a pro-anarchist libertarian. (his recent comment about being a socialist was mocking them. he had a couple of previous tweets where he attacked them more directly)
Shouldn’t we respect him as a risk taking entrepreneur? If you hate him because he was willing to succeed and get tax credits for his customers, seems you are just a hater. We should be proud of this guy.
1) The any loophole not to pay taxes is something only some libertarians believe in. IMO naive libertarians who don’t understand that the state aims to manage society and these selective “credits” and such are one tool to do it.
2) TM exists on making money from electric car “credits” they sell to other manufacturers to comply with government edicts.
“Musk has always described himself as a pro-anarchist libertarian.”
Anything remotely like that died out after he leveraged his pay-pal generated wealth to enter into the management class. Today Musk is a crony capitalist huckster at best. One of the wealthy who thinks he should manage society at worst.
Hi Doug,
Comments are always welcome, especially intelligent ones. I am far from being always right and while no one likes being corrected, if it is correct then I am receptive to being corrected.
However, in this case…
Musk – as Brent has already pointed out – makes his money by leveraging the government to mandate the manufacture of his products, directly and indirectly. Electric car quotas and “carbon credits.” Tesla is a company built on force – and Libertarians oppose the use of force in transactions.
You claim there is “obviously a market” for EVs. Really? Then why is it necessary to mandate their manufacture? Why carbon credits? What would happen to EVs if the “zero emissions” regs went away? Give me an example of market demand for EVs. Real market demand. That is to say, an EV sold at a profit on its merits, without massive subsidies or mandates.
The recharge issue entails having to plan for and think about something which is a non-issue with an IC car. Some people may find it more convenient to plug-in at home. But most people prefer to gas up anywhere – in less than 5 minutes. At the spur of the moment. Without having to plan or think about it.
America is a fast food nation. Would you wait 30-45 minutes for a burger? Do you really imagine that more than a small handful of EV enthusiasts would willingly swap the ability to anywhere, anytime – and find fuel anywhere, anytime in 5 minutes or less – for a car that can’t go nearly as far and which you have to find a “fast” charger to plug into for 30-45 minutes and if not, wait hours to get going again? Really?
The Model 3 is a $40,000 car – and even that price is not really the price of the car because of the subsidies. It would likely need to be priced around $60,000 to reflect its true cost, plus a profit for the manufacturer, which means it is a toy for the rich. Why should this be subsidized?
EVs make no economic sense until they cost less to own/operate than an IC car. Not an IC luxury-sport car, either. An IC economy car. And at the same time, must be just as practical.
Otherwise, it is just silly.
Elon is not a “risk taking entrepreneur.” That would mean putting his money on the line. Instead, he is using other people’s money – and the force/fraud of the government – to prop up his perpetually failing company.
“Musk has always described himself as a pro-anarchist libertarian. ”
Do you have a link to support your claim?
Right after his tweet about being a socialist, he posted this:
“If you must know, I am a utopian anarchist of the kind best described by Iain Banks”
Here is Banks(who was endorsed by the Scottish Socialist Party) on libertarianism:
“Libertarianism. A simple-minded right-wing ideology ideally suited to those unable or unwilling to see past their own sociopathic self-regard.”
I think you have it wrong my friend. Do you have any links that can show us Musk attacking Socialist directly? Or claiming the mantle of being “a pro-anarchist libertarian”?
Elon Musk
By the way, I am actually a socialist. Just not the kind that shifts resources from most productive to least productive, pretending to do good, while actually causing harm. True socialism seeks greatest good for all.
http://www.breitbart.com/california/2018/06/17/elon-musk-i-am-a-socialist/
Americans seem to have forgotten US history.
Americans either believe the USA is the most free country in the world or think that the US never was a free country.
No one remembers that the US used to have freedom, but lost it.
http://www.badharvest.net/forum/viewforum.php?id=2
Hi Free,
In my lifetime, the thing that’s been cast to the winds is the everyday freedom people used to enjoy. You still had to file a 1040 and there were still taxes on your property, but you could generally go about your everyday business unmolested. You weren’t ordered to present ID at every turn, could let your young kids just jump in the back seat of the car and go for a ride without having to wrap them up like Hannibal Lector for saaaaaaaaaaaaaaafety. Most people could handle an off-color joke told at work and if they couldn’t – well, learn. Bar owners could let their patrons smoke; you could see your friends/family off at the gate. Schools did not have armed SA manner roaming the halls.
This was as recently as the late 1980s.
What the Hell happened?
Eric,
Woemen happened.
As females increasingly became a larger part of the working, voting and “policy making” groups, they brought their high minded Cult of Safety with them, along with the stifling Grundyism that goes hand in hand with it.
MADD happened, in short.
Woemen, as a group, as a voting demographic, consistently value safety over liberty.
And the two are diametrically opposed, increase safety and you decrease liberty, always.
Yup. Pretty much this.
Amen, AF!
Women are also socialistic- almost universally- even the ones who deny it.
Women do not think in terms of cause and effect.
A man sees a bum on the street, and says “Why doesn’t that able-bodied slob get a job!”
A woman sees the same bum, and says “Why don’t YOU help him?”- and YOU don’t even have to be present, because she will vote to force you to help him through her “elected representative” [Who represents her, not you, because her wishes are in line with their agenda for you and I and her!).
People predicted it at the time, but few listend: Giving women the vote was the end of Western Civilization. Notice as SOON as that came about, the socialists/communists came out of the woodwork, because now they had an instant 50% of the population who whose vote they could count on.
Their main objective is to do away with the natural order. We’re currently seeing the end of male dominance and masculinity as the older generations die off and are replaced with Gen Xers and millennials. The millennial soy boy is basically the standard for men going forward.
Technocracy (paganism) must be crushed, otherwise it’s game over for humanity.
Alright, it’s not women, it’s collectivism. You’ve got just as many clover dudes happily yielding to the “thin blue line” and whining about women like me driving too fast too unsafe or how daaare she pass me. It’s collectivism. The mainstream is the mainstream, sheeple only want what the other has, and unfortunately nobody’s learned to think for themselves. I’m no feminist. But you’re blinding yourself if you’re jumping to that to take the blame. Because that’s not all women. Just like it’s not all men. What it is, as it’s always been, is a few people with a bunch of bad ideas and the power of collective coercion.
Hi Moose,
Agreed; well-said.
The principle is important. One of my own best amigos defends speed limit enforcement. For saaaaaafety.
That’s just the way it is NOW, Moose- now that men have been exposed to generationsc of feminization, debasement and propaganda, resulting in the compliant creatures with dicks that we have today.
They could not have pulled any of this off 50 years ago when there were still enough men around who would not have stood for it. But they got the ball rolling when they gave women the vote, because women are socialistic and emotionally driven, and when faced with the prospect of having the state be their protector, daddy and husband….they quickly became loyal to Uncle.
Just look at how fast FDR got elected and re-elected…and re-re-re-elected (There’s a Urethra Franklin song in there, somewhere!) after women were given the vote. So sure, now we see effeminized men who behave and act and think like women; even their body language is that of women- but that didn’t just come about organically; that came about through social engineering, practised by the state, with little resistance and at the behest of almost all of it’s female voters, because they were “thinking of the children” or “helping the poor” or “empowering women”[by crippling men], etc.
How many female libertarians/anarchists do you see?
Hi Nunz!
I have discovered an interesting thing. It came to my conscious awareness after I made the decision to stop worrying about women; to focus on work and other things. Any thing except whether I have a woman in my life. Now women seem more interested in me. And the more I ignore, the more I don’t engage, the better I feel about life. Their power over me is greatly diminished.
Yes, there is a part of me that would like to meet a smart, attractive, sexy, fun and cool woman. But I am increasingly doubtful such exist. There are sexy ones. And smart ones. A few cool ones. But the available ones are all taken and the rest are wrecks waiting to happen – with me going through the windshield – and I think I’d rather not.
So I get my coffee and maybe a snack to go with and work and no longer worry about it.
Ya know, Eric, it gets even more so as you get older, too.
I’ve pretty much never given women the time of day- but it seems that as I get older, I could have my pick of a wide range of babes, from 20-something cuties to old shameless hags…..
And it’s not as though I have money, or look like someone who does. I could have my pick of 20-something’s today, and with virtually no effort- more so than I ever could have in my 20’s, 30’s or 40’s.
I guess such should boost the ego- but the very idea of the whole “dating” thing, and what these women are today, is just utterly repulsing. I wonder how many must think I’m gay, because i don’t respond nor even pay any attention to them?!
Hi Nunz!
So, today I was at the coffee dive where I go to work most days (gets me out of the house; keeps me from becoming too Weird) and one of my buddies shows up, hangs out for awhile. He keeps nudging me, pointing to this or that woman. I give him the meh and get back to what I was working on. He looks baffled. He wants me to ask this chick out we both know. She is nice enough; I’m just not interested. Something in me died along with my marriage. I just don’t give a damn anymore. Not that I don’t think about sex or notice a good looking woman. I do, on both counts. I just haven’t got whatever I used to have, a long time ago, that a guy needs to start a relationship with one. It’s gone.
I was more depressed about this when I mourned it, but now I just accept it and it’s ok. I go home, feed the cats, maybe cut the grass. Read a book, fall asleep.
It’s not exciting, but it’s better than torturing myself over women. I’ll never let one hurt me again.
Ah, Eric,
Welcome to the club!
Ya know, feeding the cats; mowing the lawn; reading a book….in peace and quiet- with no nagging; no one there doing something you don’t approve of or having their idiot friends over, or contemplating little extortion schemes to get you to provide a McMansion or newer/fancier vehicles…..THAT is about as good as life gets!!
Do you know how many men wish that they had the ability to do such things at their leisure and in peace?
And you know what? I’ve come to realize that THINKING about sex, is better than the real thing. Having an actual woman around is an impediment to those pleasant thoughts, because the woman whose every nuance of body is exactly what we desire; and who would act in the way we’d expect a great woman too, just does not exist in this world.
I’ve found that I actually enjoy thinking about such things more now, than when I still was on the hunt for a real Miss Right- because having accepted that I will no longer seek such, my mind is freed from the anticipated disappointments and wasted time, and hassle of dating, and all of that.
In my opinion, even when I was looking, the only possible scenario under which I could see meeting someone and being in a situation with them in which we could first be good friends, and spend quality time together in an organic way, would be if it were someone whom I knew and just hung out with- and I didn’t know any suitable candidates.
Modern dating culture is severely broken, and I never wanted a part of it, because it guarantees failure. You spend your time trying to impress and entertain her in situations where you never get to know each other, and where you never really see each other’s real personality; either that, or you or you meet someone and play house, hardly knowing each other…and just spend your time discovering each others faults and mutual incompatibilities…unless by sheer luck you just happen to hook up with “the right one”- or try and make a “sorta somewhat halway right one” work- but either way, it’s no wonder that so many marriages end in divorce and that so many people are miserable- because such is the equivalent of choosing a new car by just walking onto a lot, and randomly opening a door and getting in driving away…and poof! Next thing you know, you’re paying $400 a month for some Prius that you hate driving and are embarrassed to be seen in….which turns into a Hummer [canklesaurus-wrecks] after 10 months, but gets rid of the nameplate so that you’ll never see a “hummer” again 😀
Dating IME has been job interviews for jobs I didn’t want.
I was going to write more, but that pretty much says it all. I might see an attractive woman and then the mere thought of the process and I lose interest quickly.
Morning, Brent!
Your statement – “I might see an attractive woman and then the mere thought of the process and I lose interest quickly” – summarizes the whole ball o’ wax.
Brent’s analogy DOES say it all! Just hang that sign around my neck: “The position has been eliminated- No applicants need apply”!
I find too, that I don’t WANT to think of sex; and virtually never think of romance. If something unprovoked “comes up”, then I may think of it….but I’ll never do so gratuitously; I don’t WANT to, because I’ve always been one to believe in the “whole package”- the idea of making love as opposed to “having sex”- but the thought of “making love” to one of these female creatures, is downright repulsive.
Hiya Nunz!
It’s a diminishment, methinks – for me, anyhow. I’d like to have a wife (thought I had one) and a girlfriend would be nice. My buddies are great but you can’t cozy up next to one on the sofa (well, I can’t). But everything you (and Brent) have said is right.
Dating today is like Russian Roulette with a round in every chamber. Feminism, the culture have warped people’s expectations to the point that an extended relationship (as opposed to hooking up) is almost impossible. We live in unprecedented times. Women are free to fuck as many guys as they like and so, do – while pursuing their careers. Then their bio clock begins to warn them that time is running out, but now their laundry list of demands is so long, most men want no part. Men, meanwhile, can also fuck as many women as they like – but have no bio clock. Why commit to fucking just one woman, especially when they don’t want to commit and even if they do, odds are she will change her mind and then you’ll lose half your stuff on her whim.
Marriage no longer makes sense. Not in the government-sanctioned (legal) sense. It is the only legally binding contract that can be unilaterally abrogated at whim by one party without their having to bear heavy consequences.
Do not do it.
If marriage were legally binding, it’d be different. The woman (or the man, for that matter) could still leave at any time if they were no longer “happy.” But they’d have to leave everything behind – just as you would if you decided you were no longer “happy” at your job.
I keep going back to the market analogy that some like to use but don’t complete.
The market analogy doesn’t only apply to what people have to offer but also the costs and risks to the customer.
What the customer will pay before he walks away is not infinite. What customers will pay is a distribution. As price increases more and more people walk away.
Feminism is based on the idea that all men will pay an infinite price or if isn’t that it aims to drive almost all men out of the market. That either ends up with harems or extinction.
And that’s it, Brent- Women today bring nothing to the table.
Instead of being the complement to the man, so that together than can make one complete unit, each fulfilling roles for which they are naturally suited but the other isn’t… Instead, we now get someone who pursues her own “goals”, independently- so that the household is no different with or without her, because her new place is in the world/workplace.
A marriage today, has been reduced to two people just occupying the same dwelling and sleeping together. The woman no longer needs the man, as she provides her own income and relies on the state for protection and virtually all else; and the man no longer needs the woman, as he is left to “share” the housework and cooking, etc. -and sharing the work for two or more people, is no less of a chore than just doing it all yourself as a single person.
If any kids are manufactured, they will essentially be raised by strangers from infancy, in daycares, schools and organized recreational activities, with the parents functioning as mere chauffeurs and bankrollers.
They will receive no benefit from the children they have, when they are older, because the kids as repayment for the institutionalized upbringing will simply ship dear old mom and dad off to the nursing home or assisted living facility when they are old; and maybe visit them twice a year, when their “schedule permits”.
Nunz, I heard this mentioned recently so I found the source:
https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/the-real-cost-of-dating-part-1-dg/
Short article shorter, the average (read expected) cost of dating in Chicago is $12,500 a year.
Well that explains some things I’ve experienced.
“Do not do it.”
Sadly, my pharmacist learned the hard way yesterday. He was murdered by his former employee and ex-girlfriend. The crazy bitch killed herself. Apparently, she didn’t mind leaving her 4 kids. He was really the nicest guy I ever met. Such a shame he got entangled with such a volatile woman. I’m still in shock over it.
Hi Handler,
Awful; very sorry to hear about this. A common denominator appears to be widespread medication of women for depression/anxiety. Watch out for this; check the medicine cabinet of any woman you’re dating – and stop dating her if she is on meds.
I have stories, too.
A friend of mine, his then wife hired a hitman to kill him- shot him in 5tomach. He didn’t die.
They’re all crazy- every last one of ’em. Add psychotropic drugs into the mix, and I can’t even imagine!
Once you dump them, you’re still having to constantly look over your shoulder. Evidently, this woman has been stewing on their break-up for quite some time.
Hi Handler,
I have not spoken to my ex since last Fall.
But this woman I had a brief fling with continues to text and call (going on six months now) even though I have not responded to any of these and made it clear (six months ago) that I am not interested in seeing her again.
The one I wanted doesn’t want me. The one I don’t want is obsessed with me.
No wonder men usually die first.
6 months and can’t move on? Not good. Ignoring her is the best thing to do….for now. If you think she’s stalking your place, you may need to put some fear into her. There’s really no other way to handle it.
It beats going home to a woman that is trying to compete with you. Why even be with a woman?
This massive transformation we’re witnessing would not have been made possible without empowered women, social programs, public schooling, and mass media-entertainment. All of which has destroyed the family unit and our moral compass.
When I read stories about transgender/non-binary toddlers, who do you think is supporting and encouraging that child’s behavior? The mother. This is so they can get society to universally accept transhumanism.
Hi Handler,
I concur. The old Romans were right. Affluence breeds decay. It’s ironic. Wealth makes it possible for society to afford its suicide.
Funny, guys,
My mother and her siblings,. and some lifelong friends of theirs that all grew up together on the same block in the heart of NYC during the Great Depression- half of ’em are still alive and viable today, in their 90’s! They still communicate with each other.
Meanwhile, our generation, who have experienced affluence like the world has never known [Even the “poor” have cars, and live in air-conditioned homes; and have so much to eat that they are obese… ] and yet half the people I grew up with didn’t even make it to 50. And the world our peers are creating/allowing, is a wretched and horrible place, where no one has thought anything out, and the mentality of women and children prevails.
It’s true. What’s telling is how immoral religious people have become. I went to school with a group bible-thumping Methodist girls that were total skanks (tattoos, piercings, etc.). They were incredibly dysfunctional. There were two that were bisexual and even made sex tapes. Anyway, they all like to act like they’re better than everybody else. For me, I’ve never been in a church my entire life and don’t act or look like a piece of trash.
This society has always been one where a lot of people have to signal their virtue but that’s all they have, the signal.
I’ve always avoided churches too. Haven’t set foot in one since I was 13, when my mother would make me go to the Calf-lick church to participate in their old pagan Roman rituals renamed with Christian names.
Ever listen to the SHIT they preach in 99.9% churches- even fundamentalist ones? The ONE thing they all seem to have in common and be agreed upon, is that the law/commands of the Bible need not be obeyed. Some will state it flat-out…others will claim obedience to part or all in word, but in reality, have all kinds of little formulas to negate any commands which they find unappealing.
You look at the practices of most modern “Christians” or look at what goes on in the churches, and then peruse the Bible. There is no connection, other than in usage of some words and names.
The “Jesus” of popular culture is some long-haired rebeelious hippie who practices moral relativism. That’s the Jesus that those people love.
They’d hate the real Jesus….and He likewise hates them. “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven”[NOT ‘go to heaven’ which is NOT a Biblical doctrine] but he who does the will of My Father…” … “…and He shall say unto them in that day, ‘Depart from Me, ye who work iniquity!”.
Morning, Handler!
Indeed. I live in a very rural, very religious area. The church parking lots are full every Sunday. And yet, these people – a working majority – not only countenance theft but actively participate in it. So long as it is done via the ballot box or other proxy, of course.
Per Dave, they feel that “we” need more teachers for “our” schools. Excuse me? You mean you feel I should be forced to underwrite the wharehousing of your children in a government facility. Etc.
Quite a bit of the socialist brainwashing has been coming from the churches. I’m mean, look what the Catholics have running their church.
Hi Handler,
Indeed. And the guy urging socialism lives in a palace surrounded by priceless art, wears Prada slippers and is driven around in a Benz.
Quite ironic- preaching socialism, while they claim to derive their authority from a book/God which is the source of property rights and all of the other rights which socialism destroys…..
Haha, don’t let these guys fool you sister. This is the “he-man woman-haters club” (Our Gang Episode), lol!
Of course, Darla liked the faggity Waldo the best! -One of the earliest signs of the demasculinizing of men, pointing toward the inevitable push toward transgenderism that the now newly-empowered women would start to usher in!
Wow, my little comment started thread that delivered.
Well done gentlemen.
Tv star’s spouse has a tesla catch on fire going down the street:
https://twitter.com/marycmccormack/status/1007831286176571394/video/1
Maybe its a new James Bond model with flamethrowers installed in the wheels?
Sadly, I don’t think Elon is going away anytime soon…The whole point of subsidising Tesla’s “project” was to kidnap the idea of an industry wide electric car originating in Detroit and transferring it to Silicon Valley.
I first thought that the personality cult around Musk was mimicking Howard Hughes…but as time goes on, I am wondering if Tesla’s business model is not made to emulate instead Canada’s Bombardier. Alphonse Bombardier was credited with inventing the Ski-Doo a century ago, and his corporate offspring has evolved as an almost Government Agency (so much its losses are subsidized by all level of Canada’s governments) into a major diversified transportation conglomerate. Canada loves the “monopolist structure” as government sponsored market leaders. Tesla is starting to look a lot the same (even if it is subsidised privately). And it wants to diversify into subways, fast trains, avionics and even space….Why did government decide to privatize space travel? So private individuals (or “groups”) can Klondike the whole universe…so while the moon’s ownership might eventually be the cause of dispute, once private industry reaches future away spatial objects…they will all be privately ‘klondiked”…So, it’s all about the power of monopoles…Who knows, maybe Amazon will become a main owner of Tesla in the near future…but we have, as a nation, effectively lost the race to an “peoples” electric car.
Hi Demts,
Agreed. This idea of the electric car as an expensive, high-performance/luxury car . . . subsidized and mandated into existence – is bizarre and vicious. Why doesn’t the Left object? How is Tesla any different than subsidized McMansions for rich people?
Oh, but they are green! Extremely energy efficient; well insulated! The very latest in instant hot water heating! Etc.
Yeah, but they are 6,000 sq. feet and you are making people who live in 1,200 sq. foot houses subsidized them.
Demts,
“…Who knows, maybe Amazon will become a main owner of Tesla in the near future…”
I think it’s going to be owned by Brawndo!
What happens when Dr. Tyrell calls his baby home?
What generation will its successor be, and will that entwicklung have solved the “not in contact with reality” problem?
And who be payin’ fo’ all dese droids, anyways?
Musk was in Chicago to promote his newest pipe dream today. Basically it is a pipe.
https://chicago.curbed.com/2018/6/14/17465168/mayor-emanuel-elon-musk-announcement-ohare-express
Basically he want to build a high speed train from DT Chicago to O’hare Airport. The funniest part of it all. He thinks they will begin work building it in a mere 3-4 months!!!! I don’t even think Musk has the ability to part the red tape that fast.
The downtown “station” is basically a hole under a building that has already cost taxpayers $300 million (the unused “super” station under block 37 that was never completed due to runaway costs).
Watch this not happen……..
The comments are about par for the course. One guy calling Eloon out for the fraud he is and then the rest piling on in support. A constant uphill battle it seems.
Yup pretty much. Most worship Him like a god
yep. got banned from the electric car website for some comments about their “god” and some common sense.
Hi Tony,
I am on Elon’s Enemies List… and proud to be!
Langley must not be sending the checks fast enough or frequently enough for Elon’s liking.
If you can afford it, cars are like guns. You need one, but really should have many since every design is a compromise. They usually do one thing better than any other. I like everything about my K1500, except the mileage. I like my mercedes diesel, but occasionall you need to feel measurable acceleration. I’d like to have a Barrett 50 and a Tesla, but just not enough to pay the premium. Now if only I could get someone to subsidize a Barrett for me….
Hi Ernie!
If it weren’t for Tesla, if the government stayed out of it – entirely – someone might and probably would have built a 1,500 lb. car powered by a three cylinder diesel engine that averaged 100 MPG. Or a similar in concept electric commuter car that cost $15,000 or less. It might not get to 60 in “ludicrous” time and probably would not have a dashboard-spanning LCD touchscreen. But it would get you to work and back without burning gas and without burning a hole in your wallet.
Check out the Euro Spec VW Polo TDi, it gets an honest 80MPG (personally witnessed by me the driver for 2 weeks in the UK) in a fairly nice serviceable roomy for its size and a relatively simple package. Also CHEAP
Those pictures of Eloon are just, how do I say, annoying? Such a turd he is.
9% sounds like the typical corporate HR nonsense of purging the 10% or so of employees who are not politically protected.
Tesla is one of the many “Unicorns” in Silicon Valley, all of which command stratospheric valuations while hemorrhaging cash. Don’t know how long investors will keep throwing money at them.
As long as interest rates are kept artificially low.
I only know who Ford’s CEO is because he came from Anadarko
No, that’s the other James Hackett. The one currently at Ford ran Steelcase.
It’s a shame the Nikola Tesla heirs (are there any?) haven’t sued this farcical twat off the face of the Earth by now. Apparently if there were any heirs, they’ve already been bought off, cock-blocked by Uncle, or just don’t care. Sadly Tesla, the man, was not a savvy businessman, and other greedy parasites like Edison took financial and political advantage of that fact. The way Elon is going about this EV charade, the “car” should be called the Edison, overpriced, stolen technology, inefficient, unaffordable, and getting along by any dirty crooked deal on, under, or over the table with Uncle and the 1%ers, Just like the maggot Thomas Edison was!
Tesla was the OG MGTOW. No wife, no kids, no problems!
His commentary on women then indicates so.
Probably falls under some historical name thing like “Lincoln”.
Also, the legend of Nikola Tesla’s car was what I believe a viable electric car needs to be, zero point.
A one-time tax credit to offset the cost of buying a Tesla. But no break on registration, taxes, insurance, or the myriad of “other” that becomes TCO.
From the Colorado DOT website under “taxes and fees:”
These taxes are based on the year of manufacture of the vehicle and the original taxable value which is determined when the vehicle is new and does not change throughout the life of the vehicle.
The specific ownership taxes you paid for a registration year are on the back of your registration receipt.
Ownership tax is in lieu of personal property tax. Vehicles do not need to be operated in order to be assessed this tax.
The ownership tax rate is assessed on the original taxable value and year of service
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/SOT%20Attachment%20-%20Tax%20Tables%20with%20Examples%20%281%29.pdf
Again, if you’re able to afford multiple vehicles, maybe a Tesla or other electric would make a good commuter car. Drive to work, park it all day, then drive it back home. Park it in the garage and plug it in to the charger overnight. Does it need to be a luxury vehicle for a daily commuter? It might be nice, but probably not necessary (and who’d pay $70K for a commuter car?). I can only afford one vehicle. Well, I could probably afford multiple vehicles, but it would be a stretch to own a Tesla given the insurance and annual fees. My Audi was just starting to get old enough to make the annual registration and tax a little less wallet-rapey when (Uncle forced) VW make me an offer I couldn’t refuse. My Cherokee costs me a few hundred dollars a year to register. The Tesla S is about $30K more than I paid so that means the registration is that much more. And I’m sure the insurance mafia is keeping a pretty close eye on repair costs and accidents too.
But you probably already have a vehicle in the garage that serves the purpose of being your commuter car. And that can also be used on the weekend, and on vacation and just about any time you like. No range anxiety. No delays in your journey. And TCO spread out over every use, not just one part of your life. This time of year I start seeing more motorcycles on the drive in to work, and I’d probably join them if I didn’t have a company vehicle. If you can ride year around that’s even better. And TCO is so much lower since taxes and insurance are much lower. Downside is you might get wet or chilly. But here in the US we love to do the opposite of what makes sense. Motorcycles are for crusin’ with the boys on weekends, not for practical efficient transportation. Much better to drive the 7 passenger SUV to work and back. Or try to drive a Tesla cross country.