Bob Lutz, "Tesla is ‘Going Out of Business"

[BHopkins]

Bob Lutz says a lot of things. I don't know that he believes what he says.

For those that don't think that Bob Lutz was bad for GM, here's a differing opinion.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/02...lped-destroy-g/

This one makes a lot of sense. The last thing this world needs is another GM.

https://www.treehugger.com/cars/tesla-doomed-unless-it-becomes-more-gm-says-bob-lutz.html

I for one am ready for the new guard. GM is a perfect example of the failure of the old guard. Bob out and Mary in is one of the best things that has happened to GM in my lifetime.

 

[redbone3]

Tesla bonds have devolved into "junk" territory. At the rate they go through capital they are either going to issue a bunch more equity and dilute shareholder value, or file for bankruptcy at some point.

 

[dishdude]

I say it's the next Enron.

 

[cronk]

Originally Posted By: BHopkins
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
Tesla just purchased a company here in MN that specializes in manufacturing automation equipment.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bizjour...perbix.amp.html

I wonder where Musk got the money for this?

Not sure. But I am quite sure he didn't borrow it from the government, then tell the American people that they had payed it back when in truth they were far, far, far from paying it all off.


Uh, pretty much all of Musk's business endeavors rely on some sort of government incentives.
Electric cars built in local govt incentivized factories, sold to people at a discounted price due to a federal govt incentive.
Pretty much the same story with his solar business.
Space X also relies on government money.

 

[slowrench]

I always believed that if tesla was making money,they would get squished, like a bug,by the big manufacturers,who actually build their own cars.What tesla has done, is not that much different, than what peacefull gearheads were doing in the 70s,in their garages.A chevy volt or prius is way more impressive to me.And that big rig ,that was just on the news,it may work in an inner city moving stuff around,but thats about it.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Time will tell. Truthfully it doesn't matter to me one way or the other what happens to Tesla.


Every time California raises the gasoline taxes, I wish Tesla would hurry up and take over the car market.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Time will tell. Truthfully it doesn't matter to me one way or the other what happens to Tesla.


Every time California raises the gasoline taxes, I wish Tesla would hurry up and take over the car market.


Why would you want to pay California Electricity Prices to get to work ?

Or worse, California Electricity prices when it's EV only ?

 

[Sayjac]

I don't know if what Lutz says is true or not. I will say that based on his history I agree with those saying Lutz is hardly a reliable authority on such matters. 'IMO' he's little more than a pontificating gas bag.

Seems though based on my reading of this site, if it is true it will be to the pleasure of many here.

 

[LoneRanger]

Originally Posted By: MaximaGuy
He is a freaking fool... Elon is out there to kill the ICE and throw the mullahs into the Arabian sea.
Elon is half way there, once he gets to the trucks, the terrorist laced oil will be consumed much much less.
Well, TX will keep going, we have so many idiots out here on their trucks.


What did you smoke before you posted this?

 

[MaximaGuy]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Time will tell. Truthfully it doesn't matter to me one way or the other what happens to Tesla.


Every time California raises the gasoline taxes, I wish Tesla would hurry up and take over the car market.


Elon must succeed with or without govt incentives. It doesn't matter what CA does towards an greener revolution in the automobile segment, the rest of the country is living in a time warp where trucks trucks trucks are getting churned out at a mind numbing rate.

Here is TX one will find folks in $200K homes having 2 pretty trucks parked in their driveways. It will take another generation for green thinking to be seen out there. Tesla is booming here in Austin.

 

[Andrew1972]

Bob Lutz is an industry expert on running car companies into the ground. Maybe his opinion carries weight.

 

[Andrew1972]

Originally Posted By: MaximaGuy


Here is TX one will find folks in $200K homes having 2 pretty trucks parked in their driveways. It will take another generation for green thinking to be seen out there. Tesla is booming here in Austin.


TX while a large market not representative of the entire United States. Trucks are prevalent but two in driveway is rarer case as it makes little sense for vast majority of homeowners.

 

[WyrTwister]

Originally Posted By: MaximaGuy
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Time will tell. Truthfully it doesn't matter to me one way or the other what happens to Tesla.


Every time California raises the gasoline taxes, I wish Tesla would hurry up and take over the car market.


Elon must succeed with or without govt incentives. It doesn't matter what CA does towards an greener revolution in the automobile segment, the rest of the country is living in a time warp where trucks trucks trucks are getting churned out at a mind numbing rate.

Here is TX one will find folks in $200K homes having 2 pretty trucks parked in their driveways. It will take another generation for green thinking to be seen out there. Tesla is booming here in Austin.


Austin ? Otherwise known as Moscow on the Brazos .

 

[Bamaro]

I hope that Lutz is wrong. It would be good to see Tesla succeed and if it fails a lot of jobs will be lost. If the Model 3 could have a better range I would seriously consider buying one. My only beef about Tesla is that their quality could be better.

 

[mightymousetech]

Originally Posted By: madRiver
Bob Lutz is an industry expert on running car companies into the ground. Maybe his opinion carries weight.

 

[DBMaster]

I'm more concerned about the rest of the car - the normal car mechanical bits. Tesla may be high on the "wow" factor for electronics and may have great batteries and motors, but I don't know how good they are at building a CAR. I seem to recall that Consumer Reports was falling all over themselves with praises for the Model S, but after a year or two they are on the "not recommended" list.

 

[BHopkins]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster
I'm more concerned about the rest of the car - the normal car mechanical bits. Tesla may be high on the "wow" factor for electronics and may have great batteries and motors, but I don't know how good they are at building a CAR. I seem to recall that Consumer Reports was falling all over themselves with praises for the Model S, but after a year or two they are on the "not recommended" list.


You recall correctly. However, in their most recent reliability data, CR has raised Tesla 4 places. And keep in mind they are rated better on reliability than several of America's favorite brands. Lincoln, Dodge, Ran, GMC, and Cadillac are all rated lower on reliability than Tesla. What's dragging down Tesla on reliability is the falcon wing doors on the Model X. They may look cool, but they are a nightmare to install and keep in adjustment.

Regardless of whether you like Elon's model for car manufacturing or not, it is clear that when it comes to electric cars, Tesla has become the target that all other manufacturers are shooting for. They have driven the excitement, the momentum. VW is promising to offer electric options in every model. Ford, while very slow, is promising electric cars. Mercedes is working on electric models, as is Ferrari, Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Porsche, Audi, Toyota, Kia, Hyundai. BMW has the i3 and the i8. By the way, the i3 is a reminder that Tesla isn't alone on quality issues. BMW recently put a Stop-Sale on all i3 inventory.

Remember who offered electric cars, or had models ready to release, before Tesla made big news with the Model S? Almost no one.

Like them or not, Tesla has driven the movement towards electric cars. Have they burned through an awful lot of cash? No doubt. But there are people out there are are still investing in them, because they are visionaries. They can see the progress that has been driven by Tesla, and they want them to continue.

Will they succeed? I don't know. I sure hope so. We supply a lot of parts for Tesla, and I'm getting anxious to see better volumes on the Model 3. But if they succeed or not, they have driven change in the world, because they are not afraid to be innovative. They really don't care what the norm is, or was.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster
I seem to recall that Consumer Reports was falling all over themselves with praises for the Model S, but after a year or two they are on the "not recommended" list.


Shows how useless consumer reports is.

"This car we drove for 1 day is going to be super reliable because the people who paid us to advertise it said so".

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
I seem to recall that Consumer Reports was falling all over themselves with praises for the Model S, but after a year or two they are on the "not recommended" list.


Shows how useless consumer reports is.

"This car we drove for 1 day is going to be super reliable because the people who paid us to advertise it said so".

I've been a subscriber for well over thirty years. They have a strict no advertising policy and every car they test has been purchased by one of their buyers posing as a "civilian." If I thought that were no longer true I would end my subscription now.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
I seem to recall that Consumer Reports was falling all over themselves with praises for the Model S, but after a year or two they are on the "not recommended" list.


Shows how useless consumer reports is.

"This car we drove for 1 day is going to be super reliable because the people who paid us to advertise it said so".

From the people that rated dependability before a model was even available! They are supernatural! Buying an appliance? Maybe but not a car.

Tesla is smoke and mirrors. We are just starting to hear about their embarrassing failures like suspension and such. As we get more on the road it should get worse.

I would be very cautious about a deposit on a semi that is only a concept...