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TechnoMonk

macrumors 68000
Oct 15, 2022
1,917
2,751
Not till they integrate with Tesla charging network in 2025, lucid can’t use Tesla charging network yet. Tesla has the best charging network in the US. Lucid has limited charging stations for my routes. Anyways, I am not gonna get an EV anytime soon. Cyber truck is probably the only EV I was remotely interested.
 

TechnoMonk

macrumors 68000
Oct 15, 2022
1,917
2,751
The E isn't really the hard part of an EV as evidenced by the fact that Tesla seems to be able to pull prototypes together fairly easily but then struggle in reaching mass production. The established makers excel at the mass production bit and they've already been making electric and hybrid vehicles for years.

I don't see any evidence that they're wary of competing, or that they've decided they're unable to build the vehicles-- the market just isn't there to make the economics work for them yet versus putting those resources into cars that will sell. That'll change, I hope. I'd like to see internal combustion go the way of the dinosaurs they burn for fuel.

Rivian and Lucid are the same disasters that Tesla was when it started (and still seems to be with every new car it tries to launch)-- they're green field companies with no designs under their belt, no manufacturing supply chains or experience, no workforce ready to be tasked with a new model, and no existing product line to help fund the effort.
It’s not only Green field companies, but traditional auto makers aren’t faring any better. Toyota CEO claiming paying fine with tax credits are better than going full EV may have seen crazy but Mercedes, Volvo, and others have come to similar conclusion after pumping in Billions.

BYD, the Chinese EV darling saw 40% YOY decline in Feb 2024 compared to Feb 2023. Their 2024 forecast is lot gloomier than Tesla. It’s gonna be an industry wide struggle in next year or even more.
 

Analog Kid

macrumors G3
Mar 4, 2003
9,019
11,792
It’s not only Green field companies, but traditional auto makers aren’t faring any better. Toyota CEO claiming paying fine with tax credits are better than going full EV may have seen crazy but Mercedes, Volvo, and others have come to similar conclusion after pumping in Billions.

BYD, the Chinese EV darling saw 40% YOY decline in Feb 2024 compared to Feb 2023. Their 2024 forecast is lot gloomier than Tesla. It’s gonna be an industry wide struggle in next year or even more.
Yeah, I agree. The market just isn't all that big yet and Tesla's cornered the early adopters for the time being.

Lucid, Tesla, and Rivian don't have other options though, they need to push through or die. The established players can put the idea on a shelf and focus on their existing business until market conditions improve. Apple apparently did the same-- decided they were better off focusing on existing products. I think that's why the green field companies look more desperate-- they don't have any other existing products. Despite Musk's "digging our own grave" rhetoric, I suspect Tesla can survive the failure of CT because they also have ongoing sources of revenue. Not sure they can afford two misses in a row though.

I hope Lucid pulls through, they look like a reasonable Tesla alternative. How's Polestar doing? I haven't thought about them for a while... For whatever reason I find them less compelling-- maybe it's the top to bottom Google integration.
 

UltimaKilo

macrumors 6502a
Nov 14, 2007
907
810
FL
Nah. It’s not me. It was like this on my Series5. My series 7. I’ve reset to factory settings. What’s even worse is I forget to stop the workout and then 30 mins later it asks me. Oh, you didn’t know that I left the woods, got in my car, traveled 50mph, and are halfway home before you thought of asking? Great job Apple
No, it doesn’t. Workout detection is based on your heart rate, which can remain elevated for 20+ minutes post workout. So it depends on the cardiovascular shape you’re in.

I’m a competitive body builder with good cardio. It’s difficult to raise my heart rate from simply walking, so I would never get the detection that others I hang out with get when we walk around the city.
 

diamond.g

macrumors G4
Mar 20, 2007
11,172
2,484
OBX
Not till they integrate with Tesla charging network in 2025, lucid can’t use Tesla charging network yet. Tesla has the best charging network in the US. Lucid has limited charging stations for my routes. Anyways, I am not gonna get an EV anytime soon. Cyber truck is probably the only EV I was remotely interested.
Are the Tesla chargers NACS chargers? Not sure how long for Tesla to get their whole network to speak NACS (Specifically CCS) since their older cars don't.
 

webkit

macrumors 68030
Jan 14, 2021
2,949
2,558
United States
Again, it's not my figure. Putting a wet finger in the air is nothing but an opinion. Which isn't an issue -- just don't call it a fact.

Again, this is not about it being "your" figure. It's about YOU using the figure to reach YOUR "not a failure" conclusion. A conclusion that is flawed for various reasons I've already mentioned so there’s no point in continuing this conversation.
 

diamond.g

macrumors G4
Mar 20, 2007
11,172
2,484
OBX
The North American Charging Standard (NACS) is based on Tesla chargers.
yes and no. The plug is, but the protocol is CCS, which Tesla supports in their newer cars, but in the older cars (pre-2021) it still uses CANBus. Which CCS doesn't support.
 

I7guy

macrumors Nehalem
Nov 30, 2013
34,334
24,079
Gotta be in it to win it
Again, this is not about it being "your" figure. It's about YOU using the figure to reach YOUR "not a failure" conclusion. A conclusion that is flawed for various reasons I've already mentioned so there’s no point in continuing this conversation.
100%. It’s my opinion the cyber truck is not a failure. It seems we may have different definitions of what a failure is or isn’t.
 
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I7guy

macrumors Nehalem
Nov 30, 2013
34,334
24,079
Gotta be in it to win it
[…] Despite Musk's "digging our own grave" rhetoric, I suspect Tesla can survive the failure of CT because they also have ongoing sources of revenue. Not sure they can afford two misses in a row though.

[…]
If the cybertruck ultimately turned out to be a failure.
 
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Donoban

macrumors 65816
Sep 7, 2013
1,225
442
It's still very weird that it escaped Apple, of all companies, that they don't want to become "just another car manufacturer" because that would have been the ultimate goal back then, just as it is now, had they continued on this path.

And beyond that, there's no such thing as "truck load of new tech" here. When you consider it...

1. Most of the talents on the team were in mechanical or automotive industry. Except for the AI team. Most of these folks don't really have anything else to offer Apple since Apple doesn't really need their talents in other projects.
2. The AI team was pegged with the single task of training an AI model to steer a car and make car-related decisions. It basically has zero consequences on other AI projects since they need to basically train entirely new models for those projects.
3. The software in the car may be interesting, except they already have CarPlay.
4. You'd think they could learn a ton about Lidar sensors from this project... except they already have Lidar sensors in phones and tablets and now in Vision Pro, too, where they are also used for pretty much the same thing... measuring depth and distance.
5. How about cameras? Surely Apple doesn't have cameras everywhere else already?

When you really analyze it, Apple basically can take... nothing from the project. It's really a complete dump of $10B for... absolutely nothing. Maybe some AI engineers who they can absorb into other teams?

Solid points.

I would have loved to drive an Apple Car. :(
 

Donoban

macrumors 65816
Sep 7, 2013
1,225
442
I want a CEO that doesn’t chase folly in an industry that he knows nothing about. I want a CEO that doesn’t lose $16 Billion Dollars throwing good money after bad.

I wouldn’t normally reply to a Troll post like yours. But your tone is so condescending, it makes my blood boil. I post a sarcastic, throwaway comment about a CEO that oversees a failed program and you have to chime in with a Red Herring for what? To make yourself look like a genius on internet message board? Congratulations on provoking a reaction. I lose. It’s always better to provoke a reaction than it is to react to provocation. And, you succeeded. I hope it makes your day.

I didn’t say that the stock didn’t rise while Tim Cook happened to be CEO. It did. And so did many other tech stocks. That wasn’t my point, notwithstanding your Red Herring.

You ignored the issue. I said that Tim Cook approved and pushed a program that many say was doomed from the start. A program that cost 16 Billion Dollars. A program that diverted company resources from other projects that could have actually made money. And, I said that, as a shareholder, I’m unhappy that this happened. This is a program that (I feel and felt at the time I read about it years ago) Apple never should have been involved in.

Whether the stock went up or down is irrelevant to my point. Now leave me alone and go find somewhere else to play.

What was the Red Herring? Couldn’t see it.

Please don’t be upset - this is the internet.
 

MacFan782040

macrumors 65816
Dec 1, 2003
1,024
690
No, it doesn’t. Workout detection is based on your heart rate, which can remain elevated for 20+ minutes post workout. So it depends on the cardiovascular shape you’re in.

I’m a competitive body builder with good cardio. It’s difficult to raise my heart rate from simply walking, so I would never get the detection that others I hang out with get when we walk around the city.
So you are proving my point. That Apple should improve their products and, in this case, the auto-detection should be based on other factors - GPS, speed, accelerometer, knowing your routine.

Also: spell check sucks
 

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TechnoMonk

macrumors 68000
Oct 15, 2022
1,917
2,751
Yeah, I agree. The market just isn't all that big yet and Tesla's cornered the early adopters for the time being.

Lucid, Tesla, and Rivian don't have other options though, they need to push through or die. The established players can put the idea on a shelf and focus on their existing business until market conditions improve. Apple apparently did the same-- decided they were better off focusing on existing products. I think that's why the green field companies look more desperate-- they don't have any other existing products. Despite Musk's "digging our own grave" rhetoric, I suspect Tesla can survive the failure of CT because they also have ongoing sources of revenue. Not sure they can afford two misses in a row though.

I hope Lucid pulls through, they look like a reasonable Tesla alternative. How's Polestar doing? I haven't thought about them for a while... For whatever reason I find them less compelling-- maybe it's the top to bottom Google integration.
Polestar is begging for money after Volvo pulled the plug on funding them. They have raised some money but bleeding much faster than they are raising money. Tesla isn’t going anywhere, and they are selling every Cyber truck they can make. Most manufactures would love to sell everything they make and not sit on the lots. Advantage for Tesla and BYD is cutting prices, they can sustain while guys like Ford, GM, Rivian, Lucid can’t go on for long. The market is much smaller than hype, Tesla took big chunk outside china, they don’t need large market share as long as they take most of EV profits.
 
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Analog Kid

macrumors G3
Mar 4, 2003
9,019
11,792
Tesla isn’t going anywhere, and they are selling every Cyber truck they can make. Most manufactures would love to sell everything they make and not sit on the lots.

Tesla's not going anywhere, I agree. They'll weather this storm, and if they continue to stumble they'll get acquired before they go out of business.

I've heard the "selling every one they make" argument elsewhere in the thread too, and I'm not sure that's as compelling an argument as people think. If you can't make them, it's easy to sell the few you can. They are selling fewer than Ford has sold electric F-150s.

Until they can actually start producing them in volume, we don't know what the actual demand is.

Advantage for Tesla and BYD is cutting prices, they can sustain while guys like Ford, GM, Rivian, Lucid can’t go on for long.

I'm not sure why you'd think that's true. Again, Rivian and Lucid are in a different category than the other four but if we know Ford and GM are more profitable than Tesla then why would you think Tesla can outlast them in a price war? GM and Fords shareholder basically assume continued dividends and no growth right now, Tesla's investors have higher hopes.

Less today than yesterday, but still...

The market is much smaller than hype, Tesla took big chunk outside china, they don’t need large market share as long as they take most of EV profits.

If there are profits to be taken. Tesla cut deep into their profits to try and stave off the new entrants. If Ford and GM took that same approach, and just absorbed the cost of the price war, they would still be making money on their internal combustion vehicles while Tesla lacks that diversification.
 

UltimaKilo

macrumors 6502a
Nov 14, 2007
907
810
FL
So you are proving my point. That Apple should improve their products and, in this case, the auto-detection should be based on other factors - GPS, speed, accelerometer, knowing your routine.

Also: spell check sucks
That’s not a good way to base a workout on. Also, simple fix: press “start workout.” You forgetting is user error. Do you get upset at Kenmore when you forget to turn on the stove? 🤣

The real issue is that you’re not actually doing any meaningful exercise. Get to the gym.
 

TechnoMonk

macrumors 68000
Oct 15, 2022
1,917
2,751
Tesla cut Prices in china
Tesla's not going anywhere, I agree. They'll weather this storm, and if they continue to stumble they'll get acquired before they go out of business.

I've heard the "selling every one they make" argument elsewhere in the thread too, and I'm not sure that's as compelling an argument as people think. If you can't make them, it's easy to sell the few you can. They are selling fewer than Ford has sold electric F-150s.

Until they can actually start producing them in volume, we don't know what the actual demand is.



I'm not sure why you'd think that's true. Again, Rivian and Lucid are in a different category than the other four but if we know Ford and GM are more profitable than Tesla then why would you think Tesla can outlast them in a price war? GM and Fords shareholder basically assume continued dividends and no growth right now, Tesla's investors have higher hopes.

Less today than yesterday, but still...



If there are profits to be taken. Tesla cut deep into their profits to try and stave off the new entrants. If Ford and GM took that same approach, and just absorbed the cost of the price war, they would still be making money on their internal combustion vehicles while Tesla lacks that diversification.
Apple was smart to step back, they don’t need to lose money nor need to make cars.
Traditional Auto makers have no choice but cut back, though it’s not a great scenario either. Ford and GM profit margin has been around 5-7% with out EV. Ford lost money, mostly due to EV in Dec 2023, with margin of -1.14%. Ford cut production of lightening by 50% in December to lower the losses it was taking. GM made 2 Billion on 43 B revenue in Q4 2023. Tesla made 4.0 B on 25 B revenue during same period.
RIP ford lightening for now, they halted 2024 shipments after issues. Ford already reported more than 2300 workers would be impacted and some of them will be moved to traditional SUVs like bronco and others will be let go.

Ford sold around 25 K lightening Trucks in 2023, with no date of resuming production in 2024. Tesla is expected to ramp up to 250k cyber truck per year by 2025. The approach has been to slowly ramp up to avoid quality issues and halt production. Many pessimistic projections are about 100 K units in 2024. That is less than 2000 units per week.

Regarding price war, it’s only getting started in China and other markets. Tesla dropped model 3 prices from 260 K Yuan to 229K. The profit margins reported at 260 K was 25%. Even with a bigger cut, it has long way to break even or loss. Tesla reported a 19% slow down in Feb 2024 in china, the BYD down by 37-40% in Feb 2024. I didn’t expect Tesla to be so aggressive, but given their 25% margin before price cuts, they can go down lot more than others.

How it started..

How it’s going.

 
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Analog Kid

macrumors G3
Mar 4, 2003
9,019
11,792
Ford lost money, mostly due to EV in Dec 2023, with margin of -1.14%.
They lost money in their EV group, but their loss in Dec was mostly due to pension issues.

Ford cut production of lightening by 50% in December to lower the losses it was taking.

I haven't looked at GM in detail, but what I'm finding is that Ford is continuing production of the Lightning, but has stopped shipment. This was to review a quality control issue, not to cut losses. They're still looking to produce 1600 a week in 2024.

Ford sold around 25 K lightening Trucks in 2023, with no date of resuming production in 2024. Tesla is expected to ramp up to 250k cyber truck per year by 2025. The approach has been to slowly ramp up to avoid quality issues and halt production. Many pessimistic projections are about 100 K units in 2024. That is less than 2000 units per week.

In the absence of information here, you're making it sound like Ford won't recover but Tesla will. I'll choose to assume both manufacturers are incentivized to succeed and will slowly find their way through their issues. Given Teslas history of over promising and under delivering, I'll treat their numbers with the same skepticism I'd give to BYD.


I've blocked Twitter, so I won't be able to see what's referenced there.
 

TechnoMonk

macrumors 68000
Oct 15, 2022
1,917
2,751
They lost money in their EV group, but their loss in Dec was mostly due to pension issues.



I haven't looked at GM in detail, but what I'm finding is that Ford is continuing production of the Lightning, but has stopped shipment. This was to review a quality control issue, not to cut losses. They're still looking to produce 1600 a week in 2024.



In the absence of information here, you're making it sound like Ford won't recover but Tesla will. I'll choose to assume both manufacturers are incentivized to succeed and will slowly find their way through their issues. Given Teslas history of over promising and under delivering, I'll treat their numbers with the same skepticism I'd give to BYD.



I've blocked Twitter, so I won't be able to see what's referenced there.
Ford and GM were a low margin businesses with heavy debt obligations, well before EV, there is a reason Ford Cut back 12 Billion investment in EV. Toyota and Honda make lot more money than GM and Ford Combined. Toyota sounded like crazy not to go full throttle on EV, but they may have made smarter decision with more focus on PHEV. Ford barely sells 2K Lightening trucks a month, let alone 1600 a week. Ford has announced it will stick to low cost smaller EV to compete with low cost Chinese manufacturers. Tesla has net cash/debt is a positive 28 B USD, compared to Ford at -62 Billion and GM at -55 B.

Tesla should worry about BYD and Hyundai low cost EV, when the EV plant in Georgia opens soon. Toyota and Honda are slow movers , but most healthiest automakers who can probably take more risk, if they ever want to go EV.
 

Analog Kid

macrumors G3
Mar 4, 2003
9,019
11,792
Ford and GM were a low margin businesses with heavy debt obligations, well before EV

And Tesla will become one. Early adopters are willing to pay a premium and put up with quality and maintenance issues to have early access. Tesla has dominated that market and appears to have saturated it. That's why they're cutting prices to grow-- they're driving their margins down to move units.

Teslas used to be tech products, now they're cars. They've always been the same thing, obviously, but how they're viewed by the market and their customers has changed. Tesla is basically selling Ford quality and Mercedes prices. That won't last.

there is a reason Ford Cut back 12 Billion investment in EV.

They delayed the investment. Financially there's not much difference between the statements, but they do signal different intent. Ford clearly delayed because demand isn't there yet, but they still believe it will be. I don't think it's a technical inability to produce.

Toyota sounded like crazy not to go full throttle on EV, but they may have made smarter decision with more focus on PHEV.

It's a shame, because I think a lot of people would view a Toyota EV as legitimizing the market. It would certainly be a contender on my list. I'm not sure if they held back because they knew the market was soft, or as an attempt to protect and milk their substantial investment in hybrids but, assuming they're able to ramp quickly enough when the demand does appear, it does look like a good business decision for the time being.

Ford barely sells 2K Lightening trucks a month, let alone 1600 a week. Ford has announced it will stick to low cost smaller EV to compete with low cost Chinese manufacturers.

The 1600/wk was scaled back from an earlier target of 3200/wk. It's still only like 10% of their ICE F-150 volume, I don't think that's an unreasonable goal.

Trying to compete with low cost Chinese manufacturers would be stupid. Not a level playing field in any way. They'll compete with Tesla, slowly over time, and other makers will start to carve out their market segments. I'm pretty darned sure that China will protect their domestic industry though.

Tesla should worry about BYD and Hyundai low cost EV, when the EV plant in Georgia opens soon.

Same with Tesla. I'm not sure competing head to head with BYD is going to end well. I kind of expect we're going to see two global EV markets, one that is open to and dominated by BYD and one that isn't.
 
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TechnoMonk

macrumors 68000
Oct 15, 2022
1,917
2,751
And Tesla will become one. Early adopters are willing to pay a premium and put up with quality and maintenance issues to have early access. Tesla has dominated that market and appears to have saturated it. That's why they're cutting prices to grow-- they're driving their margins down to move units.

Teslas used to be tech products, now they're cars. They've always been the same thing, obviously, but how they're viewed by the market and their customers has changed. Tesla is basically selling Ford quality and Mercedes prices. That won't last.



They delayed the investment. Financially there's not much difference between the statements, but they do signal different intent. Ford clearly delayed because demand isn't there yet, but they still believe it will be. I don't think it's a technical inability to produce.



It's a shame, because I think a lot of people would view a Toyota EV as legitimizing the market. It would certainly be a contender on my list. I'm not sure if they held back because they knew the market was soft, or as an attempt to protect and milk their substantial investment in hybrids but, assuming they're able to ramp quickly enough when the demand does appear, it does look like a good business decision for the time being.



The 1600/wk was scaled back from an earlier target of 3200/wk. It's still only like 10% of their ICE F-150 volume, I don't think that's an unreasonable goal.

Trying to compete with low cost Chinese manufacturers would be stupid. Not a level playing field in any way. They'll compete with Tesla, slowly over time, and other makers will start to carve out their market segments. I'm pretty darned sure that China will protect their domestic industry though.



Same with Tesla. I'm not sure competing head to head with BYD is going to end well. I kind of expect we're going to see two global EV markets, one that is open to and dominated by BYD and one that isn't.
Tesla is way past early adopter phase. They shipped 1.8 Million cars last year. Most of Tesla volume comes from later models like Model Y and Model 3. Early adopters were mostly Model X and S. The over all EV market will have head winds, but leaders with lower costs and good margin can survive. Tesla is expected to make billions after other manufacturers start using their charging network. Ford has already told the investors they want to go after low cost smaller EV. Losing 5 Billion on EVs does that to companies. Ford is lucky to sell 2000 trucks per month, let alone 1600 per week. BYD isn’t really gonna be global either. They compete in costs but won’t be able to certify most of their cars in the US. BYD in their own guidance said US or some of the EU markets are out of question.
Tesla has big chunk of revenues coming from the software subscriptions like Auto Pilot and extended range, lot of them is software updates. The funny part is I follow lot of Tesla shorts over last 6-7 years, ton of those guys have shut down their funds.
At this point it will be more or less like smart phone market, BYD will have large volumes, and Tesla will take major chunk of profits. I can see Hyundai competing at lower cost. GM and ford will most likely need a tax payer bailout if they continue the path with huge debt obligations.
 
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