Nice
I like this new "News Bytes" thing.
Tesla 3 orders hit $14bn
Pre-order sales of the Telsa 3 have hit £14bn (£9.9bn), with hundreds of thousands of people having paid $1,000 to reserve the car expected to launch late-2017 launch. "We’ve now received more than 325,000 reservations," said Elon Musk in a blog post. He claimed that makes it "the single biggest one-week launch of any product …
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Friday 8th April 2016 16:01 GMT GBE
Too big, too many doors.
I'll take another look when there's a smaller 2+2 coupe version. I hardly ever need 2 doors -- let alone 4.
How much is the mileage reduced when it's -20F out and you need lots of heat? Can the passenger compartment be heated using waste heat dissipated by the motor?
They did get one thing right: it's RWD.
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Friday 8th April 2016 16:45 GMT Herby
Fashion statement...
Much like Gucci or Fendi handbags. I'm surprised that they don't advertise in Vogue or something similar.
Side note: Find one of these magazines and count the number of ad pages BEFORE the first editorial (usually the contents) page. I did once, and found it is around 20-30 FULL PAGES. Oh to be in the fashion business.
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Friday 8th April 2016 17:47 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Fashion statement...
Actually, in a fashion magazine, the ads are as much content as the rest of it. Arguably even more so. I know my wife pays a lot more attention to the ads then the content - she says that she can tell the season's look from the ads. Fashion ads aren't really telling you speeds and feeds, they are selling a look, a lifestyle.
So don't knock fashion magazines
Anon cause I don't want my wife reading this.
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Friday 8th April 2016 16:47 GMT Anonymous Coward
Misleading
While there is certainly a lot of interest and excitement for the Tesla 3, those preorders don't necessarily translate into sales. You can put down a deposit, but have it refunded at any time later. I would bet given the publicity, some people have been putting down deposits hoping the initial demand for the car will be so high they'll be able to make money reselling it.
I wonder if the registrations themselves are transferable? Maybe you'll see eBay auctions for "Tesla 3 reservation #104, get yours sooner than any of your neighbors"
It isn't like you are giving up a lot of interest taking that money out of your bank, so if you think you might be buying a car in a couple years and want the Tesla 3 as an option, why not? You can always get that money back if you change your mind or some better electric car comes along in the meantime.
Meanwhile, Tesla gets to use all that money for working capital to actually make the cars, so this was a good plan on their part.
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Saturday 9th April 2016 06:41 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Kickstarter?
Now that I think about it, I wonder if it is legal for them to spend that money, since they say it is refundable. If I am buying a house and put down a deposit when I make an offer, that money has to be held in escrow (typically by a lawyer) so that it can be returned to me if something goes wrong and the seller can't deliver (i.e. title isn't clean, inspection indicates problems, etc.)
I suppose even if they have to hold it all in escrow, it indicates enough interest that they could take out a loan for a tidy sum for whatever startup costs were required to get the manufacturing capacity they need. Of course, if there were delays and people started wanting their deposits back, the bank could call the loan on short notice. Though when the company's owner/founder is a billionaire, that might not be a big concern as he's probably able to get loans in his own name pretty easily.
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Biting the hand that feeds IT
