I think it's over for Tesla in 2019... They have been dramatically slashing prices, it's happening for Tesla, the end is near. The 2 Billion loan they just got in China will keep them afloat a little bit, but it's clear as day this is a when and not if situation https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/01/tesla-model-s-x-price-cuts/
"Feb. sales and another drop for the Model 3, as only 5,750 model 3's were sold." So this is the true nature of demand in the US for the not cheapo version of M3s after the initial pent up demand has been satisfied: less than 1.5K/week
%% When you thought it could not get any worse; Mr Musk picked another fight with SEC + WSJ noted the bad customer service.
NTSB sending investigators to fatal Tesla-semitrailer crash By TOM KRISHER and DAVID FISCHER Associated Press March 03, 2019 09:32 AM MIAMI A federal safety agency is sending a three-member team to investigate a fatal crash involving a Tesla electric car and a semitrailer that is strikingly similar to a 2016 crash involving another vehicle made by the company. The National Transportation Safety Board said late Friday on Twitter that the team would work in cooperation with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, which is probing the Friday morning crash in Delray Beach. A sheriff's report says the tractor-trailer was making a left turn onto a divided highway to head north when the southbound 2018 Tesla Model 3 hit the semi's driver side, tearing off the Tesla's roof as it passed under the trailer. The Tesla's driver, 50-year-old Jeremy Beren Banner, died at the scene. The report didn't say whether the Tesla's Autopilot semi-autonomous driving system or its automatic emergency braking system were working at the time of the crash. Tesla released a statement Friday expressing sadness and saying the company is "working to learn more and are reaching out to the authorities to offer our cooperation." The circumstances of the crash are much like one that occurred in May 2016 on the opposite side of Florida, near Gainesville. Joshua Brown, 40, of Canton, Ohio, was traveling in a Tesla Model S on a divided highway and using the Autopilot system when he was killed. The NTSB, in a 2017 report, wrote that design limitations of the Autopilot system played a major role in the fatal crash, the first known one in which a vehicle operated on a highway under semi-autonomous control systems. The agency, which makes safety recommendations to the National Highway Safety Administration and other agencies, said that Tesla told Model S owners that Autopilot should be used only on limited-access highways, which are primarily interstates. The report said that despite upgrades to the system, Tesla did not incorporate such protections. Tesla has said that Autopilot and automatic emergency braking are driver-assist systems, and that drivers are told in the owner's manual that they must continuously monitor the road and be ready to take control if necessary. In January of 2017, NHTSA ended an investigation into the Gainesville-area crash, finding that Tesla's Autopilot system had no safety defects at the time. But the agency warned automakers and drivers not to treat the semi-autonomous driving systems as if they could drive themselves. Semi-autonomous systems vary in capabilities, and Tesla's system can keep a car centered in its lane and away from other vehicles. It can also change lanes when activated by the driver. The NTSB likely will incorporate the Delray Beach crash into other investigations from last year involving Tesla vehicles. Investigators are probing a fatal March 2018 crash involving a Tesla SUV near Mountain View, California. That vehicle was operating on Autopilot when it struck a freeway barrier, killing its driver, the agency determined. In addition, the NTSB is investigating the crash of a Tesla Model S sedan that may have been using Autopilot when it hit a parked firetruck on Interstate 405 near Los Angeles. The driver told authorities the Autopilot was working at the time. NHTSA also is looking into a May 11 crash involving a Tesla Model S near Salt Lake City. Autopilot was in use when the car hit a stopped fire department truck.
https://electrek.co/2019/03/04/tesla-owners-protest-price-cuts/ We reported on those changes, which include a new Model S battery pack and some up to $12,000 massive price drops in the US. Tesla has been justifying those price reductions by saying that the shift to online sales is going to result in cost savings. Overseas, the price reductions are even more significant. In some markets, the higher-end versions of Model S and Model X have seen overnight price reductions of over $30,000. One of those markets is Taiwan, where the price of a Model S P100D was cut almost in half by Tesla’s latest price changes – resulting in about $100,000 in savings. Tesla is now officially operating at a steep loss per vehicle, it is now impossible for the company to ever pay back any debt without borrowing more to do so!!! We witnessed the death of Tesla right in front of us last week
Tesla's secret conference call, just because you shouldn't be left out: "Basically, the Tesla web site says that you can get a $36,200 (including delivery charge) Model 3 in 2-4 weeks, but Musk said on the call that it’s June - which is clearly not 2-4 weeks from now. LA Times sought clarification from Tesla on this matter, and the company said that Musk’s word on the secret conference call was the accurate timeline." https://seekingalpha.com/article/4246158-secret-tesla-conference-call-invited
Tesla Bears Wall Street has not reacted favorably to Elon Musk's tactic for achieving his hallowed goal of a base-spec Model 3 for $35,000: shuttering Tesla's retail stores. Shares dropped 8% on the news. Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas: "While this may stabilize the air-pocket in Q1 sales, we're concerned it's a sign of a brand that may be, at the margin, losing its halo of exclusivity… We think the bears have more material to work with than bulls here." Fortune