9 votes

Tesla shares tumble after company unveils ‘underwhelming’ Model Y

3 comments

  1. cptcobalt
    Link
    Tesla is a complex company, and there's just so many dynamic factors to this: Tesla has a rabid fanboy community just slightly worse than the rabid fanboy community surrounding Apple. This leads...

    Tesla is a complex company, and there's just so many dynamic factors to this:

    • Tesla has a rabid fanboy community just slightly worse than the rabid fanboy community surrounding Apple. This leads to unnecessary hype and misset expectations, because many perceive that the company is "so magical" that it can do the impossible. Most often, the presentations just show off the most predictable guesses, where the community doesn't want Tesla to merely be "predictable".
    • Tesla also has a rabid community of short sellers, where, even though Tesla is quite predictable (steady growth, pretty clearly disclosed future plans, etc.) there's always someone available to complain about Tesla. This has definitely become a meme.
    • The Model Y presentation was extremely awkward and unfocused. Even if you look past the "s3xy" jokes (because haha), any reasonable human watching the presentation would cringe or make fun of several moments of the announcement. (And, if you've watched any Tesla announcement before, you're subject to 20-40 minutes of Tesla history seemingly every single time.)
    • Historically, stock values drop after major exciting announcements. It's true with Apple, and I'm finding it to be true with Tesla too. (this isn't trading advice)
    • The place where I have the least amount of confidence is Elon. I think he should certainly be celebrated as an innovator, because he's probably our most modern equivalent to a Steve Jobs/etc type of character, but I think he lacks the skills to be able to run the CEO role and maintain consistent wide consumer confidence. It's obvious enough that he has enough PR slips that cause problems for him. He should take roles where he can focus and completely own product direction, and leave banal operations to another executive. (and, gosh, no union busting please, Elon.)

    Disclaimer, because some may my find comment to be overly negative rather than fair: I hold both $TSLA and $AAPL, and own a Model 3 and far too many Apple products.

    9 votes
  2. [2]
    top
    Link
    It was also the first time seeing the semi drive though, right? As I understand it, there's a big market for vehicle fleets that should be pretty happy right now.

    It was also the first time seeing the semi drive though, right? As I understand it, there's a big market for vehicle fleets that should be pretty happy right now.

    1 vote
    1. Amarok
      Link Parent
      I'm trying to figure out why the Y is 'underwhelming' in the first place. What exactly were people expecting? I don't generally keep up with what's going on inside Musk's reality distortion field...

      I'm trying to figure out why the Y is 'underwhelming' in the first place. What exactly were people expecting? I don't generally keep up with what's going on inside Musk's reality distortion field or in the automotive market. Is this Model Y a failure at being a proper SUV, or are there competitors out there that have a better product? Is the electric one just a 'joke' compared to what gas can do? If the answer to all of these is 'no' or even 'it depends' I find it hard to see why it's a failure, unless people had otherwise unreasonable expectations.

      1 vote