Should Tesla buy Mooney?

[hais]

  On 3/28/2022 at 5:05 PM, Hank said:

Just need to acquire some old auto equipment that isn't fast enough any more. Much less expen$ive than buying new!

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Maybe this is the solution for the future :

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/geneva-motor-show-2020/czinger-21c-1233bhp-3d-printed-hypercar

[carusoam]

If we are discussing turbine powered cars….

The Firebird is everything….!  
 

Exhaust temps dumped out the back would have the tendency melt the cars behind you at the traffic light….
 

Go Pontiac!

-a-

[A64Pilot]

  On 3/29/2022 at 2:36 AM, carusoam said:

If we are discussing turbine powered cars….

The Firebird is everything….!  
 

Exhaust temps dumped out the back would have the tendency melt the cars behind you at the traffic light….
 

Go Pontiac!

-a-

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GM had a neat video of it back then, obviously model car or whatever but if memory serves it seemed to imply a self driving car.

[A64Pilot]

Found it, sort of long, but funny if you have the time, definitely was supposed to be self driving, at least the prom film anyway

https://youtu.be/cPOmuvFostY

[AH-1 Cobra Pilot]

  On 3/30/2022 at 12:06 PM, A64Pilot said:

Found it, sort of long, but funny if you have the time, definitely was supposed to be self driving, at least the prom film anyway

https://youtu.be/cPOmuvFostY

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ROTFLMAO!!  "High speed lane"  What were they doing?  30?

One of my favorite 'future predictions' from 1900 was that by 2000, "The deliveryman will be a thing of the past.  Everything will be delivered to your home via pneumatic tube."

[carusoam]

Holy cow!

Email killed the pneumatic tube business! About the same time Video killed the radio star….

Docusign is probably putting a dent in some FedEx business…

The CEO/Founder of FedEx announced his change of employment the other day…  keeping President, leaving CEO… after 50+ years…. 
 

Thanks for posting the turbine firebird III video…. A 1958 look at what 1972 could look like…. Stuff that didn’t quite arrive until 2020…
 

Best regards,

-a-

[flyboy0681]

  On 3/31/2022 at 4:56 AM, carusoam said:

Holy cow!

Email killed the pneumatic tube business! About the same time Video killed the radio star….

Docusign is probably putting a dent in some FedEx business…

The CEO/Founder of FedEx announced his change of employment the other day…  keeping President, leaving CEO… after 50+ years…. 
 

Thanks for posting the turbine firebird III video…. A 1958 look at what 1972 could look like…. Stuff that didn’t quite arrive until 2020…
 

Best regards,

-a-

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There are two terms for all of this: for the new process created, disruption. The person who creates it, disruptor. Fred Smith was a disruptor of the 70's, just as Travis Kalanick is of the 2010's.

 

 

 

 

[carusoam]

Speaking of distruptors….and the wild ride they go on….

To get started… have a great idea.

to grow… work 24/7.  Hackathons…

to scale… venture capital…

to maintain control… good guidance/mentor…

to look back with pride/public image intact… No skeletons stored in closets…

 

If your plan is to run fast and break things… expect some skeletons to get video taped….  
 

Travis dropped the ball just as he crossed the pay point… too many skeletons. This guy was brought in to fine tune things going forwards….  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dara_Khosrowshahi
 

The Google guys hired their own replacement…

The Toddler CEO also got some good guidance…

The WeWork guy lost control to the huge venture capitalist…

 

Tough choices when you need a partner to get to the next step… choose wisely…

 

To keep things in line with this thread…

watch the wild ride that Tesla has been on…

What ever happened to their first car, the Roadster…. With production numbers similar to a Mooney…

Tesla lost focus on the small numbers…. And stopped the support…

Somebody did fill the vacuum and  start to supply support….

Keep in mind… that support is incredibly expensive… and no regulator is involved when making new parts…

Enjoy this video…. About Life after the big company ends its support…

And think about Don, Clarence, Paul/Sheri, Dan, Alan and your other favorite maintainers and parts suppliers… 

Briefly… Tesla isn’t going to be the support you want to have for your Mooney…  much the same as that giant firm from China was….   Kind of like surviving after a public one night stand…

This is only an example of what it takes to keep a niche machine alive…. Expertise, drive, time, and dollars…

The owners are considered to be a community… sounds familiar…

Best regards,

-a-

From CNBC…

Meet the community saving the original Tesla Roadster
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/03/27/meet-the-community-saving-the-original-tesla-roadster.html?__source=iosappshare|com.apple.UIKit.activity.Message

[A64Pilot]

The new model if you will is planned obsolesce. Look to Garmin or Apple for examples.

Does a G1000 equipped Mooney bring extra when it’s time to sell or are people afraid it won’t be supported anymore?

Odd thing about Tesla is the Model 3 is/was supposed to be the affordable car average Joe could buy, which it is. But where Tesla deviated from other manufacturers is the Model 3 is the most advanced “better” car than the more expensive models, everything from the motor to the HVAC system is more advanced.

Your not supposed to do that, the new tech is supposed to come out in the flagship cars first, that’s why people pay more for them.

Tesla’s next goal is a much less expensive car for the hourly wage folks if you will, iv’e heard 25K tossed around, but with inflation running like it is, I don’t think that realistic.

You don’t really “service” a Tesla, if something breaks, you replace that part, so it’s not normal at all, my scheduled maintenance is rotate tires, add windshield fluid, and test brake fluid every two years for moisture content.

If I lived where they salt the roads lubricate the brake caliper pins yearly. That’s it, there is no service really.

[mike_elliott]

Elon just bought 9.2% of twitter today, because their algorithm for disinformation checking was preventing free speech. Things will be way different on twitter going forward. Meanwhile, the market has been opened now for 1 hour, and he has made 600 million on this investment. He now has more than enough disposable cash to buy Mooney. All he needs is a compelling reason such a move would benefit mankind, his main decision driver.

[Mufflerbearing]

This has been an interesting topic, reading from the beginning.  Last September, I put money down and placed an order for the Mustang Mach E GT with the performance package.  The instant power was intoxicating, coming from a guy that spends a ton of time at the track.  I was interested in free home made fuel (solar) for a vehicle I could enjoy.  The car is now built and in transit to Idaho.  Looking at it, timing couldn't have been more perfect with what has happened lately concerning fuel.  I wasn't thinking green, just fun. 

I have since learned that it takes 500,000 lbs of ore to create a single electric car.  I don't have the data to know what it takes to create an ICE vehicle but would be surprised if it was near as much as this.  Next, I recently read an article from the Idaho Statesman on mining Cobalt.  Salmon Idaho has the largest cobalt mine in the USA. It was a functioning mine years ago but shut down.  When it was closed, it became a 100 million super fund clean up site.  The local Indian population had to be moved because of the toxic waste from the mining.  Fast forward to now.  There are 4 companies that have pulled permits to reopen the mine for the cobalt for the auto industry.  These companies have to put up a bond for 100 million for the clean up after they are done.  I think that is a correct move.  But wait!  How many total electric cars can be built with the cobalt in this mine?   A whole whopping 190,000.  That's it!  This is the largest mine in the USA and it will produce just a pittance of what is needed.  Yes, most of the cobalt mines right now are in Africa.  I don't have data on how much those mines can produce, but we have seen how much they care for the environment.  

I have come to the conclusion that unless battery technology changed dramatically, this is unsustainable.  Nor is it green.  Windmills are the single most expensive and least ecological way to produce electricity with nuclear being the cleanest and most ecological sound.

Anyone want a red Mustang Mach E GT Performance car?  I don't think I will be picking it up.

[GeeBee]

Even worse is who mines the cobalt over seas in places like Congo. It ain't pretty.

 

[ZuluZulu]

  On 4/4/2022 at 2:25 PM, mike_elliott said:

All he needs is a compelling reason such a move would benefit mankind, his main decision driver.

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So he’s the pope now? Lol. Weird how his mankind-benefiting decisions always enrich himself, I’m sure that’s just coincidence!

[Hank]

  On 4/4/2022 at 4:25 PM, ZuluZulu said:

So he’s the pope now? Lol. Weird how his mankind-benefiting decisions always enrich himself, I’m sure that’s just coincidence!

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The only reason that corporations exist is to make money for the stockholders. How long would you remain in business if you don't make money???

[MooneyMitch]

I LOVE the First Amendment !

[EricJ]

9% doesn't give control of a company by a longshot.    It might get you a board seat, maybe two, but you're not gonna suddenly change the direction of a company with 9% ownership.

It does give you something to generate "look at me" press releases, though.

 

[mike_elliott]

  On 4/4/2022 at 5:17 PM, EricJ said:

9% doesn't give control of a company by a longshot.    It might get you a board seat, maybe two, but you're not gonna suddenly change the direction of a company with 9% ownership.

It does give you something to generate "look at me" press releases, though.

 

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Maybe,  Elon now owns 4 times more stock than Jack Dorsey in Twitter. Jack has now been deballed muted. Getting the rest of the gubbermint out of it might be a bit harder. Elon's stated disdain for the erosion of free speech was why he purchased it. He has been pretty successful in what he has set out to accomplish so far in spite of headwinds from all corners. Once I capitulated and quit betting against Elon, life has been personally much much better. Yes Elizabeth, I pay my fair share. Thankfully, there are those that still do bet against him leaving a huge window of opportunity for those less jealous and biased of his successes. I am convinced he didnt do this for the look at me, as he doesnt need to do that, he cant escape the press anyway just as Buffet, Rockefeller etc couldnt in their day.

 

[mike_elliott]

  On 4/4/2022 at 4:16 PM, GeeBee said:

Even worse is who mines the cobalt over seas in places like Congo. It ain't pretty.

 

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Its a great thing Tesla is moving to LFE batteries that use iron lithium and no Cobalt, heh?

 

[mike_elliott]

  On 4/4/2022 at 4:25 PM, ZuluZulu said:

So he’s the pope now? Lol. Weird how his mankind-benefiting decisions always enrich himself, I’m sure that’s just coincidence!

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Funny how one still gets rewarded for hard work, brilliance, and filling a need vs being a taker or living off the system. A leader, yes. He is not a religious leader as you suggest, IMO, however

 

[ZuluZulu]

  On 4/4/2022 at 4:41 PM, Hank said:

The only reason that corporations exist is to make money for the stockholders. How long would you remain in business if you don't make money???

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Where did I say that’s a bad thing? Being successful making money doesn’t make him a saint. Evidence is missing on that last point. 

[ZuluZulu]

  On 4/4/2022 at 6:51 PM, mike_elliott said:

Funny how one still gets rewarded for hard work, brilliance, and filling a need vs being a taker or living off the system. A leader, yes. He is not a religious leader as you suggest, IMO, however

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I couldn’t sum up the cult of personality around him any better than your recent posts praising every move he makes as somehow being good for society. The well-documented ways he has treated his employees (and wives!) doesn’t sound like much of a “leader” to me. 

[A64Pilot]

  On 4/4/2022 at 5:45 PM, mike_elliott said:

Its a great thing Tesla is moving to LFE batteries that use iron lithium and no Cobalt, heh?

 

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Only in the standard range, inexpensive cars. all others still get the NCA chemistries. LifePo4 just doesn’t have the energy density yet, it’s gotten much better, maybe it will be the battery of the future, it certainly has a lot of advantages over normal Lithium.

This is the Prius all over again, there were many reports and stories about how bad for the environment they were, even articles “proving” how a Hummer was greener than a Prius.

Its all bunk, damn near everything is recycled in an automobile, these batteries will be too, to believe they won’t be is misinformed.

Yeah I know you can find stories saying they fill junkyards and there’s huge storage areas because the can’t be disposed of etc., it’s all bunk.

However what is upsetting to me is the jump to electron guzzling PU’s and SUV’s to replace their gas guzzling counterparts.

The Hummer is an extreme case, but it’s over 9,000 lbs and it’s battery over 3,000 lbs.

Elon is a businessman, he does what he does to make money. His past successes and the fact he has almost a cult makes it so that if he bought Oreo stock many would buy it driving the price to insanity levels.

Tesla’s stock is at insane levels, the company is valued higher than GM and Ford combined, and that’s not logical. In fact it is THE most valuable auto manufacturer worth more than Toyota

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/tesla-most-valuable-automaker-share-stock-price/

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/25/investing/tesla-stock-trillion-dollar-market-cap/index.html

My opinion is Elon is set on this colonizing Mars thing, and he’s smart enough to know that no one Countries entire GDP could support that, so he knows he’s going to have to have more money than God to pull it off, so he’s out to accumulate the required capital.

Most like me would say it’s not possible and wouldn’t try, but he’s done other things that I have said was impossible, even silly, so who knows?

Edited April 4, 2022 by A64Pilot

[GeeBee]

  On 4/4/2022 at 5:17 PM, EricJ said:

9% doesn't give control of a company by a longshot.    It might get you a board seat, maybe two, but you're not gonna suddenly change the direction of a company with 9% ownership.

It does give you something to generate "look at me" press releases, though.

 

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Have you ever been involved in corporate politics? A 9% shareholder has a lot of power in a public company. There was a reason why Delta always held their annual meetings in Monroe, LA and it was not tradition. It was a 5% shareholder. Believe me, when you hold 9% of a public companies stock, you have tremendous power. I am involved in a proxy fight right now started by a 2% shareholder to improve the governance of a very badly run operation. If we landed a 9% shareholder? The board would be quaking in their boots. It is not the 9% that means trouble, what the 9% means he only has to get 41%+1 to go along with him, and 41% is very attainable on most questions.

 

[EricJ]

  On 4/4/2022 at 9:12 PM, GeeBee said:

Have you ever been involved in corporate politics? A 9% shareholder has a lot of power in a public company. There was a reason why Delta always held their annual meetings in Monroe, LA and it was not tradition. It was a 5% shareholder. Believe me, when you hold 9% of a public companies stock, you have tremendous power. I am involved in a proxy fight right now started by a 2% shareholder to improve the governance of a very badly run operation. If we landed a 9% shareholder? The board would be quaking in their boots. It is not the 9% that means trouble, what the 9% means he only has to get 41%+1 to go along with him, and 41% is very attainable on most questions.

 

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Apparently Musk has already stated his investment is passive, i.e., no board seats, no activism, no interest in company policy.   So the "free speech" stuff is just noise to attract attention, which it did and helped drive the price up from followers.

I think his interest in "free speech" stems from him repeatedly getting his hand slapped from boards, investors, and the SEC for posting dumb stuff that was unethical or illegal or both.

[mike_elliott]

  On 4/4/2022 at 9:47 PM, EricJ said:

Apparently Musk has already stated his investment is passive, i.e., no board seats, no activism, no interest in company policy.   So the "free speech" stuff is just noise to attract attention, which it did and helped drive the price up from followers.

I think his interest in "free speech" stems from him repeatedly getting his hand slapped from boards, investors, and the SEC for posting dumb stuff that was unethical or illegal or both.

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for being so passive, he is already influencing