Posted on 06/17/2014 11:58:19 AM PDT by PoloSec
We recently explained how Tesla needs to build what it is calling a "gigafactory" for batteries in order to survive. The rest of the world is not building enough lithium ion storage to meet what Tesla thinks will be surging demand, so it has decided it must do it itself by making a very costly factory.
Tuesday, SolarCity (Elon Musk's other company) announced it will have to do the same for solar panels. The firm unveiled plans to build one of the world's largest high-efficiency solar panel plants, using technology from Fremont-based Silevo, which they also said they'd acquired.
"We expect to have to install 10 gigawatts [of high-efficiency panels] a year," Chairman Elon Musk said on a conference call announcing the move. "If you look at the current capacity in the world, we're not able to do that right now."
It's not just a supply question. Solar panel prices have been falling in recent years thanks to a production boom in China. But the panels getting produced, though cheap, aren't terribly efficient and prices have begun bottoming out anyway.
They are likely to begin climbing: Government subsidies for renewables start getting phased out in 2016, and the political environment for rebooting them remains unstable at best.
Plus, in a call with BI, CTO Peter Rive said recent U.S. moves to slap tariffs on Chinese panels served as a "catalyst" for looking into building the Silevo plant.
Will the demand be there? The firm's own polling suggests there is. But if you assume that electricity customers are price agnostic, rooftop solar still has some ways yet to go to become cost competitive with fossil fuels. Musk recognizes this and beating fossil fuels at their own cost game remains his ultimate goal.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Clearly not worthless. At that point, clearly not worth $400.
Shorting isn't easy.
I agree, I wanted to short it at those nosebleed levels but was too scared.
Morgan Stanley On Tesla: ‘Whoa’
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Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas is out with an awesome and slightly hilarious note in which he argues Tesla is now, maybe, the most important car company in the world.
“Not even two years after the delivery of the first Model S, Tesla Motors has transformed from fledgling start-up to arguably the most important car company in the world. We are not joking.”
He groups a series of amusing anecdotes into three sections about how the auto world can’t stop talking about the California-based electric carmaker.
First there was the recent two-hour dinner Jonas had with the CTO a global parts mega-supplier. Half the meal was spent discussing how no one is doing what Tesla is doing to advance electrification and how suppliers are considering devoting new lines and facilities to make parts for the company.
Next are all the state governments clawing over themselves to land one of Tesla’s gigafactories, which could even someday end up moving the needle on U.S. GDP itself. Jonas said Tesla could wind up employing 20,000 employees directly and supporting up to 150,000 other jobs upstream and downstream.
And finally, there’s what the traditional automakers are saying, talk that has caused Jonas to go full Keanu.
“General Motors last year established its ‘Team Tesla’ to advance the development of long range EVs. A BMW engineer recently explained to us how Tesla’s presence has helped reinvigorate the spirit of automobile innovation that was beginning to run stale, further testifying that BMW will be a stronger company longer term because Tesla is around. Whoa.”
Jonas has a $320 price target on the stock. Shares were trading at $233.
AMZN’s R&D and CapEx (and resulting depreciation) investments are what drive their net profit down. That’s why profit is a worthless measure. Look at their EBITDA.
EXACTLY. It all goes away in D&A commensurate with their CapEx (running 5% of net sales). One only needs to look at their Cash Flow statement to see that they massively invest in their business.
That’s the entire point. All of those nuclear reactors were the idiotic boiling water type.
I would have no problem living next door to a pebble bed or thorium molten salt reactor.
Your perception of nuclear power (along with the rest of the world) has been shaped by a farce perpetrated by Westinghouse and GE. They bribed the Department of Energy into licensing designs that were guaranteed to have major problems, thus destroying the reputation of what is BY FAR the safest source of power in the world.
Oh they’ll get built - in China and India.
There are some Musk supporters on this site. I’m a believer of Tesla and Solar City and I’m no wacko environmentalist. Like any sector, there are good and bad. Solar has gotten a bad reputation because of so many poorly run solar businesses. I think Musk may have broken the mold. I’m pretty excited for the future with Solar city + tesla batteries
Agree good post. Interesting news about Panasonic and the gigafactory yesterday. http://www.cnet.com/news/tesla-and-panasonic-said-to-reach-agreement-on-gigafactory/
Because power plants are more efficient than gas or diesel car engines, even after transmission and storage losses a Tesla causes far fewer carbon emissions even when juiced by coal-fired utilities. The Model S MPGE is 89 versus 18/24 MPG for the Mercedes E 550, which is a reasonable comparable.
You do realize that Ubama has declared war on coal and is winning that war?
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