Ford & SK On end joint US battery venture BlueOval SK

[GDN]

I think the Tesla comparisons aren't fair. Tesla was a brand new start-up with no legacy and no expectations from consumers. And, Telsa has a simple and small portfolio. They focus on one thing and one thing only: EVs for commuting.

Ford and GM and Stellantis are all in a different boat. These are century-old companies that have a reputation for building not only commuter vehicles but also work trucks, SUVs, sports cars, and everything in between. They got rich building ICE vehicles for decades and taylored their factories and processes to it. And then all of a sudden they got the EV bag thrown at them.

To me it's easy to see why there is a discrepancy between Tesla and its competitors. But, I also have ZERO interest in anything Tesla makes as it does not fit my needs or lifestyle.

Thanks for the reply, and I don't disagree, I just think because Ford and GM didn't know what they were doing, don't know what many of today's consumers want, how they want to remain stuck in their legacy ways, and the fact that maybe they are diversified, they've given EV's a really bad rap to the general public.

The fact that they are century old companies that refuse to reinvent themselves, I wonder who will be left here in 20 years? Or who wouldn't already be here if our government didn't bail them out.

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[The Weatherman]

I think the Tesla comparisons aren't fair. Tesla was a brand new start-up with no legacy and no expectations from consumers. And, Telsa has a simple and small portfolio. They focus on one thing and one thing only: EVs for commuting.

Ford and GM and Stellantis are all in a different boat. These are century-old companies that have a reputation for building not only commuter vehicles but also work trucks, SUVs, sports cars, and everything in between. They got rich building ICE vehicles for decades and taylored their factories and processes to it. And then all of a sudden they got the EV bag thrown at them.

To me it's easy to see why there is a discrepancy between Tesla and its competitors. But, I also have ZERO interest in anything Tesla makes as it does not fit my needs or lifestyle.

So, let me know when the /rant ends and I’ll see about turning off your ignore button.

 

[Lytning]

(My) # 1 rule of business: "Know your customers."

 

[Adventureboy]

Ford's F-150 Lightning sales fell 72% in November alone.

So, Ford Lightning production is shut down. They have none to sell..... There's that. Fully expected the drop. Restricting the supply will cause the demand to go up. When they start up production again, there will be demand. Smart move from a business perspective, given the slower-than-expected start.

 

[25StarWhiteLightning]

I would wager sales dropped in November because of the swell of demand in September and October clearing out all the vehicles tied to rebates. They either need to drop the price, add more features (range?) or expect a very low new normal EV volume. Used EVs are also a very good deal now which is putting big pressure on the new EV sales. Why pay $80k for a lightning when you get a 3 year old one for less than half price?

 

[Oafy44]

I wonder if / why Tesla wouldn’t be the “Apple” for legacy manufactures. It seems Elon is already over making cars and is into robotics / space/ robotics taxis. They already make more money on data and their charging infrastructure. Why doesn’t Tesla just develop the batteries / sell the autonomous to legacy OEMs and then just make their mass production robots taxis model E and Y - then whoever wants a cyber truck /s/X can still order. Other then the the S and Y- tesla really isn’t a threat to a truck / big suv offering. Feel feee to correct me- I could be looking at this incorrectly.

 

[Ventorum94]

Better company like who though?

CATL, for sure. Second choice, Panasonic.

 

[Ventorum94]

I think the Tesla comparisons aren't fair. Tesla was a brand new start-up with no legacy and no expectations from consumers. And, Telsa has a simple and small portfolio. They focus on one thing and one thing only: EVs for commuting.

Ford and GM and Stellantis are all in a different boat. These are century-old companies that have a reputation for building not only commuter vehicles but also work trucks, SUVs, sports cars, and everything in between. They got rich building ICE vehicles for decades and taylored their factories and processes to it. And then all of a sudden they got the EV bag thrown at them.

To me it's easy to see why there is a discrepancy between Tesla and its competitors. But, I also have ZERO interest in anything Tesla makes as it does not fit my needs or lifestyle.

I own a Lightning and a Tesla MY. My Lightning meets my needs for occasional hauling and is our go-to for comfortable highway cruising; but with FSD 14.2, a month or so ago (for 2023+ vehicles), I now have a car that drives itself, in confidence and greater safety than I can (because it sees everything in all directions at once). To me, this is as amazing as rocket boosters landing vertically on barges in the ocean. Autonomous driving is truly luxury and technology from a time-travel movie, and ascertains a winning future for Tesla. Range? Today, every Tesla has over 300mi range, my Lightning about 220mi. Lightning or Tesla, it’s quite enough, really, as I rarely drive more than 500mi in a day.

 

[GDN]

I own a Lightning and a Tesla MY. My Lightning meets my needs for occasional hauling and is our go-to for comfortable highway cruising; but with FSD 14.2, a month or so ago (for 2023+ vehicles), I now have a car that drives itself, in confidence and greater safety than I can (because it sees everything in all directions at once). To me, this is as amazing as rocket boosters landing vertically on barges in the ocean. Autonomous driving is truly luxury and technology from a time-travel movie, and ascertains a winning future for Tesla. Range? Today, every Tesla has over 300mi range, my Lightning about 220mi. Lightning or Tesla, it’s quite enough, really, as I rarely drive more than 500mi in a day.

We paid for a month of FSD on our Y. Is crazy good and amazing. I don't want to derail this thread - it deserves sharing and further discussion however, even at FSD version 12 in a '23 Y with HW3.

My concern is still the true longevity of the Trucks batteries, the module failures, the rates, and how long will they continue to fail. Will there ever be a time when you can say OK, my battery is probably good for 20 years and won't fail again.

Likewise for the horrible 12v battery management. No good deed goes unpunished. I replaced mine proactively a week ago. I've had to reboot the infotainment more this week to get CarPlay to connect. It had been in the garage since Wednesday without being driven, 2 days. Last night I get in and I get the basic dings and bells indicating the low 12v charge status. Then also realized the red tail gate light was on, on the dash. I stopped, pushed the tailgate button to see what it would do. It released the tailgate and it fell open. I had to manually close it. The motor picked up from there and it opened and closed correctly and the light went away. The red light and disconnect had to be from the 12v system though. It's just horrible electrical system management. You won't find this kind of poor engineering on a Tesla.

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