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Stock Market

We will see what they report today but they had ~$15B in cash on their balance sheet end of Q3.

How much of that is currently stuck in China?

How much is owed to suppliers?

How much is still required to optimize the "cash furnaces" in Austin and Berlin?

There is no such thing as "enough cash" in the auto industry, and it only gets worse trying to expand into HD truck, energy, and wherever else the idea-of-the-month-club decides to go next.
 
How much of that is currently stuck in China?

How much is owed to suppliers?

How much is still required to optimize the "cash furnaces" in Austin and Berlin?

There is no such thing as "enough cash" in the auto industry, and it only gets worse trying to expand into HD truck, energy, and wherever else the idea-of-the-month-club decides to go next.
No idea, but I imagine China is ran on small margins and pays HQ, sourcing and service fees to an non-China inter company.

As for your other two points, Tesla had $20B in cash Q3. FFO was $11B so what it is relevant unless they go negative FFO.
 
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nomnomnom
 
Tesla Inc. late Wednesday reported mixed quarterly results, with revenue slightly below Wall Street expectations, but injected some optimism in its production outlook for 2023 and promised to rein in costs faster. "The Tesla team is used to challenges," company executives said in a letter to shareholders.
________________
The next week or so will tell the story. I'm going to take a wheel barrow full of "optimism" over to my local grocery store and see if I can trade it for a wheel barrow full of groceries.
Interesting this released at the peak of the Dead Cat bounce.

1674687943862.png
 
Kicking myself for not buying more when it was down around $115... But at $100K already in... I was shy. Hindsight.
Inspired by @S3th Tesla optimism, I'm in a few hundred shares at $130. Knew I should have moved sooner but good move so far. Made enough in the past week to buy a new 7-35 TT 😄. We'll see how the next few months plays out.
 
That's great. Additional $5B in liquidity secured + LOC sublimits. 5 year term which is pretty standard.

Q1'23 we will be able to see if they are borrowing on it unless they report it as net and have zero borrowings as of quarter end. Based on how they report the debt on their debt table; it will flow to CFS as gross.
 
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Interesting:
What is even more interesting is that these deals are typically done alongside a TLA. This highlights to me that they are not seeking any long-term debt financing. Looking at their last 10Q their existing credit agreement matures in July'23. I am surprised that the text above does not state "amended" as there is a required transition away from LIBOR; most of us are amending. I assume this new credit agreement will replace the existing credit agreement based on LIBOR which goes away middle of this year and will not amend. Shouldn't see any signficant change in interest expense as majority is offset by cash balances and rate differential is nomial.

"for dollar-denominated loans, at the Company’s election, (a) Term SOFR (the forward-looking secured overnight financing rate) plus 0.10%, or (b) an alternate base rate;" yup
 
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3.6




Think twice when buying a used Tesla​


March 29, 2022

By Carlos from Ipswich, MA

Used to own this car

I bought my 2013 Model S from its 2nd owner at 98k miles after lots of research reaffirming that maintenance cost was low and reliability was high. I actually loved my car, drove smoothly and quietly, but then I didn’t even reached 120k miles on it when the high voltage battery completely died on me. I parked one day at work with 80% charge and got out from work to find the battery completely drained to the point of not even starting or being able to put into neutral to push it to a charging stall. I left the car plugged in using 3 extension cords for the entire weekend (still at my job’s parking lot) and it didn’t take any charge at all and never turned back on again. I towed it to the nearest Tesla service center and after over a week they told me the battery had completely died and it needed full replacement to the tune of $23k (the car’s average value in the best condition possible and long range trim is ~$26k). I asked about warranty coverage and they told me I was out (over 100k miles and just at the 8 year mark). I asked hypothetically if I had the money for the repair what their warranty would be and they said 50k miles on the battery only. The message is: DON’T BUY USED TESLAS but if you do make sure you’re still within the warranty period. GET RID OF THE CAR BEFORE THE FACTORY WARRANTY EXPIRES, after that all bets are off, it may very well become a bottomless money pit. DON’T EVER BUY A TESLA WITH NEW BATTERY thinking that it’s like buying a new car - it isn’t, you’re only covered for 50k miles on a fresh battery - completely wasteful and senseless. It’s a great, fun, and classy car while the warranty lasts (service is great and at no cost for warranty covered items, no questions asked). But once out of warranty you’re all on your own. They wouldn’t even buy it back from me for parts - terrible customer service (when things went south) that leaves much to be desired from such reputable brand.
 
That's great. Additional $5B in liquidity secured + LOC sublimits. 5 year term which is pretty standard.

Q1'23 we will be able to see if they are borrowing on it unless they report it as net and have zero borrowings as of quarter end. Based on how they report the debt on their debt table; it will flow to CFS as gross.

I agree that there is nothing scary about this - it's fairly typical. But it should undermine the narrative that the company is so flush with cash that it can afford to blow money on buybacks while also investing in new products and production.

Knowing a bit about that games played in automotive, I suspect that intraquarter cash-on-hand is tighter than what gets reported on the 10-Q. Once again, it's nothing like "OMG the company will blow up next month", but I suspect the situation is also not as rosy as the amateurs on Twitter make it out to be.
 
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I agree that there is nothing scary about this - it's fairly typical. But it should undermine the narrative that the company is so flush with cash that it can afford to blow money on buybacks while also investing in new products and production.

Knowing a bit about that games played in automotive, I suspect that intraquarter cash-on-hand is tighter than what gets reported on the 10-Q. Once again, it's nothing like "OMG the company will blow up next month", but I suspect the situation is also not as rosy as the amateurs on Twitter make it out to be.

It doesn’t undermine anything.
 
This is not just a car issue, this is an everything issue. If the push to ditch fossil fuels takes hold there will be little left for other items that use those types of batteries or battery materials. It has the possibility of shutting out supply for other things such as drones, weedeaters, etc. The effects IMO have not been fully calculated in. What is affordable now will not be if this actually gets traction.

What this article does not address is the power and infrastructure required to recharge this kind of demand. It is the lynchpin. The article also does not discuss the requisite tools to charge the batteries. That industry will boom as well. Copper will be in high demand all the way around. It also doesn't discuss the technology that would be required to have trucks generate enough long-term power required to deliver goods.

I want to say this is a pipe dream, but we are legislating ourselves into poverty with this it seems so there's that. It isn't lost on me that if this takes hold national interests such as security will get first dibbs on any supply and the citizenry will get what's left.
Brief:
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The East Baton Rouge Parish School System has been awarded a $7.5 million grant through the Environmental Protection Agency to purchase 19 new electric-powered buses. Lion Electric Co. was awarded the EPA “2022 Clean School Bus Rebate Program” grant...

The Lion Electric Company is a Canadian-based manufacturer of commercial vehicles. Currently the biggest electric vehicle manufacturer in its segment, Lion primarily produces yellow school buses....

___________________
Unfortunate America can't build a school bus.

 
3.6




Think twice when buying a used Tesla​


March 29, 2022

By Carlos from Ipswich, MA

Used to own this car

I bought my 2013 Model S from its 2nd owner at 98k miles after lots of research reaffirming that maintenance cost was low and reliability was high. I actually loved my car, drove smoothly and quietly, but then I didn’t even reached 120k miles on it when the high voltage battery completely died on me. I parked one day at work with 80% charge and got out from work to find the battery completely drained to the point of not even starting or being able to put into neutral to push it to a charging stall. I left the car plugged in using 3 extension cords for the entire weekend (still at my job’s parking lot) and it didn’t take any charge at all and never turned back on again. I towed it to the nearest Tesla service center and after over a week they told me the battery had completely died and it needed full replacement to the tune of $23k (the car’s average value in the best condition possible and long range trim is ~$26k). I asked about warranty coverage and they told me I was out (over 100k miles and just at the 8 year mark). I asked hypothetically if I had the money for the repair what their warranty would be and they said 50k miles on the battery only. The message is: DON’T BUY USED TESLAS but if you do make sure you’re still within the warranty period. GET RID OF THE CAR BEFORE THE FACTORY WARRANTY EXPIRES, after that all bets are off, it may very well become a bottomless money pit. DON’T EVER BUY A TESLA WITH NEW BATTERY thinking that it’s like buying a new car - it isn’t, you’re only covered for 50k miles on a fresh battery - completely wasteful and senseless. It’s a great, fun, and classy car while the warranty lasts (service is great and at no cost for warranty covered items, no questions asked). But once out of warranty you’re all on your own. They wouldn’t even buy it back from me for parts - terrible customer service (when things went south) that leaves much to be desired from such reputable brand.
I grew up in the 1960s and remember when typical car was "consumed" after 50,000 miles and required significant repairs. I am looking at used Teslas and yes I would factor in that they are disposable at 100,000 miles (althought I thought is was 120,000 in S model).
 
When linking to "Pro" access articles, probably best to include a quoted highlight paragraph or something.


After Tesla (TSLA) reported mixed fourth-quarter results Wednesday, topping earnings estimates while missing on revenue views, a slew of analysts have hiked price targets for the EV giant. Tesla stock soared Thursday after CEO Elon Musk was bullish about 2023.


At least three analysts increased price targets for Tesla stock Thursday morning. Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, a longtime Tesla bull, raised the firm's price target on Tesla to 200, up from 175 while maintaining an "Outperform" rating on TSLA shares.


Cowen analyst Jeffrey Osborne raised the price target to 140, up from the previous 122 target. Osborne kept a "Market Perform" rating on Tesla stock. Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan also raised the firm's price target on Tesla to 150, up from 130.


The decision by some analysts to raise Tesla stock price targets comes after many had been slashing price targets and earnings estimates ahead of Wednesday's release.


After a terrible 2022, during which Tesla stock plunged sharply in December, shares tumbled again to start 2023. However, Tesla has bounced since its big price cuts announced Jan. 6 for vehicles in China, and kept rising since announcing U.S. and European price cuts a week later.


Tesla stock rose 10% to 158.80 during Thursday's market trade. On Wednesday, shares edged up 0.4% to 144.47, reversing higher after early losses.
 
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I grew up in the 1960s and remember when typical car was "consumed" after 50,000 miles and required significant repairs. I am looking at used Teslas and yes I would factor in that they are disposable at 100,000 miles (althought I thought is was 120,000 in S model).
I grew up in that same era... Probably all those Red Neck, "Muscle Car's" brought that length of life down (GTO, 442, Shelby Mustang, Camaro SS, Charger)..
Right here, on this forum we have guys getting 300k+ miles out of a Toyota and even a 7.3 Powerstroke..
Many perspectives, always a good campfire discussion.
 
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I grew up in that same era... Probably all those Red Neck, "Muscle Car's" brought that length of life down (GTO, 442, Shelby Mustang, Camaro SS, Charger)..
Right here, on this forum we have guys getting 300k+ miles out of a Toyota and even a 7.3 Powerstroke..
Many perspectives, always a good campfire discussion.

I grew up on a steady diet of 1970s cars. There was no "muscle" dragging down the average expected lifespan, just a bunch of poor engineering, penny-pitching purchasing departments, and assembly errors. The 80s weren't much better - it was a combination of crappy early-gen FWD platforms and carry-over RWD platforms from the prior decade, combined with the first electronics. (Although praise be to some of the Delco stuff from that generation.)

It really wasn't until the 90s that things came together in a way that made 100,000+ miles a reasonable expectation, and even then, you still should expect to replace an automatic transmission or something along those lines. I personally believe that the best compromise between sophistication and simplicity was hit in the mid-00s.

Those high-mileage survivors are kinda like old people - the longer they last, they longer they can be expected to last.
 
Back to investing - here's an interesting podcast on Argo and the autonomous hype bubble:

 
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Other markets of the world are recovering more rapidly than those in America.

The past 3 month the Hang Seng Index (Hong Kong) has out paced the S&P 500 (Chart Below)

America is losing ground quickly while allowing the free money to leave our country. The world is watching.

1674792757261.png
 
Other markets of the world are recovering more rapidly than those in America.

What do you recommend? Should we politically force the Fed to "pivot", and either pause the rate hikes or even cut rates? Because that'd juice the stock market, and then America can be right back on top (in stock index growth *and* core inflation).

This is the problem with excessively accommodative policy - everyone has fun on the way up, but no one wants to come back down after the party's over.
 
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Other markets of the world are recovering more rapidly than those in America.

The past 3 month the Hang Seng Index (Hong Kong) has out paced the S&P 500 (Chart Below)

America is losing ground quickly while allowing the free money to leave our country. The world is watching.

View attachment 8058895
What did you expect to happen? China moves away from Covid zero policy and has pent up demand of 1,000,000,000+ people. China will see their supply chain ease sooner than we will in America.
 
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What do you recommend? Should we politically force the Fed to "pivot", and either pause the rate hikes or even cut rates? Because that'd juice the stock market, and then America can be right back on top (in stock index growth *and* core inflation).

This is the problem with excessively accommodative policy - everyone has fun on the way up, but no one wants to come back down after the party's over.
To those that are following what is happening, I would recommend they prepare for a hard landing. To those that are not following, stream in a movie and have pizza delivered.
Prepare to live in a third world country.
 
Basically Elon said American's are the dumbest workers he has.
____________________
“We have a lot of respect for the car companies in China. They are the most competitive in the world ... they work the hardest and they work the smartest ... so lots of respect for the China car companies that we’re competing against,” Musk said on the Tesla earnings call on Wednesday.


 
Tesla remains the second most-shorted stock in U.S. markets, behind only Apple, meaning that a large numbers of investors are betting on a decline. Over 94 million of the automaker’s shares are shorted, according to data from S3 Partners.
 
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Is he even real? Accounts to boost investment are as old as snake oil salesman. Old school westerns could teach a lot of people a few things.
Nah, he is a real life billionaire.

 

The city’s transportation officials sent letters this week to California regulators asking them to halt or scale back the expansion plans of two companies, Cruise and Waymo, which are competing head-to-head to be the first to offer 24-hour robotaxi service in the country’s best-known tech hub.