#160 Tesla

http://dennyhatch.blogspot.com/2022/06/160-tesla.html

#160 Blog Post - Wednesday, 22 June 2022

 Posted by Denny Hatch

 

Uber Drivers Are Buying Teslas!

                                                          

 

Five years ago, Peggy and I downsized to a two-bedroom apartment in center city, Philadelphia. As pensioners, we sold our car. Why? Gas + insurance + garage + repairs were eating up thousands of dollars a year for something we hardly used. Philly's elaborate bus and subway systems are free to seniors (paid for by the Lottery). Two food markets and two pharmacies are within easy walking distance, plus delis and good restaurants — good exercise! If we have a bunch of errands, a ride-share car is available two blocks away. ($9 an hour, $26 a day.) For longer trips, Enterprise car rental is two blocks in the other direction. But ultimately, we love Uber.

 

An Uber Double Surprise

The other day I summoned an Uber for a short drive within center city. Astonishingly what showed up 10 minutes later was a gleaming white 2022 Tesla! It was gorgeous—a magnificent work of automotive design, comfort, art and sheer genius!

 

A Tesla costs from $48,000 on up to $123,000 with the limited edition "Founders Series" going for a cool quarter mill. My driver was an affable young guy. I was fascinated! In our short ride I peppered him with questions about his car and his life. When I got home I immediately typed up my notes.

 

The following week I called for an Uber, and mirabile dictu! a sparkling red 2022 Tesla arrived. The driver was another young guy, a happy owner immensely proud of his vehicle. I was dazzled!

 

Both drivers had the same answer to my first question: "Why a Tesla?"

 

Answers: "The price of gas. Over $5 a gallon. The cost for a full tank of gas is $66.00. A full charge of electricity for the Tesla is $14."

 

Andy Serwer's 12-word Dictum

As if on cue this past Saturday, Yahoo! Finance MORNING BRIEF with Andy Serwer arrived. Serwer posed the question: "So if gas prices are too high, what is one to do?" Serwer's 12-word reply to his own question:

 

"Three options: Buy an EV. Drive less. Buy Exxon Mobil [XOM] stock."

 

Quick Thoughts on Elon Musk Taking on the
Big Four—GM, Ford, Chrysler and Foreigners

In recent years, I was aware of Elon Musk and his electric powered Tesla. I never took much interest.

 

I grew up in the 1940s and 1950s. Following World War II, Americans were starved for new cars. A number of American start-ups tried to compete with Detroit (GM, Ford, Chrysler). Only Jeep survived. A sampling:

 

 

I was deeply influenced by the wonderful 1988 film, Tucker: The Man and His Dream. It starred an ebullient Jeff Bridges as Preston Tucker and was directed by the brilliant (The Godfather) Francis Ford Coppola. The 1948 Tucker Torpedo made big news with its many innovations. Among them:

• Fuel injection engine.

• Disc brakes.

• Four-wheel independent suspension.

• Seat belts.

• Padded dashboard

• Three headlights: the middle one popping on and swiveling in the direction you were turning so you could see where you were going.

• Gas consumption was 20 MPG (vs. say, the 10 MPG for a giant Hudson).

 

Only 51 Tuckers were built (47 are extant and running today). Whereupon the company—in the crosshairs of Detroit—ran out of money and was involved in an ugly lawsuit. There was gawdawful PR (including the fake news rumor that the Tucker Torpedo had no reverse gear and could only go forward). The company crashed and burned. Preston Tucker, a heavy smoker, died of lung cancer six years later at age 53. BTW, the film was (and is) mesmerizing, although a box office failure.

 

On Amazon Prime Video. You'll Love It!

https://www.amazon.com/Tucker-Man-Dream-Jeff-Bridges/dp/B0036OUENA

 

The Tucker movie was etched in my DNA.  Ever since I saw it, I believed that the odds were too high for an upstart American manufacturer to compete with Ford, GM and Chrysler who had been producing automobiles for ninety to a hundred years. For example, in its development phase, Tesla had serious software and battery problems, self-driving glitches and huge recalls. At prices running from $48,000 to $250,000, Tesla seemed a toy for the guilty rich who wanted to make a statement on the horrors of fossil fuels and climate change. IMO Musk was a space cadet—more interested in moon rockets than cars.

 

How dead wrong I was!

 

Elon Musk on the Early Days of Tesla: 
Interview Part 1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeeeEDSekG8 

(NOTE: Be sure to click on CC—Closed Captions)

 

The most riveting two minutes of the interview was Musk's saga of four agonizing years, 2008-2012. He was on the ropes. His  two fledgling companies—Tesla Motors and SpaceX—were perpetually teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. The great recession—plus a divorce... with his wife living in the house... caused Musk to camp out in the office. He was not a happy camper.

 

Astoundingly, just 10 years later in 2022, Forbes designated Elon Musk the richest man in the world!

https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#41ad28a23d78  

 

         • Elon Musk          ($213.9 billion)

         • Jeff Bezos          ($131.9 billion)

         • Bill Gates           ($121.0 billion)

         • Warren Buffett    ($ 93.4 billion)

         • Larry Ellison        ($ 93.0 billion)

         • Larry Page          ($ 93.0 billion)

Rich entrepreneurs are not to be dismissed lightly. They didn't get rich making dumb mistakes.

 

Tesla's Arithmetic for Uber Drivers

A full tank of gas is averaging $5.00+ a gallon or roughly $66 (on up to $100 a tankful depending on the size of the car). With a range of say, 435 miles, operating cost for a gas-powered automobile is 15.3¢ a mile on up to 21¢.

 

With the new Tesla, a full charge of electricity costs $14 for 375 miles  — or 3.7¢ a mile.

 

When a Tesla Needs More Juice...

For gas-powered vehicles, filling stations are everywhere. How do you find a Tesla charging station in a strange area?

 

One of my drivers touched the huge 15" screen on the dashboard and instantly brought up a local map showing where we were... where the nearest charging stations are... and how to get there. Easy peasy.

 

What else makes Tesla special in addition to lower operating cost?

• A Tesla is gloriously roomy and comfortable.

• She runs in absolute dead silence. 

• She has pick-up to die for — zero-to-60 in 1.98 seconds.

• No transmission or gear shift. She simply goes.

• No transmission or gear shift means lots less mechanical wear and tear.

 

Takeaways to Consider

• As longtime readers of this cranky blog know, I am fixated on the concept of the USP — the Unique Selling Proposition introduced by legendary advertising executive and copywriter Rosser Reeves (1910-1984).  The USP is a short pith phrase that instantly makes a product or service recognizable and unique in the marketplace. Examples:

— Rolls-Royce ("At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in the new Rolls-Royce is the electric clock.")

— Morton Salt ("When it rains, it pours.")

— Wheaties ("Breakfast of Champions.")

— DeBeers ("A diamond is forever.")

http://dennyhatch.blogspot.com/2018/10/26-your-toughest-copywriting-challenge.html

 

• Two possible USPs for Tesla:

— "Imagine! Up to $100 for your full tank of gas vs. $14 for the all-electric Tesla!"

— "Imagine! 21¢-a-mile cost to run your car vs. 3.7¢ for the all-electric Tesla!"

• P.S. For a fascinating add-on, check out on YouTube Tucker 48: The Car That Was Too Good For Detroit. It features Preston Tucker's great-grandsons giving a demo of the Tucker Torpedo and comparing Preston Tucker with Elon Musk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrR-EjOLUrY

 

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