The Biggest Rampup In History? Telsa Projects Production of 500,000 Vehicles By 2018

Of course Tesla will be able to...
+ Meet stated delivery schedules
+ Get their defects and warranty repairs under control
+ Ramp up production by an order of magnitude within 2 years
+ Always tap into capital markets (sell shares) to raise operating cash
+ Keep selling EVs at their current stated rate, and beyond
...and turn a profit, to boot!

Why would any sound-minded person think otherwise? Discuss!

You're going to be so angry when Tesla starts turning a profit. C'mon, admit it.

runninglogan1: For the sake of the alleged 400,000+ people who each put down a $1,000 deposit for a Tesla Model 3, I sincerely hope that the Tesla Motor Company is an unqualified runaway success, delivering all the vehicles they said they would at around the stated price and timeframe, while making a healthy profit, so they can keep on doing more great stuff. It would be great for me to not only be wrong, but to be completely off-base.

Let's reconvene in a couple of years to compare notes. I'm the guy hoping that he's eating crow.

I can respect that.

Nice concept but probably completely unobtainable!

Before he boxes himself into a corner, Musk should sell the car company and focus his great creative energies on his Space X company. Check out the you tube video of his rocket landing on a floating barge - just amazing.

America needs Space X. America does not need another car company! This will end in disaster. At their core, car companies are terrible businesses.

Selling it at some point is likely part of his strategy. He became wildly wealthy selling PayPal to eBay. But is now the best time? He owns 25% of Tesla and it is at a very high valuation at the moment due to the Model 3 excitement. A good time to cash in if Tesla can find a buyer. If they wait too long some of the potential buyers may be well along on their own EV programs.

Great comments about SpaceX. Fantastic feat. Note the classic ego contest between Musk (SpaceX) and Bezos (Blue Origin).

Besides the capitals to build out the factories to support high volume and solved/solvable quality issues, what is stopping Tesla from producing the TM3 in high volume ? I understand cap-ex is the gorilla in the room, but I don't think Tesla will have problem generating cash considering it has at least $10B in potential sales - that alone will attract a lot of interest from large funds. There will be dilution of stock and that is only temporary. The upside for success is very high.

I must admit the 500K goal by 2018 is very lofty - I would be very surprised to see 300K by that time. Musk's claim, though sound outrageous, in my opinion holds more water than those from other auto makers with their "Tesla killer" EVs.

Consider that the current Fremont factory is highly automated and scalable, and the Model 3 is much simpler to build plus hard-earned experience with production ramp on the S and X, it's not impossible for them to pull this off.

After all, Tesla represents American ingenuity, innovation and resiliency. Who in their right mind would want it not succeed ?

I have liked what Tesla has done so far but the timeline sounds way way too ambitious.

Interesting viewpoint on the Tesla quarter announcement and Elon.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/cramer-elon-musk-getting-away-with-financial-murder/ar-BBsGSNT?li=AAaehx7

What say you?

Cramer is a clown with a large mouth. Only fools watch his show.