2019 Tesla Model 3 Hatchback

Of course Elon Musk says they will be offering it in "many different sizes and many different body styles". Tesla is all things to all people.

The Model 3 will not see the light of day, in any variant. I give them 6 months - first the stock price gets soft in the next two weeks before the Congressional testimony occurs. If the testimony goes well, there is a lifeline, if it goes badly (the outcome I forsee), the stock drops double-digit % over two or three days. I predict that immediately after the testimony there is a "stop sale" order issued unless Tesla disables the "Autopilot".

THEN the (REALLY) negative press starts, which pushes the stock down farther. Next, the Solar City acquisition is cancelled, then Solar City files for bankruptcy, then Tesla's working capital dwindles, then they start blowing out inventory with "Factory Incentives", then they are shutting down gigafactory construction.

Panasonic (gigafatory battery partner) is the logical entity to buy the whole pile when it gets to the very end.

I adore how you think vis a vis Tesla.

I'm sorry but that is a flat ugly car. Tesla sheep will buy it in droves.

I have to agree. It looks like a large piece of duct tape around the front of the car!

I'd rather wait for the BMW 3 series EV. Tesla is not likely to be around by 2020.

The BMW will have superior quality for one.

Why would anyone be rooting for Tesla to fail? The only possible answer is that you work for a competitor, probably a lame one that is actually failing.

There is a difference between wanting Tesla to fail and predicting that Elon Musk as Tesla CEO will fail. Electric cars are in our future and Tesla had a strategy and a plan to take the lead in that. However Elon Musk has wandered from that plan. Elon thinks he is the next Steve Jobs on steroids. Musk forgets that Jobs failed as a leader, was fired, learned from it and came roaring back. Note that Jobs developed products in secret and announced them with great fanfare. Jobs developed a track record of accomplishment. Musk doesn't have that.

@Vette71: for you to say "Jobs developed a track record of accomplishment. Musk doesn't have that" is extremely poor sighted to say the least. While I am not a fan of either man, and I am sure not many people can measure up to Job's success, Mush is very successful in his own rights. I understand he still has a long way to go to declare "missions accomplished", but his endeavors in Tesla and SpaceX have shaken the establishments to the core: auto industry with its 100+ years and aerospace industry (60+ years). To date, no one from either industries can come close to what his teams have achieved.

And what makes you say "Elon thinks he is the next Steve Jobs on steroids" ? Do you know him at a personal level to come to that conclusion or is it just your bias talking ?

It's up to you to respect him or not, but give credits where they are due.

HenryN. I am a business guy,and that's my measure. Making a profit is the goal and he hasn't done that. IMO he is mismanaged Tesla so that profitability is even further away. Solar City is in financial trouble which is why he wants Tesla to buy it to hide it.The companies boards are interlocked as are their finances. If one falls it effects the others, even SpaceX which has lots of government contract money behind it. I am not dinging his teams technical achievements. Its the management and financial aspects that I don't believe in.

The auto companies are not shaking in their boots because of Tesla. It takes a teeny percentage of the total market, but has value to them because they can buy his CA credits to sell their ICE vehicles there. When the EV demand gets high enough they'll have their entries. Larger companies often use what is called a fast second strategy to minimize risk. Let others develop an early market, and when it is apparent the masses are interested they enter where they can make money and use their existing infrastructure to keep costs down to make profits. As others here have said buying Tesla when the stock price is down could be the strategy of one of them.

If you believe in Musk keep buying the stock. I won't. That is hat capitalism is all about.

@Vette71 Well said.

The Model 3 is supposed to go up against the BMW 3 Series, but BMW has announced that the new 3 Series will have an all-electric variant. Thus, a buyer can get the EV he wants with a level of quality that Tesla is incapable of understanding.

Tesla's days are numbered.

@MD: "The Model 3 is supposed to go up against the BMW 3 Series, but BMW has announced that the new 3 Series will have an all-electric variant. Thus, a buyer can get the EV he wants with a level of quality that Tesla is incapable of understanding"

I can't wait to see a new BMW EV - the current i3 has been a laughing stock over its entire existence, I feel sorry for its owners having to suffer for being loyal. Simply look at its sales number this year and tell me why the drop ?

As for shaking the auto industry to its core, an example is Tesla's OTA update. How does your BMW or MB update its car software now ?

News flash: the Tesla's AP "issue" will be resolved very soon with a new software update - much the same way your laptop or iphone is updated, only more efficiently without a power cord attached (as is the case with the iphone)

@Vette71: "Larger companies often use what is called a fast second strategy to minimize risk. Let others develop an early market, and when it is apparent the masses are interested they enter where they can make money and use their existing infrastructure to keep costs down to make profits. "

If you are right, then the existing auto makers are playing second fiddle to Tesla. That's very uncharacteristic of the industry's machismo mentality.

And what "infrastructure" are you talking about ? Are they waiting for the governments to build charging networks for them ?

@HenryN I hope you're not an attorney because your skills of argumentation are all of the "yeah but" variety.

Refuting you would be so easy--no make that tedious--because you prefer hysteria and emotion to fact and logic.

@MD: the irony of a reply! I expect something intelligent from a someone with a self-proclaimed law degree. Take your time to come up with something clever to say.

@HenryN I've never said I have a degree in law. I do happen to be around quite a few lawyers, however.

Carmakers around the world are funded with taxpayer money. For Chrissakes, VW/Audi is owned 20% by the German Government. And let's not even get started with how the US Government has directly and indirectly aided and abetted the oil industry giants with exploration and extraction. You are smoking crack if you think industry around the world isn't supported by some extents with "taxpayer" money. If you are offended, be sure to never again go to an NFL, MLB, or NBA game again and refuse to watch the games on TV because the majority of stadiums around the USA are either totally or partially funded by taxpayer dollars.