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Tesla takes on $30B in credit as it approaches unprofitability

161 points · 221 comments · ciconia

  1. bpodgursky · · focus · HN ↗
    I'm not convinced Tesla's schizophrenic strategy is any worse than the strategy of the legacy American automakers, which is to sleepwalk directly into a volcano (when Chinese EV manufactures break into the market with $10k SUVs)
    1. lnsru · · focus · HN ↗
      Elon gambled with cybertruck and didn’t won. The winning strategy was to outcompete Chinese with smaller affordable vehicle. I would call it common sense strategy after all.
      1. drnick1 · · focus · HN ↗
        No, the winning strategy was to release a conventional-looking truck, say something that very much looks like an F150 or a Silverado.

        The Cybertruck, or what it should have been, was never meant to be an entry-level truck like the Slate, and the market for trucks clearly shows people are wanting to spent money on big trucks.

        1. NetMageSCW · · focus · HN ↗
          They (Elon) gambled they could reduce the price of the rest of the truck enough to make an “affordable” BEV by radical changing how it was built - turns out that wasn’t possible.

          Ford gambled they could build a BEV truck like an F150 and make it affordable enough to attract their normal buyers. Turns out that wasn’t possible.

          I’m not sure I see why one failure was better than the other.

        2. yencabulator · · focus · HN ↗
          > No, the winning strategy was to release a conventional-looking truck, say something that very much looks like an F150 or a Silverado.

          Turns out F150 Lightning was not the winning strategy.

          1. drnick1 · · focus · HN ↗
            > Turns out F150 Lightning was not the winning strategy.

            Keep in mind that this wasn't a truck designed to be an EV from the ground up, it's merely an adaptation of the gas-powered F150. What Tesla could have brought to the table was an EV-native truck. The Cybertruck is more or less that, but the goofy design is probably what killed it.

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