Wow. That Teslarati Kool-Aid must be powerful stuff!
It's called analysis and it's how I've made my living for 30 years.
Die casting was invented the early 1800s. Do you really think that in 170 or so years it never occurred to anyone that the casting alloys should be optimized? It took the genius of Tesla to come up with this idea?
Any of the OEMs will have metallurgy scientists and ChemEs who seriously outnumber any staff that Tesla could afford. Here’s an old reference:
https://www.amazon.com/Metallurgy-Wheels-Story-Metals-Motors/dp/1290233578#reader_B00S5MTYYS True enough, the OEM staffs probably do not develop alloys; that is the job of the metal suppliers – who work ceaselessly at it. Alcoa alone spends $30M/year in R&D. The auto OEM staff folks are going to be doing evaluations and coaching, working with the metals suppliers who are constantly chasing the golden carrot of increased metal sales to a die casting industry that is far larger than just the vehicle manufacturers. This is the same relationship that yielded HSLA steel and galvanneal sheet. My guess is that the metal manufacturers probably have had little interest in doing special things for Tesla because Tesla was such a tiny company and, really, with sub-1% worldwide market share, is still a tiny market for die casting alloys.
You completely missed the point.
Sandy Munro is an auto manufacturing expert. He cut his teeth in the industry, now he disassembles new models, weighs, analyzes measures and estimates costs of every part (including assembly cost), compiles all the info into binders and sells it to other manufacturers for tens of thousands of dollars.
When he was analyzing the Tesla Model Y he took a sample of the metal out of one of the control arms and sent it to a lab for metallurgical analysis. He did this because the metal was unlike that of any other pressure cast part he had ever seen.
What he learned was it's a unique alloy, developed by Tesla to eliminate the costly and time and energy consuming step of heat-treating the parts as they come out of the die. He was shocked at how driven Tesla was to improve materials and reduce costs. This is only one little example of many of what provides real value to the consumer by decreasing costs and increasing quality. Mr. Munro said you don't see this kind of innovation coming out of Detroit. He would know, he tears down about 20 cars/year and was astounded and impressed with the innovations Tesla has been introducing into their new models and the speed with which they improve things.
If you are not impressed it's because you don't have the 50 years of auto industry experience of Sandy Munro. Most people will trust a real expert over an armchair quarterback. Maybe you are not even familiar with Munro and Associates.
It's nice that Alcoa spends $30 million a year in R&D and that all automakers benefit from that but Tesla is taking it to the next level as evidenced in the finished product.
If you are interested in learning more about this, I recommend watching some Youtube videos published by Munro and Associates. Sadly, it seems you are not that interested in anything that might show Tesla's many strengths and would rather push back at the very idea that Tesla's rapid innovation could provide a competitive edge. This innovation is very relevant to the topic of this thread because it's a compelling reason why Tesla is a good investment for the long run.
I'm not sure why you always adopt an anti-Tesla perspective with no real facts to support the anti-Tesla rhetoric. I'm trying to help investors understand a little more why Tesla is not a fad driven by irrational fan-boys as so often portrayed in the popular press. The Tesla story is supported by the facts on the ground that depict a new American automaker with industry leading innovation bringing ground-breaking new technology to the automotive market at ever decreasing prices. That is why they are winning, not because it's a cult.
Interesting fact: Ford took 150 months to produce their 1 millionth car. Tesla did it in 143 months. Sure, they only have about 1 % of the auto market currently but every automaker has to start somewhere. Tesla has two new gigafactories coming on-line later this year, one in Austin, TX and one in Berlin, Germany. These are brand-new, state-of-the-art facilities and Tesla's auto production is poised to explode. The fact that they only have 1% of the market currently is actually a good thing for an investor buying growth.
I think all patriotic American's can be proud of these achievements bringing good paying jobs and revitalizing the American auto industry in a way that hasn't been seen in over 100 years.
It's not just autos either. Later this year or early next year Tesla will start delivering the most modern American-built semi-tractors in existence. Fully loaded to 80,000 lbs. GVWR (the maximum allowed by law), a Tesla semi will be able to maintain 65 mph up mountain grades that bring all other semis down to 35 mph as their diesel engines rev to their peak power output. This makes American highways safer and more convenient while keeping communities on major highways more peaceful and improving air quality. And going down hills a Tesla semi doesn't use a noisy Jake brake - it uses the silent electric motors to recharge it's battery packs. And with a heavy load the amount of energy that can be reclaimed on a long mountain grade is considerable. Again, this increases safety on America's highways while virtually eliminating the regular brake replacement that legacy trucks require. And semi brakes are huge expensive affairs so this is a very real cost savings that will go directly to a trucking companies bottom line. This will help lower prices for consumers of all goods that arrive by trucks.
The reasons TSLA is such a compelling investment are too numerous to list even 1% of them in a single post. And I know you are skeptical so here's what I suggest:
In 2025 we meet again and compare notes to see how this unfolded. We will look at TSLA's share price, revenues, market share and profits. This will clearly show who had the most vision.
