# EV joke on Jay Leno



## crazybry79 (Jun 15, 2010)

Tonight on Jay Leno. Jay made a joke about some recent news:

Toyota has teemed up with Tesla motors corp.
Together, they want to make an fully electric car....that never stops!


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## david85 (Nov 12, 2007)

Well on the upside it will have decent range

I'm a little confused as to why tesla is making the rounds with all the big automakers for prototyping services. I thought they wanted to stay successful and independent. Makes me wonder if they still believe they can be.


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## 280z1975 (Oct 2, 2008)

david85 said:


> Well on the upside it will have decent range
> 
> I'm a little confused as to why tesla is making the rounds with all the big automakers for prototyping services. I thought they wanted to stay successful and independent. Makes me wonder if they still believe they can be.


The answer is not even a word, but a symbol ... $$$$$ ... it's all about the greenbacks. 

But on the other hand Tesla forced all the major car companies into the business, so I can't fault them for that.


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## rillip3 (Jun 19, 2009)

I've never understood Tesla's business model. _Starting_ with a $100,000+ model very quickly pigeon-holes your business.

Funny on the joke though.


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## Sunking (Aug 10, 2009)

david85 said:


> I'm a little confused as to why tesla is making the rounds with all the big automakers for prototyping services. I thought they wanted to stay successful and independent. Makes me wonder if they still believe they can be.


Probable not as they have lost $258 million dollars. The Toyota venture is only worth $50 million. Bottom line is they have to work with the big motors companies just to buy them some time before the bond holders step in and take over control and sell it off.


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## toddshotrods (Feb 10, 2009)

rillip3 said:


> I've never understood Tesla's business model. _Starting_ with a $100,000+ model very quickly pigeon-holes your business.
> 
> Funny on the joke though.


Hilarious joke! 

I never bought the business model. Regardless of all the talk about independent blah, blah, blah, it smells like a typical modern business venture to me. It doesn't have to be profitable, it has to have some profitable property rights or branding to command a huge sale price. The people who found them walk away with multiple millions and the well-funded companies who absorb them use the proprietary technology and discard the carcass. Just 21st century business.

My bet is either Tesla gets absorbed (sold) or someone else somehow ends up with their technology. I wouldn't be surprised to see a new Lexus someday with familiar "old" technology. Wonder what his next venture will be?


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## Tm PV1 (Jun 5, 2010)

According to Tesla, they started with a high end car because the technology is expensive, so to make the price practical, they will use the profits from the high-end car (the Roadster) to pay for development for the mid range car (Model S) and profits from the mid range car to pay for the cheap car (bluestar, maybe?). Toyota already made a Rav4 EV, but they act like it's something new, but Tesla's technology should improve the older one's 80 mile range.


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## toddshotrods (Feb 10, 2009)

Tm PV1 said:


> According to Tesla, they started with a high end car because the technology is expensive, so to make the price practical, they will use the profits from the high-end car (the Roadster) to pay for development for the mid range car (Model S) and profits from the mid range car to pay for the cheap car (bluestar, maybe?). Toyota already made a Rav4 EV, but they act like it's something new, but Tesla's technology should improve the older one's 80 mile range.


It's actually a decent model, but they didn't start far enough up the chain. The ultra-luxury market is where you can ring up enough profit to actually move down market with a little cash in the bank. What they're selling them for should have been what it cost to build them. That's all part of what makes me question what they intended to "sell" in the beginning. The guy didn't get rich not knowing how to count...


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## CroDriver (Jan 8, 2009)

I think that they grew too big and spent too much money. The most fundamental development made Martin himself. I just don't get why a company that's selling 1000 cars a year has to have over 1000 employees... OK, let's say the 100 are working on the S development (what's still a huge number). What do the others do? 

I bet that there are even more employees now. I know that there where about 400 before the Roadster came to the market.

I want to produce a EV super car in the Bugatti Veyron range. So far we are just about 10 people in the development team. Including designers and non-engineer staff.


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## rillip3 (Jun 19, 2009)

Tm PV1 said:


> According to Tesla, they started with a high end car because the technology is expensive, so to make the price practical, they will use the profits from the high-end car (the Roadster) to pay for development for the mid range car (Model S) and profits from the mid range car to pay for the cheap car (bluestar, maybe?). Toyota already made a Rav4 EV, but they act like it's something new, but Tesla's technology should improve the older one's 80 mile range.


a) that sounds crazy to me, but let's assume that he knows more about business than me. He's been around the block there and I haven't. However, t his leads to b) for a long time, they were selling them at a loss just to fulfill the orders, because production costs were so high. They're not making a profit trying to sell what amounts to a novelty luxury car. If you knock out the first block, the whole building collapses...

I noticed that about the Rav too - I saw them working perfectly well in the "Who Killed the Electric Car" documentary. It's been what, at least ten full years now, they don't have anything better they could do instead?


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## Tm PV1 (Jun 5, 2010)

When CARB dropped the ZEV mandate, the automakers just gave up on EV's. If they'd kept going and developed the cars further and, in GM's case, gave EV1 lessees the option to buy, we would be years ahead of where we are now. The EV1's would still be on the road, probably running lithium batteries with a range that would make the Tesla Roadster jealous, financial status of the big three would be much better, and EV's would be cheaper and have better availability. I still think how one solar car started the whole EV movement with the automakers amazing.


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