Elon Musk Thinks GM Isn't Making Enough All-Electric Chevrolet Bolts

[carFlyer213]

Musk to competition: Why are you so slow?
When asked in a Nov. 17 shareholder meeting about what Musk thinks of increasing competition, particularly GM's new Bolt, which boasts 238 miles of range and a much-more-affordable-than-Model S price tag of $37,000, and the just-unveiled Jaguar I-Pace, Musk said the new vehicles are encouraging. However, he expressed concerns about car makers' underwhelming ambitions for the underlying programs supporting these vehicles.

I am a little concerned about the pace and volume of what they're doing since they seem to be mostly aiming mostly to just target whatever the incentive threshold is, and then not really do serious volume beyond that. ... The major manufacturers are not, from what we see -- maybe with the exception of what Volkswagen says they're going to do -- none of the competitors are planning to do serious volume in electric vehicles yet. They're just sized to stay within the volume constraints of the incentives.

http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/11/25/elon-musk-thinks-gm-isnt-making-enough-all-electri.aspx

 

[roundpeg]

Three things we can count on: death, taxes, and self-serving comments from Elon Musk.

 

[Geo]

..and Elon needs to be making more Model 3's.

Oh wait, he isn't actually making them yet. He hasn't even shown us a final production version.

 

[michael]

And when I tell people I plan to get a Bolt, 95% ask, "Why don't you wait and get a Model 3"

I answer, "I expect to have 30,000 miles on my Bolt before any significant number of Models 3 are on the road, and in three years I'll get whatever is best at that time."

 

[JimmYK]

Well, it's a fact. But Tesla not making their cars and a waiting line long enough to reach Mars is probably a bigger fact.

 

[elpwr]

I'm not convinced the "waiting line reaching to Mars" is going to be a fact for the Tesla Model 3. Remember the Model X that was supposed to have nearly a two year backlog? Well, there are currently 183 brand new unsold Model X's now available from Teslas inventory. And over 500 new unsold Model S's to choose from, too.

Long waiting lines, for almost any product, have a strange way of evaporating once the product is available and it's time for customers to actually pony-up the cash.

 

[Geo]

I'm not convinced the "waiting line reaching to Mars" is going to be a fact for the Tesla Model 3..

I would be a perfect example of that. I waited on line at the store to get an early number just in case I liked what I saw at the reveal. I wasn't all that impressed and the lack of a hatch was pretty much the nail in the coffin. I haven't canceled my reservation yet, but I'm 90% sure I will once I get a test drive in a Bolt.

 

[Aidan]

He does have more underlying programs to support the electric vehicles than other companies manufacturing electric vehicles do

 

[MINK]

Well, then GM should listen to its competitor and start making more all electric Chevy Bolts.

 

[SeanNelson]

Musk to competition: Why are you so slow?

http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/11/25/elon-musk-thinks-gm-isnt-making-enough-all-electri.aspx

GM is playing it safe, not putting all their eggs in one basket, and waiting to see how popular the car is before committing to production on a larger scale. If sales are strong enough, they could certainly scale up production to the 100s of thousands within the same time frame that Elon could. But they're not going to risk stockholder's money to do it as an act of faith.

That's the difference between Elon and GM, and I'm sure if you were to analyze investors in both companies you'll find their "risk vs. reward" profiles match the companies' strategies.

The world needs Elons, but it also needs GMs to pick up the pieces in case he crashes and burns. I hope he doesn't, but he's walking a considerably riskier path than GM is. Of course it's very possible that GM wouldn't even be going down this path if Elon hadn't blazed the way.

 

[roundpeg]

Act of faith being the operative term. Not being a card-carrying member of the Cult of Elon, I don't see the universe as revolving around him. The truth is, as "noble" as his experiment might be, it would have belly-flopped a long time ago was it not for the federal programs supporting his businesses. If his company is mainly unprofitable with them, it would be a complete financial disaster without them. Subtract those and the Elon Musk aura and what have you got left? Not a lot. The Force is strong though. I notice whenever I see discussions of the Bolt outside of this forum, anyone who is openly interested in the car is immediately set upon by the rabid Muskovites. Too small! Not sexy! Not made by Elon!

 

[SparkE]

'the Elon musk' - I like it! (It refers to the self-sanctified aroma wafting around certain people ...)

 

[summit]

Am getting the Bolt ASAP, then the 3 when it's available.

 

[JupiterMoon]

I don't know why so many of you are slamming Tesla. Yeah sure Musk says some things that don't sit well with people but if it wasn't for Tesla and its push to make EVs more mainstream let's be honest...GM would not give a rat's behind about making EVs and would still be shoveling their usual fuel thirsty crappy trucks and cars.

 

[SeanNelson]

...if it wasn't for Tesla and its push to make EVs more mainstream let's be honest...GM would not give a rat's behind about making EVs and would still be shoveling their usual fuel thirsty crappy trucks and cars.

GM started working on the Volt long before Tesla became a factor. While I don't doubt that Tesla is at least in part responsible for the accelerated rollout of the Bolt, I credit GM for being more proactive in EV development than any of the other traditional car companies.

But yes, Tesla deserves a huge amount of credit for moving EVs further towards the mainstream than anyone else has done.

 

[roundpeg]

...if it wasn't for Tesla and its push to make EVs more mainstream let's be honest...GM would not give a rat's behind about making EVs and would still be shoveling their usual fuel thirsty crappy trucks and cars.

GM started working on the Volt long before Tesla became a factor. While I don't doubt that Tesla is at least in part responsible for the accelerated rollout of the Bolt, I credit GM for being more proactive in EV development than any of the other traditional car companies.

But yes, Tesla deserves a huge amount of credit for moving EVs further towards the mainstream than anyone else has done.

I don't slam Tesla. I respect what they've accomplished thus far, and hope they succeed. Elon Musk I find personally to be irritating and his acolytes even more so. As someone who is new to the EV scene it came as kind of shock (so to speak) to make an innocent comment on some online story about the Bolt and be immediately sideswiped by one or more of them. These are products, people. Inanimate objects. Buy the one that suits your needs and lay off the people who buy something else. Don't love them too much, they can't love you back.

 

[michael]

I feel the same way about "Elon" and his kool-aid drinkers.

 

[JupiterMoon]

...if it wasn't for Tesla and its push to make EVs more mainstream let's be honest...GM would not give a rat's behind about making EVs and would still be shoveling their usual fuel thirsty crappy trucks and cars.

GM started working on the Volt long before Tesla became a factor. While I don't doubt that Tesla is at least in part responsible for the accelerated rollout of the Bolt, I credit GM for being more proactive in EV development than any of the other traditional car companies.

But yes, Tesla deserves a huge amount of credit for moving EVs further towards the mainstream than anyone else has done.

GM also was very active in lobbying against EVs and alternative energy vehicles. It destroyed its own EV1 actively and on purpose. So I don't really trust GM in being a willing participant in EV progress....perhaps until now. Prior to that, they had a climate change denier at the helm for some time.

I'm no Tesla fanboy as I think the car is not my style of vehicle and I'd never pay that much for a car regardless. But Tesla has made a vehicle that GM or any other manufacturer frankly wouldn't and probably couldn't make in the time or budget that Tesla has achieved. And thanks to that, look at all the other EVs and new efforts that have spurred from it.

So if Musk does have a bit of a big head, at least it's partially deserved. Could you imagine how arrogant and egotistical GM as a corporation would act if they had a product like the Model S? But you're right, compared to other car companies (at least initially), GM has been more proactive. But they need to do so much more. They just aren't really putting the effort behind it like they really could or should.

 

[michael]

I would suggest that GM does have a product as ahead of the market as was the Model S...the Corvette. For decades, it's set the bar for advancement and performance at a price a fraction of comparable cars from other manufacturers.

I'd suggest the Bolt is to Tesla as Corvette is to, say, Ferrari.

 

[oilerlord]

If we flip this around, has Mary Barra ever said that Tesla isn't making enough electric cars? That's what separates a narrow-minded CEO from one with vision looking towards the future. Elon Musk realizes that Tesla needs GM's and other automakers help reach economies of scale.