Maybe back in the day. They make their own these days (or at least they're working toward that).

I'm digging around and it looks like Panasonic makes 18650's for Tesla.

Wouldn't surprise me if they're still buying a lot from outside suppliers for now while they try and ramp up production. In the long run, they want to make all of them in these.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigafactory_1

Maybe Musk will one day wake up and begin manufacturing products that people want.

I get not like Tesla, and I get people thinking Musk is an idiot.

But the Model 3 is the most desired car of all time. As in the history of the world. Clearly people want what he's making.

I would like it if Musk would stop sucking at the government teat and see if his business would survive then.

They’d close their doors tomorrow. He’s a generational idea man but needs to leave the implementation and manufacturing to people that know how to do it.

Once oil subsidies are removed, you might have a point.

There are no oil subsidies unless you are talking about the deductions that every business can take. Also, that fact that mineral resource accounting is a lot different from regular accounting.

You realize that he had stepped back to let another guy lead the ramp up, right? And that, after he took back over a couple months ago they seem to be back on track?

No government bailouts of other car manufacturers either, right?

Sure but that isn't an oil and gas subsidy.

Yes, and true to a certain extent.My point was that from an investor standpoint they don’t always inspire confidence.



May 12, 2018: 1:04 PM ET
The top dog on Tesla's engineering team is taking a leave of absence at a crucial moment for the company and its first mass-market car, the Model 3.
The electric car maker said in a statement that Doug Field, its senior vice president of engineering, "is just taking some time off to recharge and spend time with his family."
"He has not left Tesla," the statement added. A spokesperson could not confirm how long the leave of absence would last or the reason for Field's temporary departure.

The news was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.
Field has been with Tesla since 2013, and he's served as Tesla's engineering chief since September 2016.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet that, sometime in mid-2017, he asked Field to take over both manufacturing and engineering for the Model 3.
But, earlier this year, Musk decided it was "better to divide & conquer."
"My job as CEO is to focus on what's most critical, which is currently Model 3 production," he said. "So I'm back to sleeping at factory. Car biz is hell."
He added that he views Field as "one of the world's most talented engineering execs."


Field's leave of absence comes as Tesla is attempting to assuage investors' fears about the company's ability to ramp up production of the Model 3.
After months of manufacturing issues that have left Tesla repeatedly falling short of its production goals, the company's latest earnings release showed Tesla may finally be getting back on track.
But then a bizarre conference call earlier this month — in which Musk refused to answer questions from two Wall Street analyst and called their quesitons "boring" — appeared to rattle investors.

Shares of Tesla sunk about 5% after the call during off-hours trading.
The company's stock has rebounded slightly over the past five days, but its price remains well below its all-time high of more than $380 per share.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/12/tech...l-3/index.html

Musk actively suggests that people don't invest in Tesla if they are hoping for great returns. Money has never been his driving force.

Tesla demand is NOT the issue. People clearly yearn for Teslas. Being able to produce them quickly is the issue. Tesla is one of the highest rated brands in the US and has superb brand loyalty. Combine that with innovative tech is no wonder they have such demand & strong support. The day they announced the semi many large companies jumped on the waiting list.