SpaceX Launch of Falcon Heavy Set for Today (maybe?)

  • To unlock all of features of Rams On Demand please take a brief moment to register. Registering is not only quick and easy, it also allows you access to additional features such as live chat, private messaging, and a host of other apps exclusive to Rams On Demand.

Rmfnlt

Rams On Demand Sponsor
Rams On Demand Sponsor
Joined
Jun 3, 2014
Messages
5,342
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #21
I'm OK if none of his companies ever turn a profit.
You DO underatdn that he is not self-financing these companies, right?

SpaceX is privately owned. So, a small group of investors, who are intimately knowledgable about the financial condition of the company and associated risks.
Some background:
http://time.com/space-x-ten-things-to-know/ (check out item #7 - is SpaceX profitable?)
Some funding information (Musk appears to have sunk the "seed money", then it's been others:
https://www.quora.com/How-is-SpaceX-funded

So, for SpaceX, which has a small, "in-the-know" group of investors with money at stake, I agree, I'm OK if they don't turn a profit. Smaller group of people who can get burned.
(BTW, SpaceX appears to be doing well financially - although that can't be verified)

Tesla (the car company), is an entirely different matter. That is a public company, with hundreds of millions of shares outstanding. That's hundreds of millions of people who could be harmed - either directly, or indirectly (notice all the mutual funds that are invested):
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TSLA/holders?p=TSLA
Also note who ISN'T on that list of Direct Holders (Elon Musk).

So, in the case of the publicly held car company, yeah, I'd care if it's profitable... if I owned stock (which I do not... and would not).

That thing goes belly up, the market capitalization is over $54 billion!
 

LesBaker

Mr. Savant
Joined
Aug 23, 2012
Messages
17,460
Name
Les
You DO underatdn that he is not self-financing these companies, right?

SpaceX is privately owned. So, a small group of investors, who are intimately knowledgable about the financial condition of the company and associated risks.
Some background:
http://time.com/space-x-ten-things-to-know/ (check out item #7 - is SpaceX profitable?)
Some funding information (Musk appears to have sunk the "seed money", then it's been others:
https://www.quora.com/How-is-SpaceX-funded

So, for SpaceX, which has a small, "in-the-know" group of investors with money at stake, I agree, I'm OK if they don't turn a profit. Smaller group of people who can get burned.
(BTW, SpaceX appears to be doing well financially - although that can't be verified)

Tesla (the car company), is an entirely different matter. That is a public company, with hundreds of millions of shares outstanding. That's hundreds of millions of people who could be harmed - either directly, or indirectly (notice all the mutual funds that are invested):
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TSLA/holders?p=TSLA
Also note who ISN'T on that list of Direct Holders (Elon Musk).

So, in the case of the publicly held car company, yeah, I'd care if it's profitable... if I owned stock (which I do not... and would not).

That thing goes belly up, the market capitalization is over $54 billion!

Yes I am ( kindasorta ) of in the know about the finances based on reading about him and what he is doing. IMO Tesla will be marginally profitable at some point, but the next few companies that do what Tesla is doing will be profitable. It's usually that way when the next few companies follow the pioneer.

The battery factory is a big deal to IMO. That is the pioneering of what will IMO save the planet eventually.

My comment about him having plenty of cash was misguided, I thought you were saying he is going to go broke because he has to make his ideas profitable. So my mistake.

I've said before that I wish a group of nations would get to together and back him with loads of resources. This guy might be this centuries Norman Einstein.
 

Rmfnlt

Rams On Demand Sponsor
Rams On Demand Sponsor
Joined
Jun 3, 2014
Messages
5,342
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #23
The man is fascinating... and very polarizing. On one hand, he is clearly a visionary and extremely smart in the sciences. But a smart scientist doesn't always equate to a smart businessman.
Here's an interesting article about the man - Nickola Tesla and his genius (and inability to navigate the business world):
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkn...d-thomas-edison-wasnt-the-devil/#6da31e771a21
Tesla was a great scientist and visionary but never was able to get the continued confidence and backing from investors. He simply was not an astute businessman.
Edison, on the other hand, was (an astute businessman) and became far more (financially) successful.

I guess my hope (for all the investors in Tesla stock) is that Musk isn't another Tesla.... great idea (electric cars) but unable to convert that idea into a successful company that is profitable (and, hence, sticks around). Lots at stake here... lots of people and lots of money. That's basically all I'm saying.

Tesla will be marginally profitable at some point, but the next few companies that do what Tesla is doing will be profitable. It's usually that way when the next few companies follow the pioneer.
Absolutely! And that ties into the above... Tesla created concepts and ideas. It took Westinghouse and Edison to bring them to the masses in a financially viable way. Tesla started the idea... others took it and made it work.

The battery factory is a big deal to IMO.
I'm not sure where the Gigafactory lines up with Tesla (motors). Obviously, the factory supplies the batteries for the cars... but they produce batteries for a lot of other applications... and I'm pretty certain it's financial results are not tied to Tesla (motors) - the public company. So, like SpaceX, it's privately owned and I'm not that concerned about how those private firms/people end up (yes, I care... but it's not on the scale of Tesla (motors).

I thought you were saying he is going to go broke because he has to make his ideas profitable.
According to Forbes, he ranks 52nd in the world, with a net worth of $20.4 billion. It's impossible to know for sure what his actual net worth is, as those things are private (for example, Bloomberg has him as the 45th most wealthy individual, with a net worth of $21.2) but I'm pretty certain he will not end up destitute on the streets. :LOL:
I have no concern about his well being... he's rich. It's those shareholders and his inability to turn a profit and make promises that he rarely keeps. Very real people, with very real money... might even be some's retirement money.
Any CEO of a public company has a responsibility to act in the best interests of their shareholders. One of my holdings is General Electric. It's taken a beating over the past year, mainly due to bad decsions made by the prior CEO, Jeff Immelt. Immelt is gone now, but the company is struggling to redefine what it needs to do to become the powerhouse it used to be. They cut the dividend in half (ouch to me). Not likely they'll go bankrupt and I really take a bath, so I'm holding on.
But Tesla is not GE... it hasn't been around for over a century, mostly profitable. It's been around 15 years and has never sniffed a profit.

A lot is riding on his affordable electric car - The Model 3. If Teslas is to become profitable, the Model 3 has to be produced in mass quantities. Musk has made at least three separate promises of production targets, all of which have been missed by a significant margin.
Read this article, it says all you need to know about how critical the Model 3 is to the comapny's continued survival. https://www.wired.com/story/tesla-model-3-production-problems-elon-musk-feb-2018/

I've said before that I wish a group of nations would get to together and back him with loads of resources. This guy might be this centuries Norman Einstein.
Yeah, that Norman Einsteen was brilliant!!
:ROFLMAO:
 

Selassie I

H. I. M.
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
17,621
Name
Haole
Just read about the orbit that the Tesla car was sent in to. The experts have apparently studied it now and they've determined that there's a 6% chance the damn thing will crash back into earth in a million years. If that unlikely event happens... the car is supposed to almost completely burn up in the atmosphere on re-entry.
 

Rmfnlt

Rams On Demand Sponsor
Rams On Demand Sponsor
Joined
Jun 3, 2014
Messages
5,342
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #25
Just read about the orbit that the Tesla car was sent in to. The experts have apparently studied it now and they've determined that there's a 6% chance the damn thing will crash back into earth in a million years. If that unlikely event happens... the car is supposed to almost completely burn up in the atmosphere on re-entry.
I read somewhere that the car won't last past Easter... the elements will eat away at it.
 

Farr Be It

Hall of Fame
Joined
Aug 1, 2017
Messages
3,965
Just read about the orbit that the Tesla car was sent in to. The experts have apparently studied it now and they've determined that there's a 6% chance the damn thing will crash back into earth in a million years. If that unlikely event happens... the car is supposed to almost completely burn up in the atmosphere on re-entry.

That's really gonna hurt it's resale value. (n)

I read somewhere that the car won't last past Easter... the elements will eat away at it.

It was all just an odd stunt anyway. From Musk's comments, he was more interested in the cool factor, and propping up the company to keep investors, and the public intrigued.
 
Last edited:

Rmfnlt

Rams On Demand Sponsor
Rams On Demand Sponsor
Joined
Jun 3, 2014
Messages
5,342
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #33
if you are talking about the pictures of the Red Tesla with the driver, i think those are animated
train
I was assuming the pictures are real.
If not, I agree with you.
But I did read somewhere that it was exposed.
Guess it's not important either way, huh?
 

LesBaker

Mr. Savant
Joined
Aug 23, 2012
Messages
17,460
Name
Les
It was all just an odd stunt anyway. From Musk's comments, he was more interested in the cool factor, and propping up the company to keep investors, and the public intrigued.

He's the the main and major person on the planet that is trying to manage the environmental issues while figuring out sustainable fuel/energy.

I get it that you don't like the funding he gets. But is anyone else doing anything close to what he is doing?

I say no..........there isn't anyone.

So fund the leader of the field.
 
Last edited:

bluecoconuts

Legend
Joined
May 28, 2011
Messages
13,073
It said there are particles that would bombard the vehicle.
In no astrophysicist, but that sounds plausible.

There's particles and stuff that will change how it looks, bleach it, cover it with dust, etc, but they won't destroy it.
 

Farr Be It

Hall of Fame
Joined
Aug 1, 2017
Messages
3,965
He's the the main and major person on the planet that is trying to manage the environmental issues while figuring out sustainable fuel/energy.

I get it that you don't like the funding he gets. But is anyone else doing anything close to what he is doing?

I say no..........there isn't anyone.

So fund the leader of the field.

I’m all for technology, Les. But the funding is just part of it with Musk. I disagree with the premise that we are destroying the planet and have to force drastic changes. It’s just not so. If and when the technology makes sense and is ready to take over, I am all for it.

There's particles and stuff that will change how it looks, bleach it, cover it with dust, etc, but they won't destroy it.

So if we can drag that baby back into our atmosphere it WILL retain some resale value? I mean, That motor should be more pristine than the little old lady from Pasadena’s car.

Musks dummy never drove that thing to church up there, as best as I can tell. I mean, there could be the Mars First Baptist he stumbled into, but he seems more the secular type to me.
 

LesBaker

Mr. Savant
Joined
Aug 23, 2012
Messages
17,460
Name
Les
Yes. Why does that make you giggle, Les? Is that view not represented in your circle of friends?

If there is anyone on the planet that doesn't think that humans are harming it I'd like to hear that side of the story. Destroying it is a fine place to start........just go ahead.

So, you start....... (LOLOL)