Tesla's vision is completely scattered. I have little faith in them at this time since they can't deliver the "economy" Model 3, but now suddenly have the bandwidth to develop, engineer, ship, and maintain yet another car?
Tesla, ship the Model 3 at scale and then we'll talk.
For the uninformed, a part of building a successful vertically integrated battery, car, and truck company that spans the globe that also uses a brand new powertrain and form factor for their products is getting lots of investment so that you can fund your long-term technology play. To get a lot of investment, you have to sustain the public's interest in your product. If you're in the limelight, you are going to get investment. so why not use your new powertrain and form factor in new products that build upon previous products, thus advancing your technology and locking in future investment thanks to the hype?
Do this for a decade and wow, you actually have a clear path to taking over the world's energy and transportation markets thanks to your incredible technological advantage.
If I was a consumer sitting on a Model 3 reservation I would be pissed that they are taking yet more money for yet another car they can't seem to ship at scale.
This makes Tesla look like they care little, because after all they already have your Model 3 money.
I mean, by the same reasoning, Model S owners should be pissed, Model X owners should be pissed too. But the money from both seems to have made Model 3 possible.
I think they are biting off more than they can chew.
I don't think anyone will disagree with you about that. But we sure as hell want to see them succeed.
... but damn it Tesla ship it!
Now that Model 3 has been passed onto mass(-ish) production, Tesla is using those engineers to develop other products. Tesla would lose those talented people if it asked them to just sit and do nothing, or if it asked them to work on areas completely outside their (not just lose, but lose to competitors).
And what do you base this prognostication on? Tesla has been building cars for a few years, and loses money on them.
And don't give me "R&D". You can back it out of their financials and it's still rough, and it will never go to zero; just look at the other majors.
All this stuff is cool, but will it ever make money?
Though I do understand the concerns about constant hype and not fully delivering on it, I think that’s infinitely better than the alternative where nothing happens at all.
But their current Model S, X, and 3 aren't exactly flooding the market either.
I see at least one Model S everyday. Tesla have objectively made an impact, and in my books that’s a good thing.
They shouldn't be trying to do "small quantity" work , and instead should be focused on going wide and getting those Model 3's out the door to the those that have already bought in to the Model 3.
Maybe the Roadster reboot should have been scrapped, but this has clearly been in the works before Model 3's production scaling issues. With a large company you have a diverse group of talent; you aren't going to have your designers sit around while you are tuning capacity. Hopefully, this helps compliment their growth.