Has Auto Spies Agent 001 SPIED Tesla's BIGGEST Weakness? Can You GUESS What It Might Be?

If you do your research, you'll see that we were of Tesla's future and big proponents of stock last summer when it was below 200.

Not because we're huge EV fans, but because we know how to pick the winners and losers, before everyone in our business sees the trends.

But even as strong as Tesla is ALL company have potential weaknesses.

And I'm here to call out their BIGGEST weakness from a product side.

What is it you ask?

Tesla is missing a RUGGED looking crossover/suv.

In case you haven't been paying attention products like Bronco and Hummer EV have been grabbing the buzz.

And no one can deny that the HOTTEST trend in crossovers/suv's is the BADASS, RUGGED, MACHO, OFF-Road LOOK. Not necessarily the ABILITY to be great off-road but to at least LOOK LIKE it.

A Toyota RAV4 isn't a true off-roader, but man is it selling well. It's selling because it LOOKS like it can and makes people FEEL they're unstoppable.

It's kind of like someone who loves and plays basketball that has absolutely has ZERO chance of becoming a pro. They buy a TON of Jordan's because they want to LOOK like they're pros.

I'm sure Elon and the team are working on it but right now there hasn't been a peep out of them regarding this aspirational segment.

We would love to see a whole line of them.

Dear Elon, we know you read Auto Spies (don't ask us how we know, that's proprietary) so we're hoping to hear from you soon that Tesla will be 'GETTING RUGGED' in crossovers and SUV's. 

We know you can do it. We already have our CyberTruck orders in but we like SUV's too!

I will even give you a hint of what it should look like...Think if a Urus had sex with a Bronco. Equal parts of sex and utility.

Elon, YOU'RE WELCOME. @AutoSpies

supermoto - 11/11/2020 9:41:08 PM

+3 Boost

Tesla's biggest weakness is that it only makes money selling clean energy credits, which are diminishing every year.

SanJoseDriver - 11/12/2020 4:11:31 AM

+4 Boost

Except, that's not true at all based on their last financial statement. With the credits at $0, they are still comfortably profitable.

PUGPROUD - 11/12/2020 5:48:09 AM

+2 Boost

@SanJoseDriver..."au contraire" For the quarter ended September 20, 2020
Tesla recorded energy credit sales of $397 million, twice that of the previous year. Tesla's reported net income (GAAP) for the quarter was $331 million. The sale of energy credits provided for all of Tesla's net income and then some. It had no energy credits at the end of the quarter BECAUSE IT SOLD THEM ALL! All energy credits earned in current quarter will also be sold to cover operating losses.

SanJoseDriver - 11/12/2020 10:18:09 PM

+2 Boost

Net income was really $800M, there was a one-time stock grant that factored in under GAAP but doesn't reflect on the operational health of the model.

MDarringer - 11/12/2020 8:19:32 AM

0 Boost

Tesla's biggest mistake is making all their cars look the same. The newest Model Y looks the same as the oldest Model S. The Model X with the parakeet doors was a stupid misstep and needs to be replaced with something that looks like a real SUV. The Model Y should not have looked like a big bloated hatchback.

mre30 - 11/12/2020 9:19:39 AM

+1 Boost

Aside from profitability issues (i.e. they have never turned a profit on vehicle sales)..by far Teslas biggest issue is the fact that ALL TESLA MODELS DO NOT SEEM TO HAVE RECEIVED ANY WINTER TESTING.

From the Model S, to the Model Y (falcon doors won't close if the tiniest bit of water gets into the mechanisms during the 1 minute process of entry/exit), to the Model 3 and likely the Model Y (since it shares the Model 3 parts)...Tesla's ice up, door handles won't pop out, windows get frozen in place and won't unseal/reseal during entry exit (i.e. the 1/4 inch that the window gets rolled down upon opening the door).

Honorable mention goes to the Model 3 rear bumper design that catches snow and slush to such an extent that the bumper rips off the body.

Finally, Tesla battery life dies (basically by about 1/2 I'm told) once temps get below freezing and recharging times stretch out because the batteries have to be kept warm (by heaters which suck down even more juice) while charging.

Basically, if you live north if I-70, winter use of your Tesla will be routinely interrupted by these annoying winter usability issues.

#Not.Ready.For.Prime.Time.

malba2367 - 11/12/2020 9:45:29 AM

+3 Boost

The problem is that the range will suffer with a blocky design, and putting in larger batteries will drive up the price.

stampfer - 11/12/2020 11:29:21 AM

+3 Boost

I'm not an engineer so please correct me if I'm wrong. Batteries are heavy. Similar sized EV's weigh more than IC vehicles on average. One of the helpful (if you can call it that) things about the weight in EV's is that it's almost always placed as low as possible in the vehicle, which makes the handling better than it would be for a comparably heavy vehicle with the center of gravity higher. From a design perspective, the chunky macho SUV look (Jeep or Bronco) typically has significant ground clearance to make it perform better in extreme terrain. If you lifted a Tesla or most other EV's, you would negatively effect handling in a dramatic way and possibly even make the vehicle unsafe to drive around curves at speed.