Tesla Makes Offer to Acquire SolarCity

Re:Tesla Makes Offer to Acquire SolarCity by hackguru on Tuesday June 21, 2016 @05:59PM (#11949763)

So two companies with great potential. One (Solar City) has a problem convincing investors and is exposed to wide fluctuations and the other (Tesla) is pretty good at managing expectation and enthusiasm in the market. So I guess the idea here is to limit exposure in one of them by absorbing it in another. Might work but goes counter intuitive to the idea that I always thought was the most important in Musk companies: Focus. Focus on delivering one main value. Hope this works out.

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Re:Tesla Makes Offer to Acquire SolarCity by kbenson on Tuesday June 21, 2016 @06:51PM (#11950106)

He's expanding the stack of technologies and resources he can directly control. First there was the car, but the car is only useful with good batteries, enough service stations, and cheap power. Step 1, open service stations and provide cheap power. Step 2, integrate the batteries so you can control production and reduce cost. Step 3, integrate power generation so you can control cost of that cheap power you are providing.

This is the equivalent of Ford buying Exxon (which already includes the service stations), and then offering cheaper gas to all Ford customers. Who doesn't think that would influence at least some people (or companies! Fleets of cars!)

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Re:Tesla Makes Offer to Acquire SolarCity by the_watcher on Tuesday June 21, 2016 @06:54PM (#11950127)

> This is the equivalent of Ford buying Exxon

Henry Ford wasn't a founder of Exxon. Musk is a founder of SolarCity.

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Re:Tesla Makes Offer to Acquire SolarCity by kbenson on Tuesday June 21, 2016 @07:19PM (#11950259)

I'm not sure how that's relevant. Musk being a founder of both companies doesn't magically make them different in what they are and do. The pieces of the pie in play are similar, if apportioned differently. They would combine to a similar whole.

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Re:Tesla Makes Offer to Acquire SolarCity by DrScump on Wednesday June 22, 2016 @03:35AM (#11952128)

  Henry Ford wasn't a founder of Exxon.

That would have been some trick, given that Exxon didn't exist until 25 years after Ford died. ;)

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Re:Tesla Makes Offer to Acquire SolarCity by hyperbovine on Wednesday June 22, 2016 @06:10AM (#11952651)

Power is already cheap -- that's sort of the whole problem. I do not think you can rationalize this move by such a vertical integration argument.

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Re:Tesla Makes Offer to Acquire SolarCity by kbenson on Wednesday June 22, 2016 @10:18AM (#11954112)

It's cheap, but currently there are 649 supercharger stations, and 3906 superchargers[1], and he gives that power away for free to Tesla owners. Buy cheap sell free doesn't really scale, unless it's subsidized in some other way (and reducing cost even more may make that more palatable).

There's also the powerwall play. I imagine a lot of people that signed up for powerwall will want solar at the same time, if they don't have it. Maybe this is actually a way to hedge against powerwall coming in at cost (or a way to get an installation network). If most the installs come with some solar installation as well, maybe they can see the device at a loss and meet cost expectations while still not losing money.

1: https://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger

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Re:Tesla Makes Offer to Acquire SolarCity by ewindisch on Tuesday June 21, 2016 @09:09PM (#11950892)

If he's using these for the SuperCharger network and plans to "gas-up" cars with solar... I don't think they can get that level of efficiency from panels spread through a gas station lot? Because that's where this purchase would seem to make sense to me, is with a nationwide network of SuperChargers powered by solar.

I'm sure some value would also come from selling to residential buyers with Teslas?

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Re:Tesla Makes Offer to Acquire SolarCity by aerovistae on Tuesday June 21, 2016 @06:10PM (#11949850)

Given that he's done a stellar job running two impossibly difficult companies for a decade now, I'd say he knows how to focus.

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Re:Tesla Makes Offer to Acquire SolarCity by electrum on Tuesday June 21, 2016 @07:20PM (#11950265)

Three companies: SpaceX

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Re:Tesla Makes Offer to Acquire SolarCity by outworlder on Tuesday June 21, 2016 @08:59PM (#11950845)

No, the parent is right. Elon Musk runs two companies. He has some stake in SolarCity right now, but doesn't run it.

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