In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. Friedrich Nietzsche
These figures indicate that borrowing against the Freemont factory will not save Tesla. If the 5.3-million square foot facility is only worth $1.8 billion, Tesla will not be able to borrow more much more than that against it, and it has $10.76 billion in debt.
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Nordstrom’s greatest challenge is to keep the upper-middle class; especially the younger upper middle class, coming to its brick and mortar stores.
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Volkswagen plans to start building its first all-electric vehicle in the United States by 2020, Elektrek reported. The I.D. Crozz Concept sport utility vehicle (SUV) will be built in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a Volkswagen press release stated.
A second electric the e-Golf hot hatchback will also be built at Chattanooga at some point in the future.
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Criminals are inadvertently demonstrating how cryptocurrency mining can be used for tax collection.
The biggest users of cryptojacking in the future will be governments because it can be a cheap and efficient means of taxation.
Instead of spending billions on tax collectors, accountants, auditors, etc., all a government would have to do is require every company operating; or person that owns a computer, within its borders to install official cryptojacking software. The software would mine Ethereum (ETH), an ER20 token, or the government’s official cryptocurrency.
Companies and individuals would go along because they would not have to pay taxes. The proceeds of official cryptocurrency mining can be deposited in a sovereign wealth fund to finance basic income, or pensions.
It looks as if Musk might have hit upon a trillion-dollar idea here but it is several years away. Until then, Sirius XM is a pretty good low-priced value investment. Only time will tell if its business model can be rolled out worldwide by SpaceX through Starlink.
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Strangely enough, the I-Pace might create more business for Tesla Energy’s supercharger filling stations for electric cars. The only place in town where people will be able to charge the I-Pace quickly might be at the Tesla or Volkswagen chargers.
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Volkswagen has even more ambitious electric plans including a scheme called Roadmap E. That plan includes spending €14 billion ($17.36 billion) on ridesharing technology; to counter GM and BMW’s efforts in that area, and €20 billion ($24.80 billion) on electric-vehicle technology.
That means Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) might not stand a chance. Volkswagen will own electric cars, and possibly ridesharing.
Therefore Volkswagen will be the world’s largest automaker for the foreseeable future – if the Roadmap E investments work as advertised. More importantly, Volkswagen will remain the value investment in global automakers because of its vast industrial infrastructure, gigantic footprint, and willingness to invest in new technology.
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It looks as if the future of electricity marketing will take the form of retail. One wonders if this is a viable industry and if energy-based cryptocurrencies will one day become a value investment.
The marriage of cryptocurrency and energy might create a fascinating new class of investments. Only time will tell if these tokens will have any real value.
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It goes without saying that Ford will be in a great position to buy up the remains of Tesla when it finally collapses.
Until then Ford and its competitors are enjoying some great auto sales. Americans purchased 17.4 million vehicles in November 2017, down slightly from 18.1 million in vehicles in October and 18.6 million in September, The Detroit Free Press reported.
More importantly, Ford’s sales rose by 6.7% in November while those at competitors fell. Fiat Chrysler’s (NYSE: FCAU) sales fell by 4% and General Motors’ (NYSE: GM) slid by 2.9%.
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Sysco is the largest buyer of the Tesla Semi yet; the second largest buyer is brewer Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD), which has pledged to buy 40 semis. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has plans to buy 15, the J.B. Hunt trucking company will buy several, and Canadian grocer Loblaw’s has placed an order for 25.
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