Juniata ManOne can only wonder what our friend traffic will gush about then.
Whatever his checks are from.
As soon as the big auto manufacturers get serious about EVs, Tesla will be gone in a heartbeat.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
JPS1 ttrraaffiicc https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/22/21334860/tesla-cybertruck-factory-austin-texas-location-model-y Tesla is building a new plant in Austin. Unfortunately, it will not be served by any railroads. Railroad does not appear in the article. The UP serves Bastrop, which is approximately 23 miles east of Bergstrom International Airport. It would not take a lot for the UP to build a line from its Bastrop location to the plant site.
ttrraaffiicc https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/22/21334860/tesla-cybertruck-factory-austin-texas-location-model-y Tesla is building a new plant in Austin. Unfortunately, it will not be served by any railroads.
Tesla is building a new plant in Austin. Unfortunately, it will not be served by any railroads.
Railroad does not appear in the article. The UP serves Bastrop, which is approximately 23 miles east of Bergstrom International Airport. It would not take a lot for the UP to build a line from its Bastrop location to the plant site.
As Tttrro..., I mean Ttrraafficc, has pointed out they truck production to a railhead elsewhere. There's a good chance they'll do that there if they want to ship by rail. I'll bet they do. They may not want to have an actual railroad connection because of Musk's 'promises' of the future that he will single handedly wipe out all freight railroads.
I've heard the autorack in North Platte that went up in flame was loaded with Teslas.
I'm done feeding the trolls.
Jeff
(Sarcasm alert!)
When Musk starts building personal hovercraft in another decade, his electric autonomous trucks will be obsolete too as these new vehicles will simply fly themselves to dearlerships around the country.
One can only wonder what our friend traffic will gush about then.
I've read on You Tube I think that someone said, Elon Musk sounds like either a Star Wars character that everyone hated in a sequel that no one liked, or an aftershave lotion that smells really really bad. I laughed, anyway.
I have heard that if you own a Tesla, you can only get it serviced at a Tesla dealer as everything in it is proprietary. A friend just bought a Chevrolet Bolt and it's made of conventional GM components and can be serviced at any GM dealer or local garage that is familiar with them. With a Tesla, you would be violating their intellectual property if you did that. Not to change the subject from the thread, but to me Musk is a charlatan. His stock prices are high yet the company is not profitable and he makes a stupid amount of money. How does that happen? OK rant over.
SD70Dudehow is this the fault of the railroads?
It's not. It is just a consequence of changing economic conditions. To elaborate more on my assertion, this is why you see fewer manifacturing plants. The have become larger and more centralized. It is also why facilities like the Ford Engine Plant in Windsor have ceased rail shipments entirely. As the roster of plants thins and becomes more centralized the longest any of their engines will travel is 50 miles. It is also the reason why you no longer see any auto plants on the west coast.
SD70Dudedoesn't Tesla's current assembly plant in California have rail service?
No. The siding was torn out. If Tesla ever ships by rail, they take the cars to Richmond to go out on BNSF.
ttrraaffiicc https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/22/21334860/tesla-cybertruck-factory-austin-texas-location-model-y Tesla is building a new plant in Austin. Unfortunately, it will not be served by any railroads. All the parts and all the finished cars and pickup trucks will leave the plant on trucks. This plant's central location will allow Tesla to eliminate the remaining rail shipments they use because it is much closer to the east coast. In addition, this plant will also produce the Tesla Semi. Tesla will use the Semi to deliver their cars, making truck delivery much more economical and cost competitive with rail. As Tesla sets the trend and others follow, it is likely that the mighty auto rack could fall into obscurity, just as the 86' boxcar already has. What do you think? Will railroads still participate in fulfilling the transport needs of the auto industry in the future?
https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/22/21334860/tesla-cybertruck-factory-austin-texas-location-model-y Tesla is building a new plant in Austin. Unfortunately, it will not be served by any railroads. All the parts and all the finished cars and pickup trucks will leave the plant on trucks. This plant's central location will allow Tesla to eliminate the remaining rail shipments they use because it is much closer to the east coast. In addition, this plant will also produce the Tesla Semi. Tesla will use the Semi to deliver their cars, making truck delivery much more economical and cost competitive with rail. As Tesla sets the trend and others follow, it is likely that the mighty auto rack could fall into obscurity, just as the 86' boxcar already has. What do you think? Will railroads still participate in fulfilling the transport needs of the auto industry in the future?
Elon Musk is somewhat of a 'birdseed' salesman:IMHO. He seems to be able to parlay his grandious ideas, into ventures that rely on other peoples money. His fortunes 'play' on the 'vagueries' of the stock market. His ability to publicise and 'pyramid' schemes seems to be amazing:
FTL:"...The company said its progress in the first half of the year has positioned it for success in the second half as production output continues to improve. Telsa also said it has picked a site for its second U.S. assembly plant, although the location wasn't released. The Austin, Texas, area appeared to be the front-runner but Tulsa, Oklahoma, was a possibility.
The surprising profit, compared with a $408 million loss a year ago, pushed Tesla's shares up 5.1% to $1,674.09 in after-hours trading..."
Tesla would have lost money, though, without $428 million it earned from selling electric vehicle credits to other automakers so they can meet government fuel economy and pollution regulations..." [my emphasis]
From linked site @ https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto/news/elon-musk-beats-mukesh-ambani-to-become-fifth-richest-billionaire-for-a-while-41595474548011.html
His is the sort of thing that combines, publicity, politics, and economics. Scarey to watch, but a kind of tight-rope walking act. Hope he's got a net under him, when he falls; the results may be very ugly. Just my thoughts.
ttrraaffiicc SD70Dude FYI - much of the auto parts traffic that used to move in 86' boxcars still moves by rail for much of its journey, it just goes in intermodal containers. That's not entirely true. If it were, 86' boxcars would still be in service. In most cases, the parts traffic was lost to trucks or just doesn't exist at all anymore. The reason being that auto plants have become more centralized with parts being sourced from nearby or manufactured directly at the plant.
SD70Dude FYI - much of the auto parts traffic that used to move in 86' boxcars still moves by rail for much of its journey, it just goes in intermodal containers.
That's not entirely true. If it were, 86' boxcars would still be in service. In most cases, the parts traffic was lost to trucks or just doesn't exist at all anymore. The reason being that auto plants have become more centralized with parts being sourced from nearby or manufactured directly at the plant.
Assuming you are correct, and that's a big assumption based on some of your past writings, how is this the fault of the railroads? And how much of the raw materials are still hauled by rail to the relocated parts manufacturing plants? The can't all be next to a steel mill or aluminium smelter.....
ttrraaffiicc SD70Dude Musk seems to think that his self-driving electric semi will one day replace railroads, so I am not surprised that he is planning for a non-rail supply chain. We'll see how realistic those cost comparisons actually are in the He is probably going to be right on this one. Numerous experts including Rod Case seem to agree that electric trucks will signifcantly reduce rail volumes as it will make trucks more economical in a lot of cases. As Tesla expands its share of the US market, we will see fewer cars transported by rail. tbh, rail delivery of cars doesn't make much sense anyway, given their high value and requirement of flexibility for deliver and inventory.
SD70Dude Musk seems to think that his self-driving electric semi will one day replace railroads, so I am not surprised that he is planning for a non-rail supply chain. We'll see how realistic those cost comparisons actually are in the
He is probably going to be right on this one. Numerous experts including Rod Case seem to agree that electric trucks will signifcantly reduce rail volumes as it will make trucks more economical in a lot of cases.
As Tesla expands its share of the US market, we will see fewer cars transported by rail. tbh, rail delivery of cars doesn't make much sense anyway, given their high value and requirement of flexibility for deliver and inventory.
If it doesn't make sense, then why has it endured for so many decades? Tesla is but one of many manufacturers, and they can't all be located close to the dealerships. And doesn't Tesla's current assembly plant in California have rail service?
You are also discounting finished vehicles that are imported or exported from North America by ship, major terminals are located in Vancouver, Halifax and Los Angeles, to name a few offhand. Not many assembly plants located nearby.....
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
SD70DudeFYI - much of the auto parts traffic that used to move in 86' boxcars still moves by rail for much of its journey, it just goes in intermodal containers.
SD70DudeMusk seems to think that his self-driving electric semi will one day replace railroads, so I am not surprised that he is planning for a non-rail supply chain. We'll see how realistic those cost comparisons actually are in the
But if autoracks go away, what will Homeland Security have to tranport the shackled.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/22/21334860/tesla-cybertruck-factory-austin-texas-location-model-y
The railroads recaptured finished auto traffic from trucks in the past, they could do it again. Of course, that would require some marketing prowness and initiative that is very much lacking in the thouroughly PSRed Class I's these days.
Musk seems to think that his self-driving electric semi will one day replace railroads, so I am not surprised that he is planning for a non-rail supply chain. We'll see how realistic those cost comparisons actually are in the current real world.
FYI - much of the auto parts traffic that used to move in 86' boxcars still moves by rail for much of its journey, it just goes in intermodal containers.
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