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posted by martyb on Wednesday July 25 2018, @07:46AM   Printer-friendly
from the a-penny-saved-is-a-penny-earned dept.

Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd

Tesla has asked some suppliers to refund a portion of what the electric-car company has spent previously, an appeal that reflects the auto maker’s urgency to sustain operations during a critical production period.

This is bad news if you pre-ordered and were thinking about getting a refund but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-asks-suppliers-for-cash-back-to-help-turn-a-profit-1532301091 (Paywalled.)

See also: Miami Herald and electrek.co, which adds:

Update: Tesla sent us a full statement:

“Negotiation is a standard part of the procurement process, and now that we’re in a stronger position with Model 3 production ramping, it is a good time to improve our competitive advantage in this area. We’re focused on reaching a more sustainable long term cost basis, not just finding one-time reductions for this quarter, and that’s good for Tesla, our shareholders, and our suppliers who will also benefit from our increasing production volume and future growth opportunities. We asked fewer than 10 suppliers for a reduction in total capex project spend for long-term projects that began in 2016 but are still not complete, and any changes with these suppliers would improve our future cash flows, but not impact our ability to achieve profitability in Q3. The remainder of our discussions with suppliers are entirely focused on future parts price and design or process changes that will help us lower fundamental costs rather than prior period adjustments of capex projects. This is the right thing to do.”


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 25 2018, @08:46PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 25 2018, @08:46PM (#712670)

    I mean, it's not like all companies go back to their suppliers to ask for better (lower) pricing on the stuff they supply.

    Stuff you're going to buy in the future sure. It is uncommon when you're asking for a rebate for stuff you've already purchased though.
    “Automakers often have brutal pricing demands on suppliers for future work, but retroactive rebates is not something we hear much about,”

    They're not trying to turn a profit *right now*.

    "Musk has told investors he expects to score profits and positive cash flow for the last two quarters of 2018."

    http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-tesla-stock-20180723-story.html [latimes.com]