Today, Thursday 10-12-2015, Tesla's local mouthpiece Health Walker (mentioned in your linked article) made an appearance on the TV channel 7 Sunrise morning program doing his very best 'advertorial spiel' to try and drum up local Aussie buyers ready to part company with their money right now, for his company's 'inferior technology' Lithium based Tesla Powerwalls.
Now straight away, I wonder if Mr Walker will be right up front, informing his prospective Powerwall customers that the Lithium cells that Tesla will be 'choosing' to use in their Powerwalls will only be the ones that 'fail to cut the mustard' for their own suitability to be used instead, within the building of their Tesla electric vehicle's propulsion power packs ? In words of plain English then, these Lithium Powerwall cells will be the 'rejects' from the manufacturing of their Tesla electric vehicle's power packs because whilst these 'also ran' cells can't 'safely' meet the very high instantaneous discharge current demands required for use in their vehicles they 'should' be able to accommodate the more 'sedate' current drains to be typically expected from their Powerwalls. So while that option offers Tesla a nice means to recycle their 'rejects' into that electrically less demanding purpose, I wouldn't like to lay down any of my own money on betting that it will turn out to be 'as nice' an outcome in the long term, for their Powerwall buying customers.
You might also note in reading that prior linked article the somewhat --[judicious choice of words]-- by Tesla's Mr Walker.
Quote: "Tesla Energy spokesman Health Walker said Australians --[would be able to “put their money down” before December 25,]-- and that the roll out of the product --[would happen next year]--." un-Quote:
Now from what I've heard, Tesla in the US have already been taking people's money up front, for some months now, but are still yet to deliver manufactured Powerwalls to those who have already paid up their dough in advance.
In other words folks, be very, very wary, of slicked hair and shiny gold toothed, 'flash-rat salesmen' who do a lot of very fast talking, with lots of smoke and mirrors and hand movements involved. A lot of Yankee 'trained' Disallowed salesmen will gladly promise you the moon whilst taking your folding money off you with a perfectly straight face, but will then actually deliver you zip, for the 'entire' "next year", or maybe even more..! In other words, once they've got your signature firmly dried upon their sales contract, they've then got you 'stitched up' for as long as they like, before they get around to delivering you the goods.
Tesla's advertising and sales story is starting to sound more to me like it's been lifted straight out of 'Lesson 101' of the "US Corporate's Consumer Marketing Exercises Handbook" ie' get in very early and be right on the front foot with your own product's slick advertising, grab all of the public's attention to it, gee them all up with lots of shiny Yankee 'manufactured' whoop-la and excitement, and then quickly sign them all up to your iron-clad company sales contracts, thereby, locking them and all of 'their cash' up very solidly into your company's own venture, whilst at the same time, obviously preventing them from buying into your competitor's alternative, and technically superior product. Why, if you're actually good enough at doing this sort of thing then you can just sit right back and watch as your competitors wither on the vine, because all of the buying public's money is already locked up in your own interminable sales contracts.
Now I know that you good folks would probably find that sort of sales and marketing behaviour hard to believe, for any US Corporation, (facetiousness purposely intended) but, if any of you do actually want to buy a Tesla Powerwall I would be absolutely certain, to first, very clearly specify upon their iron-clad sales contract's form 'your very own' chosen 'latest required' delivery date, for their goods to arrive into your possession, and to also 'demand' that it includes a water-tight opt-out clause for you and your money, should they then subsequently fail to supply the goods to you, by 'your own' specified delivery date. Just a warning folks, always remember "Caveat Emptor" when parting 'up-front' with lots, of your own folding cash...!
RFX Price at posting:
24.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held