First Motus now Alta

[MT27]

This sucks.

 

Bad news from San Francisco today, as we learn that Alta Motors has ceased business operations, effective immediately, sending the company’s staff home as the electric motorcycle manufacturer looks for future funding.

https://www.asphaltandrubber.com/news/alta-motors-ceases-operations/

[faffi]

Unfortunate news. 

 

Does Alta have a meaning in USA or the area? It is the name of one of our most northern cities.

[topazsparrow]

Tough to see innovative companies fall short of their goals.

 

One part of me thinks the government should be giving them breaks to help them stay competitive with established brands that aren't as environmentally friendly or innovative. Another part of me cynically assumes a ton of companies would just ride the gravy train to pad their pockets and not really care about their market share.

 

Zero bikes boggle my mind with how expensive they are for what you get. Surely they can do better. Maybe they're next on the chopping block.

[firstyammerha]

This electric bike industry is not large so it won't get the support of the politicians like Tesla did during the Obama administration. Bikes are recreational vehicles and not seen the same way as a car or bus. But,these electric bike companies could do more to enhance their visibility to the general and cycling population. When was the last time you saw an ad for Zero or Alta on Velocity or ESPN? Heck, even the bike magazines? I don't recall any tests in Cycle World or Motorcyclist ever. 

[sorkyah]

10 minutes ago, firstyammerha said:

This electric bike industry is not large so it won't get the support of the politicians like Tesla did during the Obama administration. Bikes are recreational vehicles and not seen the same way as a car or bus. But,these electric bike companies could do more to enhance their visibility to the general and cycling population. When was the last time you saw an ad for Zero or Alta on Velocity or ESPN? Heck, even the bike magazines? I don't recall any tests in Cycle World or Motorcyclist ever. 

Tesla had a multi-billionaire backer named Elon Musk.. not necessarily political support.

i've ridden the zero sr, it was awesome if disconcerting.
Electric bikes would be awesome if they were a bit more mainstream/long-range.
 

[firstyammerha]

Sorkyah, I thought there was a big hulabaloo in the media over someone with Musk's `resources' getting government aid?

[Cruizin]

13 hours ago, firstyammerha said:

This electric bike industry is not large so it won't get the support of the politicians like Tesla did during the Obama administration. Bikes are recreational vehicles and not seen the same way as a car or bus. But,these electric bike companies could do more to enhance their visibility to the general and cycling population. When was the last time you saw an ad for Zero or Alta on Velocity or ESPN? Heck, even the bike magazines? I don't recall any tests in Cycle World or Motorcyclist ever. 

The govt and the big three only let Tesla happen in order to get those supercharger stations installed across the country and to get people warmed up to buy electric cars. Now that it has happened , all the car companies will go all in on electric and push Tesla out if the way.

 

I'm sad to see Alta go, they should have built one really gnarly gas dirtbike too , to sell well and keep revenue flowing in. 

[r1limited]

Ya, sucks, the tech is just not there yet for the masses.  Early adopters will buy into it, those interested will wait until the tech and cost meet.  I want a e bike very much but cannot for the life of me justify paying 10k + for 20 minute rides and wait 4 hours for a refill

 

Alta though has not closed shop, they have stopped production, this is cost savings while the remap their long term goals, aka find investers, re-adjust.  Smart move IMO.

[r1limited]

13 hours ago, firstyammerha said:

Sorkyah, I thought there was a big hulabaloo in the media over someone with Musk's `resources' getting government aid?

Any E manufacturer has been subsidized by tax payers not the GD goobermint.  Case in point all the Enviromental idiots that pushed green cant aford it but now have the luxery of subsidizing and paying them back those that have harvested this boon by installing and or buying E.

Case in point, WA state if oyu go Green by installing solor panels for whch ALL equipment and installers are based inside of WA state, you get pretty damn close to 100% all paid back to you by the tax payers in subsidies.  In the mean time the states Public Utilities buys back all the surplus for 3 times more than what is charged to consumers.  In effect you get a check each month plus free electricity and tax payers get higher rates

Ya the feds are very generous with your money. 

[firstyammerha]

I don't object to paying taxes but I'm all for recovering whatever I can get back from the government that's why I employed a cpa to do my taxes for decades. That guy prevented me from paying any taxes for years. it was worth the $400 annually for peace of mind alone. And Elon Musk did get money from the government for his car,battery and space enterprises. The L.A.Times of May 2015 had a good article on this abuse of public funds. Elon is a smart cookie-don't use your money when you can use someone elses. And I believe the failure of Alta lay in the management of the company. They could have driven harder deals for the material that went into their bikes, paid their employees less, lobbied their congressman/woman, researched what people are willing to pay for their bike, researched the competition  and advertised their product. That's business. The companies failure lays with them. Last word, without Teslas prodding, there wouldn't be Chevy Bolt IMO.

[r1limited]

39 minutes ago, firstyammerha said:

Elon Musk did get money from the government for his car,battery and space enterprises

I guess you missed
 

Quote

Any E manufacturer has been subsidized by tax payers not the GD goobermint.

Alta has not failed, you failed to understand the market as it is now.  You fail to understand eraly adopters as well as Tech to Cost.  You cannot sell if there are no buyers, there are no buyers because the tech / cost has not caught up to a point where it is affordable and feasable to own.  This is the same thing when Memory the kind you stick in your computor was worth more than gold.  Gangs actually robbed tech OEM for memory, Hard drives per mega bite was astronomical, now they are a dime a dozen, the new tech SSD now becoming more affordable for the masses. 

We agree on one point, Elon played the Tax payers and made literally Billions and the GD Goobermint wrote a check with your money.  Now I have no issue with innovation, Musk took advantage, just like Bill gates ripping off the original DOS creator and IBM sitting on there laurals Gates took advantage of their arrogance and beat the shet out of em.

[firstyammerha]

competition is what it's all about. Alta didn't pay attention to Zero .Zero is still producing and Alta is trying to sort things out. Do you think Chevy brushed off Tesla while designing the Bolt? I don't think so. They learned range was the key to a successful design and went out to meet or beat Tesla.  I believe the Bolt range is in the Tesla category of around 250 miles per charge.Other manufacturers offerings like Ford lists 20 miles as its battery only range for their ev sedans. And they all use different plugs to connect to a charging station. Crazy. I think Tesla had a good idea in suggesting quick removable battery packs for these cars. Instead of waiting X number of hours for a charge, just remove the almost discharged battery pack and plug in a newly charged one. Probably not as quick as pumping gas but seems like a good alternative. I wonder how much government funding is supporting battery research other than atTesla. How many jobs is  this funding is creating? That's your tax dollar at work.

[MT27]

Firstyammerha  

They could have driven harder deals for the material that went into their bikes, paid their employees less/

 

What was Alta paying for the materials and what were they over paying for?

It's not that easy. Alta was ordering 5's and 25's. At that level it's hard to beat people up on getting a better price.
Pay their employees less? Do you know where Alta is located? If you don't pay your tech people there good. When they come back to work after lunch it will be at a different company. Do you know what the cost of living is there? The only way people there will work for less is if you offer really generous stock options and the company has a bright future..

[r1limited]

20 hours ago, firstyammerha said:

I wonder how much tax payer funding is supporting battery research other than atTesla. How many companies whent bankrupt taking billions fromtax payers? That's your tax dollar at work.

^^ Fixed^^ Goobermint handing out billions of tax payer money during the Osham debacle "Obama clean energy loans leave taxpayers in $2.2 billion hole"

 

Solendra being the poster child of such free money to Cronies.  Old article but worth the read

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/27/obama-backed-green-energy-failures-leave-taxpayers/

[firstyammerha]

MT27, Alta can't move production somewhere else in the U.S.? Train some new individuals with the necessary skills. It would be a tax write off I'm sure.There's something wrong with that company if their competitor is still in business and they're not. I think Alta needs a buyout by some really astute management and engineers. Maybe Zero could shut down a competitor. HMMM...I watched my employer buy out competitors and diversify for decades. That's why they're a Fortune 500 company. Astute, sharp management. I was a lucky young guy falling in with them. I learned a lot. R1limited, that's your tax dollars at work. Think about it!  We wouldn't have what we have today without the government ploughing money back into the economy. Some good investments and some bad . Every administration has them. I'm sure even `The Donald' will have a few. Bad ones that is. Time will tell.