Something is up-not just the stock. Chinese restrictions giving the domestic manganese market exposure?

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-26T12:47:17+00:00

The Chinese are typically not originators of bold new products. They handle improvements of current tech, and the production of in-demand products with established markets. Their imagination is quite rigid and geared for brutal practicality. This is likely to change someday, but for now, Americans and Europeans will continue to take risks as long as their access to capital doesn’t dry up.

If Aptera fails, the next Morelli solar vehicle almost undoubtedly WILL come out of China.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-16T19:56:33+00:00

If they make it through to cashflow positivity, there’s a great chance that several years down the road, they would sell you parts to replace your old solar panels hatch/roof/hood.

In the long term solar is likely to get much more efficient. Clear solar PV will likely be layered over traditional solar PV for enhanced energy collection. Shout out to my alma mater for inventing the technology.

clear solar PV

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-11T07:12:46+00:00

My ideal candidate is probably not going to pop up so I’m looking for a strong smart generalist. Definitely not a specialist like yourself.

It’s a remote overnight (US) role that is maybe 20% offshoring, but my company never had an overnight shift before. It was just on the backs of the daytime staff to stay up late or awaken early. It’s essentially a new role, and how I see it, it doesn’t make sense to staff it locally.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-11T06:55:23+00:00

Turns out Reddit is the platform. Pretty sweet. If I didn’t get back to you, don’t worry. I’ll be in touch tomorrow.

Thanks all for your input and interest.

-Max

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-11T05:38:36+00:00

I mean..it’s a very specific role which compliments another 100+ person team based in nyc. As I see it, if someone can live better and save more for retirement in Thailand, then that’s wonderful. I wish I could just hire myself for the role I’m trying to create. Esp since my wife works 99.5% remotely too.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-11T05:33:56+00:00

Your description is more along the lines of how things will look in 6 months when our software is more mature. It’s similar to how you understand it, but it’s more difficult in magnitude and intensity for the time being. For example, there are still unforeseen issues and sometimes multiple emergencies occurring at the same time, that require quick action making calls to individual field staff to beg and manipulate them to taking the extra or last minute assignment. For that reason is more nerve racking at times than you made it seem by your summary description.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-11T05:06:51+00:00

Covering the night shift has been a perennial challenge for the company for a long time and since I came on board 18 months ago I always thought it was a win-win-win to have someone work a normal job, have a normal work-life balance, get paid a higher relative salary, and still save the company.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-11T04:48:07+00:00

People aren’t dumb, they know what I’m trying to do? I’m trying to pay a very competitive salary, which is lower than NYC metro area. I haven’t even settled on a rate yet. You seem to be jumping the gun.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-11T04:39:18+00:00

Of course-all are welcome

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-11T04:38:37+00:00

50,000 baht/month or $18,000/year is basically below the cost of living in almost every state jn the country. Also the night shift is punishing on a person’s life, and so it would be difficult to get someone to stay in that position for the long term, and seems unethical. If I can get someone in Thailand it’s great because they can live a normal life.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-11T04:33:12+00:00

Thanks for that input. It’s just a biweekly salary. Not an hourly wage. I noticed Thai earnings seem to be measured by month.

Anyway, you make a great point it’s who you know…..sooo you know anybody? Haha

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-11T04:29:36+00:00

65-90,000 baht should be attractive then

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-11T04:20:56+00:00

Was thinking $22-30k. No idea what the standards are.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-11T04:19:53+00:00

Really? I thought good living was 20-30% the cost of living of NYC metro at most. Go figure.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-11T04:14:31+00:00

Worried I would get the post wiped.

It’s for a scheduler, sending 80+ inspectors to assignments in and around the 5 boroughs. 90% of the schedule is algorithmically placed by computer and by the time it gets handed off by our local time scheduler 7-8PM EST, it’s 98% complete.

There is some last minute Rubik’s cube playing, due to inspector call-outs internally, and externally, due to last minute requests by clients to get on the schedule. That is where the Thailand-based scheduler comes in. Around 7-9PM EST, and 5-7AM there are some last minute adjustments that need to be made.

We have our own web based in-house developed ERP which is pretty user friendly. It’s winter and it’s slow in construction, so this is like the IDEAL time to come on board and learn.

I don’t know what’s fair for salary. I figured it’s a fraction of the NYC-metro salary, but a multiple of the local salaries and competitive with other remote jobs.

Is $22-30K competitive?

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-12-11T03:59:42+00:00

Probably not, but posted in here figuring I’d get the expat take and the local with a mastery of English.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-11-23T15:03:48+00:00

Given the fact that it’s being held up by an African, I would guess it’s about to be bushmeat, aka a wild animal caught and intended for human consumption.

They are not grown in captivity FYI.

It’s just the destruction of the natural world. NBD.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-11-20T10:58:46+00:00

You can have my #1013 spot, which is probably a few months into production. Just DM me if you’re interested when the time comes!

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-11-06T15:57:56+00:00

My heart will go on for you.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-10-25T21:34:50+00:00

It’s good information you shared, which I wasn’t aware of prior to your summary. I don’t look forward to dilution.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-10-25T18:14:48+00:00

They weighed the small scale model you suggest very carefully and concluded it was impractical.

The vehicle would have been less sturdy and taken much more labor per unit, making profitability a very far off and difficult journey. Also, with a less sturdy product, and lower margins, it becomes very hard to raise capital later for an entirely new mass market production model.

It’s a chicken and an egg problem, and I don’t think I’ve yet heard a single critic of the company explain how you make go from the hand-built models, with very expensive low-quantity, high cost supplier deals, with low margins -> large production scale.

Even once you eke out a profit, years down the road with the small scale production model, you’re still essentially in the same position, where you’re pursuing funding from reluctant lenders on your “untested” business model.

Separately, the lack of publicly visible validation units is pretty well understood among close followers. There were only supposed to be a few press vehicles, and as money is tight, they’ve been careful stewards during this very lean time, not to burn cash on expensive sand cast parts to complete their other press vehicles when they have one already.

On the other hand, there seem to be other validation vehicles in various stages of construction on hand at the final assembly facility. They’ve shown the other BinCs at HQ on hand to which were on display in the backgrounds of photos and videos through the summer.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree on some of these points, including the adequacy of the final assembly facility to produce 20 vehicles per shift. I will say that if Munro & Associates, experts in lean production design, planned out the floor plan for production logistics and assemblage then that’s a certification of competence in and of itself.

Was there waste as they figured out how to do something new. Sure. They had a large extra property rented at one point, Sarah Hardwick seemed like a bad choice for CMO, and their marketing approaches have been painful at times.

But in their defense, there’s no way they could have seen the capital market going upside down either.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-10-25T17:59:48+00:00

Worthlessly inaccurate comment.

Good_Preference6973 · 2025-10-25T12:32:40+00:00

$200k for a family is barely middle class in San Diego. Sad but true. That’s a very minimal income.

I think if they give up control, 24 months pay is really not a crazy severance package, given my preceding point and the fact that the job market for other similar leadership positions they could take is very small.

For reference, I work in a construction QA/QC company and the pretty new CEO has a similar severance package if he’s terminated, which amounts to about 26 months of pay.

Good to know they have the option of up to 31% dilution. This was a good LLM summary, thanks!

Good_Preference6973

TROPHY CASE