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Randall Warnas quits Autel

What's probably most disappointing about his hasty and rather ingracious exit is Warnas was interacting with users on this forum. That's a rare thing for a CEO these days. Hope Autel's US presence survives. This was seriously in question with any number of missteps, from ugly Autel Care rollout to FW over-the-air update issues to Smart Controller V1 being a knee-jerk leaked prototype (that led to pre-selling SNAFU) to the V2 chipset fiasco. Randall Warnas's charm offensive after being hired as CEO had me and others believing Autel might in fact successfully drive themselves clear of the ditch they'd veered into. They've got exactly 13 months from right now to bring to market a USA model that has RID baked in or they're no longer players (Shades of Yuneec? That should be a cautionary tale...)
 
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Brock Inspector said:
What's probably most disappointing about his hasty and rather ingracious exit is Warnas was interacting with users on this forum. That's a rare thing for a CEO these days. Hope Autel's US presence survives. This was seriously in question with any number of missteps, from ugly Autel Care rollout to FW over-the-air update issues to Smart Controller V1 being a knee-jerk leaked prototype (that led to pre-selling SNAFU) to the V2 chipset fiasco. Randall Warnas's charm offensive after being hired as CEO had me and others believing Autel might in fact successfully drive themselves clear of the ditch they'd veered into. They've got exactly 13 months from right now to bring to market a USA model that has RID baked in or they're no longer players (Shades of Yuneec? That should be a cautionary tale...)
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+1 on his online presence... did not believe for a second that is was him, until I heard confirmation that in fact it was Warnas. Also coming from ownership of Yuneec, yer preachin to the choir over here... cautionary indeed. :(

Don't get me wrong, so far the V1 has performed well... and as a photographer first, the camera gives me the imagery that the Yuneec lineup could not match, period. And that includes the Plus... the H3 was DOA right from the beginning.
 
claudius62 said:
It's funny that Autel follows the same muddy path followed by predecessor Yuneec, now extinct in the United States.
To believe, that they are part of the same family.
It only remains to wait for the official date of the funeral .....
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I have a black outfit all ready to go for Yuneec... waiting to see a H3 symbolically auto-land into the ocean, 15 feet from shore. :cool:
 
ssb73q said:
Hi, IMO this is bad news for those expecting continued support for V1 versions of the EVO ll, Live Deck, and Smart Controller.
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Hi, maybe there is another side to this. Randall Warnas doesn't stay anywhere for very long. Five weeks after finding the men's room and the internal politics, maybe he was just looking for the first opportunity to bail? Most CEO's want absolute power, but that is an illusion and a collision just waiting to happen. Better for young Randall and Autel that he exited sooner than later. I firmly believe that this V1 vs. V2 issue will kill Aute's market share. If only Autel would have been smart enough to call the V2 version of the Autel EVO ll the Autel EVO lll there wouldn't be any griping. The V2 has better communication and could be reasonably marketed as a new advanced Autel drone. Ignore the chip, chip, chip, chip shortage and focus on a new improved Autel drone. Of course, since it has improved communication, call it Autel_Sync_4, it could easily be seen as a new drone with new technology worthy of consideration for upgrade. IMO Autel has its head up its A.... and needs a marketing genius. It has the technology, but not the marketing smarts.
 
kenautelevo2pro said:
I agree it's not good news but I don't think it is necessarily bad news. he resigned but my equipment didn't resign; it works no matter who is in charge of the company. I still have a warranty and I still have care....so there's that. it is possible his promise was a personal promise rather than company promise and if so, all it will cost is a few extra $$$ I guess. let's just hope the forum (and the customers) can work their magic on the new ceo and keep the dream alive. it's not like randall was making a ridiculous promise that the new administration couldn't possible be expected to uphold. I know that's the way a few folks felt but I say let's wait and see...keep flying and enjoying the ancient v1 equipment in the meantime. honestly, you might not need the continuous handholding but simply just a hand when it comes time to making that expected leap.

for those who were expecting to just send in your perfectly good v1 drone and v1 sc and receive a brand new v2 drone and v2 sc in exchange for free, yeah I agree you can probably kiss... :)
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Which ever way you look at this, it's not good for you, me and all Autel current and new customers.Yes, they'll still sell their products, but when a CEO goes to print like Randall has, there's been some serious suit gone done. It wasn't so long ago that he gave a press release, promising to help and support his customers. He spoke about the iongoing interferences from Frank and the family, so when a CEO of a large business speaks out like that and cannot do his job, that has or will have a detrimental effect on the business and the flow on effect will be you, me and every customer.
 
Sure would be nice to get some support. Oh well, out with Autel and In with whoever wants to give a ****. Can't stand the idea of going to skydio, but hey I want to support the U.S.A. Fair well, Randall. Wishing you the best in unmanned Aircraft.👍
 
Jeritol said:
Sure would be nice to get some support. Oh well, out with Autel and In with whoever wants to give a ****. Can't stand the idea of going to skydio, but hey I want to support the U.S.A. Fair well, Randall. Wishing you the best in unmanned Aircraft.👍
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What type of support would you like?
 
Jeritol said:
Sure would be nice to get some support. Oh well, out with Autel and In with whoever wants to give a ****. Can't stand the idea of going to skydio, but hey I want to support the U.S.A. Fair well, Randall. Wishing you the best in unmanned Aircraft.👍
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autel is a great company. not sure about "can't stand the thought with skydio" since they are a great company, also. in fact, the skydio 2 is the autel evo 2 pro of sports tracking drones; no reason why you shouldn't have one....they complement each other. skydio2 is my second favorite drone. the awesome tracking and proximity sensors remind me of the 6k 1" camera, on par.
 
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If Autel does make a smaller Evo Mini version in the future which probably will work with SC V2, then at least make a small limited of 500 at the least so those that bought the SC V1 can purchase one to work with the SC V1.

May even prevent a few from upgrading to SV V2, I think this would be beneficial to both Autel and user preventing a costly expense.

I’d pre-order one in advance.
 
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I can't imagine how much more it would cost to produce a limited run of only 500 units on a production line that's setup for something else.

This wouldn't be financially viable at all.

It would be cheaper for them to replace the 500 SC's in circulation :)
 
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PingSpike said:
I can't imagine how much more it would cost to produce a limited run of only 500 units on a production line that's setup for something else.

This wouldn't be financially viable at all.

It would be cheaper for them to replace the 500 SC's in circulation :)
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Probably true, but it’ll probably be an extra expense for SC V1 owners to upgrade replacing both SC V1 and Evo 2 V1 units to get the V2 and SC V2 models. it’s going to cost both sides either way, I tossed this out there maybe those high above in Autel see this and can figure out a way if it’s possible.
 
Waldo Pepper said:
Probably true, but it’ll probably be an extra expense for SC V1 owners to upgrade replacing both SC V1 and Evo 2 V1 units to get the V2 and SC V2 models. it’s going to cost both sides either way, I tossed this out there maybe those high above in Autel see this and can figure out a way if it’s possible.
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A retrofit is certainly possible. Whether it would be cost-effective is another story.

Mr. Lee needs to be cognizant of the effect not doing the right thing would have on the company's reputation. If he has the common sense that the good Lord gave a flea, then he'll do something more than fair just for sake of boosting Autel's bruised reputation.
 
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