It’s the oldest trick in the book: using a surprise announcement to deflect from a negative, persistent story.
And no-one is more familiar recently with a negative, persistent story than Tesla boss Elon Musk who has had his company’s credibility tested lately, having made very bold claims about Model 3 production models, which so far, it has failed miserably to deliver on.
To repeat a number that so many have jumped on recently: only 260 Model 3s were built in a week, when Musk had claimed 5000 would be built in that timeframe.
So, what do you do when the world, not least the stock market on which your company floats, is seriously questioning your ability to deliver?
You reveal not one, but two hugely impressive vehicles. The Tesla Semi lorry alone is impressive. It might not have the looks of a roadster, but it does reportedly achieve 0-60mph in 5sec. 5sec for a lump of that size is hugely impressive.
But while the Tesla Semi reveal last night had been planned for some time - though also delayed, with Musk stating last month that he was “diverting resources to fix Model 3 bottlenecks” – the unveil of a new Tesla Roadster was a monumental surprise for most of the world. And of course, Musk doesn’t do things by halves. The Roadster will have a 200kWh battery, double that of its current model line-up meaning a range of 620 miles, accelerates from 0-60mph in an astounding 1.9sec and looks stunning.
So did Musk always plan to reveal the Roadster alongside the Semi, or was it the PR coup of the year to detract from everything that’s going wrong at Tesla? For now, we don’t know. It seems odd to lessen the effect of either vehicle by revealing them both at once. It’s true that they are for different buyers, but given the media’s obsession with Tesla, there’s plenty of outlets (such as Autocar) which cover both. All of which means that both the Semi and the Roadster gets slightly less coverage.
Musk doesn’t – and probably shouldn’t - care. The internet is flooded with Tesla this morning and, for now, all anyone can think about is the wow factor of the new Roadster.
But once the dust settles and we all get back to the realities of life, Musk’s shareholders will still be watching for this: that Musk can deliver all the Model 3s he promised. It is this feat which will ensure the company longevity long beyond a pretty sports car.
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The facts speak for themselves.
Seems to me these fanboi comments are coming from those with no clue to the facts and just use it to blow off the reality. And this whole article comes from continuing bias that Autocar has shown vividly for years. Ask yourselves, why does a Range Rover facelift (new infotainment system) gets the main news item - really! Why is it when their long-term F-Type engine blew up it only garnered a tiny mention. And I could go on...
Tesla's annual car sales growth is circa 50%. They have a product with latent demand of over 500k units and are trying to shift from selling 80k units per year to 6x that, based on completely new technology. This is hard stuff and of course its going to hit issues. Essentially, they will have become nearly the size of Peugeot in just 10-years.
I think I prefer the honesty we get from Elon during the quarterly calls than we saw from Volkswagen during dieselgate. Anyone in the UK got their compensation yet?
After seeing the new Semi and Roadster, I don't imagine a single investor will be jumping ship. Those cars were real - customers got test drives at the unveiling. People were putting down 250k deposits there and then for the Roadster! Walmart put an immediate order in for the Semi. You don't think investors watch that?
money, money
... more and more money. Boy, Tesla is on a mission! Look at them: two new products, to be delivered (exactly in the future), but with delays as per in-house tradition. Yet, if you need (want) a seat in that future (that will exist, no doubts!), pay now for a roadster: $200k base, $50k reservation fee, founders model: $250K - paid now. ...money, money, Tesla is pouring money into every hole. Surely, the world must have been very, very stupid before the invention of this "reservations holders" crazy mania!
Before I progress with this fundamented and fair rant, I should now disclose that, I currently do not hold possession of any Tesla vehicle or any stock, although I fancy buying a fairly used but "in great condition" roadster or Model S. Model X or any other rubbish current or future from Tesla, no thank you. And why? Because Tesla on this path, is heading down.
I had great admiration for this company, when they started they were a kit car company, were buying chassis kits from a kit producer, Lotus, and building around it with what they could put hands and grab. No wonder their roadster TPMS is failing at an incredible rate and never gets working properly.
But then, they wanted to evolve from a kit car category to a full manufacturer category, and boy, they didn`t want to set against finished US-style General Motors, Ford and Chrysler cars. They claimed they would bring the best ever(!) to the Mercedes-Benz E, BMW 5 series or Audi A6 class! What? When was the last time you have spotted un-aligned doors, non-working handles, massive headliner gaps or even non available automatic wiping (in 2016) on this class? Only at Tesla! And not counting the massive fiasco that have been thousands of whirring DU and the hurdle it is to have a chance to make a service appointment at a SC. With all this brewing, what Musk-the magician will do? Press ahead with a no-one-asked massive flawed minivan-that-claims-it-is-SUV, Boring company & the like. Boy, that rubbish Model X is a massive tire eater, and a bad one at it, rewards you with (again) rubbish door alignments, phantom windshield views and again more DU failures. As a bonus for those stupid falcon wings, you get free door to body rubbing, frequent need for door realignment, erratic door operation due to phantom events sensend by the system and yeah, that oh so usefull, christmas rubbish from easter. Hey Tesla, just build cars that work, that go through proper engineering and testing during prototype and when manufactured, get full QA before they leave the factory gate.Oh, nevermind, you are too busy with future product and PR show-off. Many of your current customers state they are less and less loving the product they paid & own and on the other end, more and more hating the company that builds them, or at least, some of the people that keep pushing for the train to keep moving.
Then, here in Autocar but also in any hole on this planet and beyond, you will find offended fan-boys and Tesla advocates every time someone names Tesla and requests them to be accountable for what they claim and promiss. Where is EAP and FDS fully working and certified? What, Model 3 production hell? Who cares, Model X arrived first, so was the Model S or the roadster for that matter! Are all the prototype and field issues identified & solved? What? Future product takes precedence? Oh yeah, 10 years ago iPhone 1 was a blast, the best ever(!)
In true seriousness, I do hope one of these two following things will happen to Tesla in future: get the "semi project" canned or the company go bust. Business failure is not only due to poor cash flow, it is due to poor products and wrong product planning. The current state of affairs and modus operandi do not drive the world to a great end.
Who will trust in a Tesla autopilot Semi achieving a similar result as this Kreiss Volvo FH in Norway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0myPp2NmOqo
Tesla, so far is: massive ever(!) overpromising, massive ever(!) under delivering.
The world, to keep moving properly, needs few of both of this.
Only one thing more annoying than apple fanbois