tesla spacex and the quest for a fantastic future

Neither of their efforts were genuinely revolutionary Musk’s breadth of vision and scale overpowers them by a huge margin. The only other major effort to break into this very competitive market was Kaiser-Frazer, in 1946, which lasted less than ten years. The last successful start-up of a new automobile manufacturer in the US was Chrysler, in 1925. And Tesla is pioneering two of the most revolutionary technologies at the same time: electric propulsion and autonomous capability. Watching it unfold in real time is highly fascinating and absorbing we’re in the middle of the most transformative era in the automobile’s history since the 1920s.

We shall see…)įor those of us with an interest in automotive history, Elon Musk and Tesla is the biggest story that’s come along in a very long time. There’s still a lot of unfinished business for Musk. I’m not very interested in spending time on them, but would rather focus on the results. That alone continues to keep Tesla well ahead of the “Tesla Killers”.Īs to Musk’s personality issues and its manifestations, let’s just say that success has amplified them, as it almost invariably does. In Q3, Tesla had a profit of $9,500 per car sold, a truly stellar performance given that no mass-producer of EVs is yet making a profit on them. Tesla continues to reduce production costs, and its top-selling Model Y has had some radical under-the-skin changes (Megacastings, structural battery pack, etc.) that have driven down its cost to build and thus creates very large profits. Obviously, both companies have prospered since then, especially so Tesla, whose growth is still on a tear as well as its profits.

It is a decent short take on a Musk history, especially as applies to Space X and Tesla.

But in rereading it and the comments, I changed my mind. At first thought, I wasn’t going to rerun this.

Tesla spacex and the quest for a fantastic future