The importance of Tesla in the automotive world about to end in 2022 is unquestionable. The Tesla Model 3 is the best-selling electric car of all time and the brand has a large part of the responsibility in the transition to electric mobility that the world is experiencing. However, Tesla’s path has not been without controversy and broken promises. Elon Musk, CEO and founder of the brand, is the focus of the controversy, and in this article we will try to find out if the saying “who covers a lot, squeezes little” can be applied to him.
Before getting into flour, I want to clarify that this article It is not a free attack on Tesla or its founder. There is nothing personal in these lines, which only seek to highlight the long history of broken promises and eternal delays that the Californian company accumulates. A stain on an otherwise impeccable record of innovation. What is also necessary to remember is that Tesla is not a company that works like a large traditional car manufacturer, but that its operations are more typical of a company in the technology sector.
In the United States, Tesla disbanded its communication department. There are no press vehicles or official evidence.
Its new product launches and events are more like Apple keynotes than the painstaking development and introduction of new vehicles from other manufacturers. Perhaps this is one of the points in which it differs the most from other manufacturers, who have become accustomed to keeping the development of new vehicles in the strictest of secrets. Tesla has introduced vehicles listed as pre-series or near-production prototypes that were years away from development to mass production.
The commercial impact and boost to Tesla’s brand image of these presentations is undeniable, and the enormous expectations created by the company have been reflected in some spectacular stock prices: Tesla has become the most valuable company in the automobile sector in terms of market capitalization. However, at this time the wind does not blow in favor of Tesla in the stock market, nor does it at the corporate level. The soap opera that has become the Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter is largely to blame.
One of lime and one of sand: Elon has managed to popularize the electric car and revolutionize space transportation.
The media spectacle it has become, the controversy surrounding some of its decisions – mass layoffs, the suppression of ethics committees and surveillance, the lifting of the ban on figures like Donald Trump – and the very delicate financial statement of the company have finished by affect Tesla, which seemed to sail smoothly. But Tesla not only suffers from the lack of attention from its CEO, but also from the public and investors they question Tesla because of the promises made in recent years.
2016: 100% autonomous driving will arrive in two years
Tesla was one of the most aggressive brands in introducing advanced driving assistance. Autopilot was a great marketing move, but it is still a very interesting way of calling an adaptive cruise control capable of adjusting speed to the limits of the road, centering the car in the lane and driving itself in all kinds of circumstances. Tesla’s abuse of the system and ambiguity regarding its capabilities have led to much abuse for an assistant who needs constant human supervision.
In ~2 years, summon should work anywhere connected by land & not blocked by borders, eg you’re in LA and the car is in NY
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 10, 2016
California just banned calling the system Full Self-Driving, alleging that it gives rise to misunderstandings and that it is partial assistance.
The twist of the Autopilot system is the 100% autonomous driving capacity, called FSD by Tesla (Full Self-Driving). In 2016 Elon Musk announced that in two years the Tesla would have the ability to drive 100% autonomously, and that in 2020 they would have a fleet of one million “robotaxis”. In 2021 it was launched in beta phase of the Full Self-Driving service, under strict human supervision and with a lot of room for improvement. As of the start of 2023, all Teslas still have steering wheels and still require constant human supervision.
No car manufacturer has managed to create 100% autonomous cars outside of controlled environments or without human supervision – be it physical or remote.
2016: Tesla Model 3 will cost $35,000
A revolutionary price for the mass electric car. The price that Musk announced in 2016 for the Tesla Model 3 was only real for a few months between 2019 and 2020. The access version was not advertised on the website and it was necessary to call the manufacturer to order a unit. It was a slow and uncomfortable process. It lasted a few months on sale and Tesla quietly dropped it from the range in 2020. Today in the US, the cheapest Tesla Model 3 costs $46,990 before incentives. In Spain its tariff price is almost 52,000 euros.
@elonmusk $35k price, unveil in March, preorders start then.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 2, 2015
Will Tesla be able to maintain leadership in the electric car market in 2023?
2017: the return of the Tesla Roadster
In one of his lavish keynotes, Elon Musk introduced the Tesla Semi, and at the end wowed the crowd with an incredible second-generation Tesla Roadster. A sensual electric sports car with a spectacular design, capable of accelerating to 96 km/h in less than two seconds, with a range of 1,000 km and a top speed of 400 km/h. At that time the reservations for the car were opened, whose price was to be a reasonable $200,000. To formalize the reservation, you had to pay $50,000, and it is still possible to do so from its American website.
However, Tesla’s website has no reference to the Roadster, and you have to enter this form through a direct link. Some say the Roadster was a move to raise capital at a time of greatest economic uncertainty for Tesla. Elon promised that by 2022 at the latest, the Roadster would go into production.. We are about to enter the year 2023 and the Roadster is not there, nor is it expected. If you were expecting the Roadster – and its rocket-powered Space X package – to hit the market in 2023… take it easy.
SpaceX option package for new Tesla Roadster will include ~10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around car. These rocket engines dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking & cornering. Maybe they will even allow a Tesla to fly…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018
There has been no news or update of the Tesla Roadster in many months. Some media are already talking about 2024.
2017: The Tesla Semi will arrive in 2019
Tesla’s truck has been one of the brand’s most ambitious projects. It was announced in 2017, at the same event where the Roadster was announced. It was then said that this electric tractor head would hit the market in 2019, with a range of about 500 miles (830 km). The development of the truck has been much slower and more expensive than expected, and it would only be in the middle of this year that Tesla would update discreetly the web of the truck, revealing the production model. Just days before the end of the year 2022, Tesla has delivered the first 36 units to PepsiCo in California.
Volvo, Kenworth, Peterbilt and Freightliner, among others, were ahead of Tesla in the commercialization of 100% electric heavy trucks.
2019: the Tesla Cybertruck will revolutionize the pick-up segment in 2021 and will cost $39,900
In 2019, in another massive event, Musk unveiled Tesla’s first pick-up. A vehicle that would compete in the most important segment of the US automobile market. A segment so important that the Ford F-Series alone, leaders for more than 45 years, sell nearly 800,000 units a year across the pond. In his presentation it was promised that he would have practically armored windows, but in the public demonstration of his hardness they broke – things from the live show. Musk claimed that it would start selling in 2021 at a price of less than $40,000.
Its design is angular and revolutionary. To the point that your pedestrian protection in the event of an accident is in question.
The Tesla Cybertruck has been accumulating delays and we still do not know its final production version, although several photos of the pick-up have been leaked unofficially. Musk announced in the middle of this year that a lot has changed since 2019., and that the Cybertruck will be considerably more expensive due to inflation and the rising cost of some materials. Musk says that will probably go into production in 2023. It will not cost $39,900 nor will it arrive in 2021, but everything indicates that it could begin production next year.
The problem may be that will not revolutionize the segmentand it will have a lot of competition: Ford is already selling the F-150 Lightning, Rivian sells the fantastic R1T, GMC sells the impressive Hummer EV, Chevrolet has an electric Silverado and RAM is preparing to enter the segment in 2023. However, none of them will be able to function “briefly like a ship”.
Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes & even seas that aren’t too choppy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 29, 2022
2021: Tesla will launch a car that will cost $ 25,000 and will be autonomous
During a Battery Day, in which Tesla announces news regarding its energy storage systems, Musk stated that “Tesla will launch in 2023 a complete vehicle priced at $25,000which will possibly be autonomous”. Rumors about the alleged Tesla Model 2 began to spread like a flaming wildfire. However, in January 2022, stated in early 2022 that Tesla would not launch such a vehicle at this time. “At some point we will, but we already have too much on our plate right now.”