Contents
As time goes by, everyone begins to become familiar with electric vehicles and their features. Among the various peculiarities, some notable names inevitably recall theelectrical automotive ecosystem: Tesla and Elon Musk. Today, Auto for Dummies draws you into the fantastic history of this company with a particular focus on its front man Mr. Musk and the characteristics of the models produced so far.
Foundation, entry of Elon Musk and Tesla Roadster
It was July 1st 2003 when two scientists named Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning founded Tesla Motors. This revolutionary company established itself on the EV market soon after the withdrawal by General Motors of its electric model EV1. A more unique than rare opportunity brilliantly exploited by Elon Musk, who joined the company in 2004 as a main investor.
Elon Reeve Musk was already known to the world for some brilliant inventions such as Paypal(1999) and Zip2(1995), a web software company. Thanks to the substantial funding, Tesla was able to produce its first model as early as 2008: Tesla Roadster. This vehicle, fully electric and based on the chassis of the Lotus Elise, was capable of covering 340 km on a single charge; an exceptional result considering the primacy of using lithium-ion batteries in a production car.
With a maximum speed of 200 km / h and a burning one acceleration from 0 to 100 Km / h in 3.9 seconds, a typical feature of electric propulsion, Tesla Roadster was an effective technological forerunner also thanks to the captivating design of the derivative model (Lotus Elise). After four years, the Tesla Roadster sold over 2,250 units in 31 countries. Meanwhile Elon Musk, now CEO of the company(2008), featured the first all-electric sedan: Tesla Model S.
Tesla Model S and Toyota partnership
In 2010 Tesla begins to really appeal to the market; this is the case of the partnership with Toyota which, with a total investment of nearly 100 million dollars (50 of which directly to the company), becomes part of Tesla’s technological knowledge.
“I sensed endless possibilities when it comes to Tesla’s technology and dedication to manufacturing,” says the president of TMC (Toyota Motor Corporation) Akio Toyota – in reference to the article that appeared on Tesla’s blog. “Thanks to this partnership, by working together in a business like Tesla, Toyota would have a lot to learn from Tesla’s peculiarities.”
Returning to the new model Tesla Model S, this 5-door electric sedan has managed to become a design icon, the company’s flagship, able to make the brand totally distinguishable starting from its aesthetics. In the Performance version, the 85 Kwh battery is able to guarantee approx 500 km of autonomy; a great achievement capable of bridging the gap with classic internal combustion cars. In addition to the battery compartment, we find a 500 hp engine of power capable of pushing the Model S to 250 km / h (electronically limited). Nothing to envy in terms of performance to the sportier European and American ones.
The crisis and the debut of the Tesla Model X
With the advent of the new decade, the news in Tesla are really a lot. In 2012, simultaneously with the first deliveries of the Model S, we find the presentation of Tesla Model X. This newly developed crossover SUV was already in the plans of the company but, in order to reach the production target of 20,000 Model S, the placing on the market was postponed to the end of 2014.
However, the first cars were delivered to customers no earlier than mid-2015, probably also due to the company’s very negative balance in the previous two years. Think that Elon Musk was intent on selling his creation to Google for over $ 6 billion. Thanks to a positive moment, Musk withdrew the offer.
The more “abundant” Model X in the meantime was beginning to assert itself with a battery pack updated to 100 Kwh with a range of 523 km (performance version). With the dimensions (5 meters in length and 2 meters in width) the overall weight also increases. The battery pack combined with the whole car body reaches 2.5 tons.
Although diet is not the strong point of this model, the growing fashion of SUVs and i only 3.6 seconds of acceleration from 0 to 100 Km / h contributed to the success of this model still in production. Meanwhile, Model S hit 100,000 units sold shortly before the Tesla Model 3 was presented in March 2016.
With Model 3, Tesla super Ford and General Motors
Tesla’s success is such that it receives over 325,000 bookings the week following the launch of the new model. Riding the crest of the wave, in 2017 Tesla managed to overtake the two American giants by capitalization Ford And General Motors. Elon Musk had seen it right way back in 2003: investments and investors right with perfect timing.
The Model 3 itself, born with the assumptions of being a more accessible model from an economic point of view, managed to reach a production capacity of 500,000 models in the space of a year despite the experts in the sector proved extremely doubtful. These criticisms turned out to be partly founded: the high-speed production of the three Tesla models led to several bottlenecks.
Elon Musk, more and more confident, it took little to finance the company with another 2 billion dollars, starting the third phase of his project: code name “Tesla Master Plan“. At the dawn of 2019 we thus have an “economic” model capable of being purchased for around $ 35,000.
Tesla Roadster 2 (2020) and the company’s future
Equity scandals aside, Tesla continues to be a successful company, and the foresight to create an accessible electric automotive market is truly worthwhile. Almost everyone appreciates the technological capabilities of Tesla vehicles but many others consider this technology to be still early. Being a reality recently born, as the first photovoltaic panels could have been, the initial investment requires the so-called payback-time: the time necessary for the earnings to begin to pay off the investment. All this is possible, besides thanks to the investments in the company, increasing the profits of the sales; in other words by raising the final price.
Elon Musk’s plan had also included this and only today we begin to appreciate more accessible purchases to the public. We just have to wait for the news of Musk’s genius; among the latest the announcement (November 2017) of the new one Tesla Roadster 2. This coupe in 2 + 2 configuration will debut on the market in 2020. There are so many technological innovations: from super-fast charging in direct current from 350 KW to the 200 Kwh battery, Tesla Roadster 2 promises to be an epochal turning point.
