AFSCME 3357-HOF'S BLOG

The Inside Story on the Tesla Electric Car

Michael Copeland, writing for Fortune Magazine, has published the story we've all been waiting for on Tesla Motors, the company that makes the cool electric sports car that George Clooney and Matt Damon drive. Thetruthaboutcars.com has a Tesla Birthwatch series dedicated to the proposition that the Tesla sports car is vaporware headed the way of the Tucker Torpedo. I'm not so sure. I'm kind of rooting for them. I'm one of those people that believe that there is nobility in attacking a difficult task and doing it better than anybody else, even if you don't get it right 100%. Apparently I'm not alone, according to the article, despite missed deadlines and turmoil within Tesla Motors, of the 1,000 customers that put down deposits, only about 30 have asked for their money back, and many of them were replaced.

Writer Copeland paints a vivid picture of the personality clash between the two key founders of Tesla, entrepreneur Martin Eberhard and financeer Elon Musk. In these days of guarded statements, you gotta love it when Musk allows himself to be quoted: "I was too busy trying to fix the f****** mess he [Eberhard] left. I haven't had time to tell my story." Musk gets his say in the Fortune article. It's a must read.