The comparison may not seem entirely correct; indeed, the approach, conditions, and the result of these projects are completely different. They are also divided by start time. Nevertheless, both projects were an attempt to create a revolutionary car and start a new car company from scratch. The task is extremely ambitious and usually fails. So I will try to tell you about the history of these projects and draw some parallels.
The Tesla project started in July 2003 when business partners Martin Eberhard and Mark Tarpenning founded Tesla. Both were smart engineers with little entrepreneurial experience. They did not invent either new electronics or new electric motors - the asynchronous motor was invented by Nikola Tesla back in the nineteenth century. They came up with an original business model. First, cars have long used a variety of off-the-shelf parts from third-party manufacturers, their plan was to assemble a new car using clean electrical energy from ready-made assemblies. Second, they targeted a target group of geek shoppers. New high-tech products, despite the high cost when entering the market, find demand and, as a result, create a mass market. This was the case with the first smartphones, before that with laptops, with other innovative devices.
The idea is great, but the partners did not have the money to implement it. The car companies were reluctant to listen to such heresy. As recently as 2002. General Motors has recalled and released its EV1 , a 6-year limited edition electric car . The rest of the auto giants also considered battery technology for a pure electric vehicle not mature enough and reliable for the coming years, so the founders of Tesla unsuccessfully looked for an investor until January 2004, when they told Elon Musk about their project.
Musk at that time was already a successful entrepreneur and investor, for example, having launched PayPal on the exchange. But Musk was also an ambitious inventor and dreamer. His first own company was SpaceX, founded in May 2002. Musk's ideas extended far beyond space travel and the exploration of Mars. Musk also dreamed of changing a lot on planet Earth, for a start, for example, changing the country's energy balance and relieving the United States of oil dependence. The idea of Tesla founders found its business angel.
The further history of Tesla's electric car is similar to a financial and technological thriller, where desperate attempts to find money for development, solve complex engineering problems, and attract buyers of unique electric supercars that have not yet been created are equally mixed.
Roadster, 2 . 2006 100 , EP1, . 100 / 4 , . 2600 110 . . .
2004. 7.5 ., 6.5. 2006. 13 . EP1 40 .
, . 2005 Tesla Motors Group Lotus «» ( ). . , , 2008. .
. , . , - . 2008 , , . , 40 , . 2009 Tesla 187 . 147 . 70 . . 19 2009. Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz, 10% Tesla 50 . , Daimler Tesla.
, . 2009. 465 , Toyota , . 1 . 20 2009.
, . , , . , , . : « . . . , , , ". , -, №12 . Roadster, , , . , . « Tesla, « », — . — , . . , , »
. , - , , , , , , .
, - Hybrid Sinergy Drive . , . . , -, , . , , - . , .
. , , - , 3 . "- " "" . 1 !
- . , 2010. , , , . 2011., , , " 10 ".
- . , , , , . - «» - 2011. 2012 , , . 2014., , - - , , .
2014 . «» . 7 - - . , - . , .
- .
-, . , , .
-, , , -, . , , . , . 2010. 1100 USD *, 89%, 137. 18650, Sony 1991., 2170, . 4680, .. tabless. , 56%.
. - . , . , , , , , .
-, . . , , , . Tesla (S3XY) . , PowerWall, . SolarRoof, . , .
, , . , , " ". , , . , , .
The demand for electric vehicles was so high that it was possible to buy a new car only by ordering in advance. Tesla had no car dealerships or a network of dealers, cars were delivered directly from the factory to the buyer. The largest automakers rushed to make up for lost time. One after another, companies with centuries of experience in the automotive industry are announcing the end of the production of cars with internal combustion engines in the near future. For some reason it seems to me that Tesla with Elon Musk will be out of reach for a long time.