- Tesla has introduced innovative features and products, from its lineup of models to Autopilot.
- Tesla also faces competition from other electric vehicle startups.
- The company's future products include an 18-wheeler, a pickup truck, and a humanoid robot.
Since Tesla was founded in 2003 and its IPO in 2010, Elon Musk's electric-car company has contended with high highs and low lows. And throughout Tesla's history, the automaker managed to put electric vehicles on the map and become the most valuable car company on the planet.
Working at Tesla
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has led the company to outperform traditional automakers over the last few years.
But that doesn't mean the carmaker is immune to economic headwinds. Tesla has been through periods of rapid growth — and five rounds of Tesla layoffs in the last six years.
Musk has also been very critical of work-from-home and starting in the summer of 2022, all but killing the Tesla WFH policy, telling executive staff that they needed to return to the office or resign.
Musk moved Tesla headquarters from California to Austin, Texas officially in December 2021. However, it still employs thousands of workers in California. In February 2023, Musk said the company is moving into office space in Palo Alto that was previously occupied by Hewlett-Packard.
Tesla currently has six massive gigafactories in the US, Europe, and Asia, where it builds batteries and electric vehicles. Elon Musk spoke at Tesla's 2022 annual meeting about wanting to 10-12 more in the next several years. Expanding the Tesla Gigafactory network would boost the company's manufacturing capabilities.
TSLA Stock
Tesla's stock price was essentially flat for several years after its 2010 IPO. But in 2013, Motor Trend named the Model S its Car of the Year. At that point, Tesla's share price took off. If you bought Tesla stock right after the IPO and held on, you'd be looking at a 1,000%-plus return today.
Tesla revenue was $81.5 billion last year, putting the company in 50th place on the Fortune 500. The vast majority of its revenues come from sales of its EVs. But 17.5% of its revenue stemmed from activities like selling regulatory credits and energy products.
Investors have recently been most concerned about price cuts and lower margins. The latest Tesla earnings call revealed revenue rose 47% to $24.93 billion.
Musk indicated the company's priority, for now, is growth over profit and said the company is navigating through an "uncertain'" macro environment.
"[It's] better to ship a large number of cars at a lower margin and subsequently harvest that margin in the future as we perfect autonomy," Musk told analysts.
Tesla Products
From least to most expensive, the Tesla models are Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X. The names of the models spell out the word "S3XY." Leave it to Musk to sprinkle in some juvenile humor wherever possible.
The Model 3 and Model S are sedans, while the Model Y and Model X are SUVs. The vehicles fall in a price range of $40,240 to $108,490. Because Tesla sells direct to consumers, its prices have been known to change.
The entry-level Tesla Model 3 cost is one that often fluctuates. The current starting price is $40,240, and all Model 3 versions are eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit in the US.
Tesla's Model S, a luxury family sedan, is the EV maker's oldest vehicle still in production. It costs nearly $90,000 for the most basic version, and Tesla claims it's the most aerodynamic production car on Earth. Tesla delivered the first Model S to a customer in June 2012.
For a buyer comparing Tesla Model 3 vs. Model S, the Model 3 will be more accessible to more buyers because of its lower cost. For drivers looking to splurge, the Model S delivers a high-end luxury vehicle with more space and better performance than the Model 3.
The Model X SUV is the biggest and most expensive vehicle Tesla sells to everyday drivers. At a starting price of $98,490, it comes with five seats, but you can pay extra for a third row with six- or seven-seat layouts. The Model X's falcon-wing rear doors swing up instead of out, making it look like some kind of spaceship.
Tesla's smaller SUV is the Model Y, which is one of Tesla's cheaper offerings alongside the Model 3 sedan. It recently became the best-selling vehicle in the world.
EV features
Some Tesla features are what you might expect from a modern electric car, like the app and keycard. Others reflect Musk's unique sense of humor and have added to Tesla's cult following. While Autopilot gets a lot of attention, the cars come equipped with many more, including the "frunk," "Dog mode," and "Ludicrous Plus Mode."
The carmaker brought minimalist and unique interior design to the auto industry. Tesla interiors were among the first to cut the instrument cluster and introduce a steering yoke.
Tesla's Full Self-Driving software beta was first released in 2020 and is now available to anyone who pays for the software upon request. It's currently in about 400,000 cars in the US, according to the company. Tesla FSD is not self-driving, despite the name. The tech enables Teslas to automatically change lanes, enter and exit highways, recognize stop signs and traffic lights, and park.
Charging and batteries
Superchargers are the fastest way to charge a Tesla and the closest you can get to gas station-like refueling times. The company says the best Superchargers can add 162-200 miles of range in 15 minutes.
The company offers a Tesla Supercharger map where users can look up locations of chargers. Today, there are roughly 45,000 worldwide— a big gain from the 10,000 that existed in 2018.
Where possible, Tesla Supercharger cost is charged per kilowatt hour (kWh) used. Where Tesla is unable to bill per kilowatt hour, they will instead charge a per-minute fee. To access the Tesla network as a non-Tesla owner, you will need the Tesla smartphone app.
A Tesla destination charger lets users charge their cars at locations like hotels, malls, and restaurants. Unlike Supercharging, destination charging is designed more for overnight stopovers or to stay topped up while running errands, as opposed to short breaks in a road trip.
There are ways to charge your Tesla without stopping to charge — some are more realistic than others. One YouTuber's experiment involved a Tesla with a generator, powering his Model S during an 1,800-mile road trip through the Midwest without stopping to plug in. (He did have to stop for gas for his generator, ironically.)
How long does it take to charge a Tesla at home? A full charge can be achieved in 8-10 hours if you install a 240-volt outlet, like the kind used to power clothes dryers. You can also charge with a $230 Tesla mobile connector plugged into any standard outlet and get from three to 30 miles of range per hour charged.
Tesla guarantees its batteries for eight years or 100,000-150,000 miles— whichever comes first. The cost of Tesla battery replacement would be steep. In 2019, Elon Musk put the cost between $5,000 and $10,000.
EV competitor comparisons
Tesla isn't the EV game in town, with new competitors popping up all the time. But are any worth considering over a Tesla car?
One up-and-coming electric car brand gunning for some of Tesla's success is Polestar. The Tesla Model 3 competes directly with the Polestar 2. Putting Tesla vs Polestar head to head reveals that the brands have a lot in common, including online ordering, simple interiors, and an emphasis on performance. The Polestar 2 has a more user-friendly touchscreen setup and is more expensive.
Rivian, one of the most successful electric vehicle startups in the US, is another Tesla competitor. The Tesla Model X and upcoming Cybertruck pickup will compete with Rivian's R1T pickup and R1S SUV. When comparing Tesla vs. Rivian, Rivian, whose brand is all about getting outdoors, is catering to buyers who want a larger vehicle and better off-road capability. Tesla's cars are more about on-road performance, and they deliver that in spades, particularly if you choose a sportier model, like the Tesla Model S Plaid.
Lucid is a promising EV startup based in California. Lucid's CEO, Peter Rawlinson, was previously a top engineer at Tesla. Lucid's entry-level Air Pure starts at $87,400. The model's pricing goes all the way up to $249,000 for the Air Sapphire, a super-powerful speed monster. In a Tesla vs. Lucid matchup, Tesla's closest competitor would be its Model S sedan, which also delivers tons of range, awe-inspiring quickness, and lots of advanced technology.
Future Products
EV fans are patiently waiting on several future Tesla models, including a pickup, semi-truck, supercar, and self-driving taxi. Many of these vehicles have already faced long delays.
The Tesla 18-wheeler semi-truck is the company's first offering beyond passenger vehicles. Tesla announced the product in 2017 and made its first Semi delivery five years later to Pepsi after several 18-wheeler production delays.
The long-awaited Tesla truck, a pickup called the Cybertruck, is set to finally enter production this year. Its exoskeleton-based body is the opposite of how trucks are usually produced — and how they usually look.
The original Tesla Roadster was the company's first vehicle and was a limited-production sports car. The new Tesla Roadster was first announced in 2017, but its release has been delayed. The new Roadster base model will cost $200,000, Tesla said when it announced the car's return.
Whether or not the company makes a Tesla tiny house has been a source of confusion for some fans. The company does not offer housing of any kind in its product lineup. However, Elon Musk has spoken about owning a tiny house from the company Boxabl.
Musk does, however, have Tesla robots in the works. In 2021, Elon Musk announced a Tesla humanoid robot named Optimus. It is designed to help reduce the labor shortage, according to Musk, and keep workers safer. Optimus will use Tesla's Autopilot software connected to eight cameras feeding into its neural network.
Tesla Drivers
A study that analyzed drivers of several Tesla models found that the typical Tesla owner is a white man with a household income over $130,000 per year. Tesla owners are also more likely to own a home.
In 2023, more than a dozen Tesla owners told Insider the best and worst parts of owning their cars. They said cost, performance, technology, the Supercharger network, and home charging were among the best Tesla features. Cons of Tesla ownership, according to this group of drivers, include a stiff ride, build quality, association with Elon Musk, and customer service.
Experts have said that Tesla customer service complaints could tarnish the brand's reputation. Electric vehicle owners who spoke to Insider have had mixed reviews, commenting that their experiences ranged from frustrating to quick and easy.
Tesla car insurance costs more than other cars, partly due to expensive repairs. Tesla launched its own cheaper insurance product in 2019 to squeeze other insurance providers. However, it's only available in 12 states.
A Tesla tax credit is currently available for two of the company's cars, the Model 3 and the Model Y, alongside other models from Chevrolet, Ford, Rivian, and more. The tax credit for EVs, which can be up to $7,500, was introduced to encourage electric car production and adoption in the US.
Tesla has won some praise for pushing electric and self-driving vehicles to new heights, but its cars have also been involved in hundreds of deaths. According to the Tesla Deaths database, which cites news articles as well as reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a total of 393 people have died in incidents involving a Tesla.
That figure largely consists of pileups, DUIs, medical emergencies, and other collisions that could've occurred in any Tesla model. But as many as 95 people have died in Teslas that either caught fire or were using the Autopilot feature, according to reports from the online database. That's nearly one in every four deaths involving Elon Musk's EV brand.
from Business Insider https://ift.tt/ErjFMVh
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