Ex-GM executive Bob Lutz is a Tesla detractor. Everyone knows that. But do we know to what lengths he’s willing to stake his reputation on Tesla failing? Here’s a glimpse of that. Recently, he told CNBC this:
“Tesla “is headed for the graveyard. They will never make money on the Model 3 because the cost is way too high.
“He’s got 9,000 people in that assembly plant producing less than 150,000 cars a year. The whole thing just doesn’t compute. The jaws are tightening and I think in another year or two we’ll see a movie called ‘Who Killed Tesla,’ a conspiracy movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio””
Why so caustic, Mr. Lutz? Is this just one more stop in your ongoing tirade against Musk and Tesla?
“Elon, God bless him, hasn’t delivered a thing.”
“The Model X appears to be unbuildable with those automatic gull-wing doors, which everyone in the industry always said were not going to work.”
“I just don’t see anything about Tesla that gives me any confidence that that business can survive.”
Elon Musk “hasn’t figured out the revenues have to be greater than costs.”
“Tesla supporters are like members of a religious cult.”
But to be fair, Lutz isn’t the only one decrying Tesla’s success, especially with the Model 3. There are basically two groups of people who’d love to see Tesla fail. First is the shorts, obviously, who drool at every pip that TSLA loses; second is practically anyone highly placed in the auto industry – yes, the very one that’s being upended by Tesla even as I write this.
Now, who’s happy about Tesla’s success? For one, the Chairperson of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Mary Nichols.
Thanks to a surge of @Tesla Model 3s hitting the road, summer #EV sales smash previous records helping California round the corner toward 500,000 ZEVs!
With increasing range & options, there’s no slowing the pace on #cleanercars ⚡️?? pic.twitter.com/WxtjOlsfuV
— Mary Nichols (@MaryNicholsCA) 19 September 2018
When you look at the divergent nature of these two points of view, it’s hard not to realize that Tesla is, indeed, a very polarizing entity. And it’s mostly because of Elon Musk, the maverick billionaire entrepreneur who didn’t even start mass producing cars until about six years ago.
How did all this happen?
We can only surmise that the timing was perfect for someone to come along and disrupt the century-old auto industry. And that someone was Musk. Yes, we’ll give him most of the credit, but we’ll also give some to Lady Luck, who gave Musk the opportunities that he then grabbed and ran with in order to get Tesla to this critical point in its future (history?)
