#Tesla #reached #peak
Tesla was the first manufacturer to prove that there was a market for EVs. This has helped make it the most valuable car company in the world and prompted traditional manufacturers to enter the electric vehicle market. Lately, though, Tesla has been slow to innovate.
It hasn’t launched a new car in years. The company reportedly canceled plans for a low-cost model in the face of growing competition. The launch of the Cybertruck was marked by problems. A fully autonomous driving mode, long promised, remains elusive. Musk, who is also CEO of space company SpaceX and owner of social media platform X, has alienated many consumers with his polarizing behavior.
Tesla’s market share of electric vehicle sales in the United States is now 51%, down from 65% two years ago.
There are many factors at play, but at the root of Tesla’s problems is the mercurial Musk, who I interviewed in a surreal conversation in 2018, during the worst moments of the Model 3’s production problems.
Musk is a businessman who has always suffered major fluctuations. These days, it’s eschewing manufacturers’ traditional strategy of offering gradual updates every year and introducing a few new models every decade. Instead, he is banking on major innovations, including the Cybertruck and especially autonomous driving mode, to revive Tesla.
“Right now, he only seems interested in photos of Mars,” said my colleague Jack Ewing, who has been talking to sources familiar with what’s going on inside Tesla. “He seems bored with the idea of releasing an updated Model 3.”
That strategy may appeal to Musk’s world-conquering ambitions, but it’s not a winning formula in the auto business, which is driven by incremental updates and the regular introduction of new models.
Tesla, which does not have a media relations department, did not respond to a request for comment.
