Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) has been on the market since the early 2010s and it’s hard to believe that Tesla didn’t invent the electric car in some way. Despite Elon Musk’s vast list of achievements, Tesla has failed at creating some products and services that did not fare so well commercially speaking. In order to determine whether Tesla will be able to hold its own in the future, we need to look back and see what has worked and what hasn’t, at least until now. Here are the top 10 projects failed by Tesla so far.
1) The Roadster
The Roadster was Tesla's first car. It was supposed to be a mass-produced, affordable sports car that would revolutionize the automotive industry. But the Roadster was plagued with production problems from the start. Only about 2,500 were ever made, and many of those had to be recalled due to defects. The next model in line was the Model S, which ran into delays as well. In 2012, it finally became available for purchase. However, this model also had its share of issues such as fires and suspension problems. Nowadays, there are two models left on the market: Model 3 and Model X.
2) The Model S was supposed to be delivered in 2010 but was delayed until 2012.
The very first car that Tesla Motors produced was the Roadster. It was an electric sports car that could go from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds, and had a range of 245 miles per charge. The Roadster was followed by the Model S, which was supposed to be delivered in 2010 but was delayed until 2012. The Model S is a full-size sedan that can seat up to seven people and has a range of 265 miles per charge. Next came the Model X, which is an SUV with falcon wing doors that can seat up to seven people and has a range of 250 miles per charge. The Model 3 was supposed to be available for sale at the end of 2017 but it’s not expected until 2019 or 2020. Tesla also unveiled its Semi Truck, pickup truck, and roadster at an event last year.
3) The Gigafactory
The Gigafactory was originally supposed to be a joint venture between Tesla and Panasonic, but disagreements between the two companies led to Panasonic pulling out. This left Tesla in charge of the entire project, which has been plagued with delays and cost overruns. The factory is now years behind schedule and still not operational. It was slated to open in 2012, but it is only expected to start producing batteries by 2020.
The company's SolarCity acquisition: Tesla acquired SolarCity for $2 billion on November 17th 2016. In February 2017, Elon Musk had stepped down as chairman of the board for SolarCity and announced that he would reduce his role at both companies due to their difficulty co-existing under one roof.
4) SpaceX
SpaceX, founded in 2002 by CEO Elon Musk, is a private American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. The company has an active launch manifest for 38 launches: 27 for NASA, six for other government partners including Secure World Foundation and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, and six launches of its own Falcon family of rockets. IPhone (eleven sentences): The iPhone is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It runs Apple's iOS mobile operating system. The first generation iPhone was released on June 29, 2007; the most recent iPhones, the seventh-generation iPhone 5C and fifth-generation iPhone 5S, were announced on September 10, 2013.
5) Hyperloop
In 2013, Elon Musk unveiled his plans for the Hyperloop, a high-speed transportation system that would send passengers through a series of tubes at more than 700 miles per hour. The idea was met with excitement and skepticism in equal measure. I'm not too worried about it, Musk said at the time. If it's not broke, don't fix it. But then he announced his own designs for a tunnel boring machine to help dig tunnels under Los Angeles in December 2016, suggesting that he's no longer interested in being involved with the project - which has now been put on hold indefinitely.
6) SolarCity
In 2016, Tesla bought SolarCity, a solar panel company, for $2.6 billion. The idea was that by combining Tesla’s batteries with SolarCity’s solar panels, the two companies could create a completely renewable energy system. However, the merger has been a complete disaster. The solar panel business is in decline and Tesla has been forced to write down the value of SolarCity by $3 billion. One-third of SolarCity employees have left since the acquisition, including several top executives. Meanwhile, there are reports that Tesla executives spend more time trying to save SolarCity than they do on core business operations like manufacturing cars or managing production lines.
7) Autopilot
In October 2016, Tesla unveiled its much-anticipated Autopilot feature. The system uses sensors and cameras to automatically keep the car in its lane and a safe distance from other vehicles. But just a few months after its release, Autopilot was involved in a fatal crash. Tesla has since made several updates to the system, but it continues to be plagued by safety concerns. With each new release of their self-driving software, Tesla noted that the system is still in beta mode.
8) Semi Truck
Tesla's Semi Truck was first unveiled in 2017 and was supposed to go into production in 2019. However, production has been delayed due to a number of issues, including range anxiety and battery life. The Semi Truck is now expected to go into production in 2020. There are also doubts that it will be successful as the company doesn't have much experience making trucks. Production will also be low at around 100 per year at the start, with plans to increase output to 1,000 per year by 2023. People are already questioning if there will be any orders for the truck considering that General Motors released its own version called The Silvia. For more information on this project, click here (link).
9) The Boring Company
The Boring Company is a tunnel construction company founded by Elon Musk with the goal of reducing traffic congestion. The company has faced several delays and cost overruns. The project was first proposed in 2016, but as of 2019, only a prototype tunnel has been built. In April 2018, Hyperloop: Hyperloop is an ultra-high-speed transportation system using electric propulsion to levitate passenger pods through reduced-pressure tubes. It was announced in 2013 and began construction on its own test track the following year. In May 2017, Musk abandoned his involvement with the company due to issues managing it alongside SpaceX and Tesla.
10) Solyndra (the battery maker, not the building company!)
In 2009, Tesla Motors entered into a partnership with Solyndra, a solar panel manufacturer. The goal was to create a new type of solar panel that could be used in electric vehicles. However, the project failed and Solyndra went bankrupt in 2011. This was a huge blow to Tesla, as it had invested $50 million in the company. To make matters worse, the U.S. Department of Energy also got burned when they lost about $500 million on their loan to Solyndra, which put them in an embarrassing situation with Congress. It turned out that Solyndra wasn't able to produce enough panels at a competitive price point for mass adoption by Tesla or other customers and only manufactured small amounts of panels before going under in 2011.
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