Elon Musk and Tesla have been in the news
recently - and not only for the right reasons.
Elon Musk is considered by many, the real-life
Tony Stark aka Iron Man. Tesla has not only
become a brand through Musk, but thanks to
his innovative ideas and ventures, it has
become a reservoir of concepts and technologies
that are intriguing, adapting, and changing
constantly. Although Musk has no plans to
join the Avengers team anytime soon, let’s
dive into the top 10 untold truths about Elon
Musk’s Tesla - before he actually does.
Tesla A History Lesson
The company was named Tesla as a homage to
the Serbian inventor and engineer Nikola Tesla.
It considers Tesla’s brilliance and innovation
as the key pillars responsible for the electric
car it promotes. Besides that, even though
Elon Musk is the face of the company now,
he was not the founder of Tesla. Martin Eberhard
and Marc Tarpenning were the original fathers.
At the time, they were struggling with a problem,
which caught the eye of Musk and got him interested.
Because of certain strategies taken by the
then CEO, Musk had differences of opinion,
and that lead him to control the reins of
the horse and take the main stage as the CEO
and Chief Designer of the company. Since then,
the company has come a long way as Musk is
relentless when it comes to innovation, branding,
and thinking forward for the betterment of
Tesla.
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Marketing With Panache
In this digital age, we are constantly bombarded
with advertisements. They provoke us to buy
the next product, be it a toothpaste advertised
as ‘revolutionary’ when it comes to getting
those pearly whites or a savvy car that is
the ultimate prize on four wheels, making
your neighbors and friends jealous if you
own one. Marketing has been around a while
and nowadays more so. When it comes to Tesla,
the company sure knows of the potential of
letting itself out there in the digital realms
and catching the eye of the people. Unlike
other automobile companies like BMW, Toyota,
etcetera, Tesla has managed to make itself
a brand even though it’s a fairly small
company compared to others. Musk is pretty
active on social media, for good or for bad.
The real-life Tony Stark has escalated the
brand significance of Tesla as a result. His
no-filter like attitude on social media humanizes
the company unlike other brands in the automobile
industry that think a little more carefully
before making their presence felt on 
the internet.
Cars With Toys
Ever wanted to retrieve your car remotely,
like calling your dog with a stick? Had any
fears of sitting inside car interiors laced
with leather, if you were a vegan? Or did
you ever want your ride to open its doors
straight-out, like the DeLorean DMC-12 from
Back to the Future? Have no fears, Tesla is
here. With the brand comes its own slew of
toys fitted nicely in their cars. An autopilot
system in the car may not sound as ground-breaking,
but the ones in Tesla cars are the closest
to full autonomous machinery that we have
so far. The car can switch lanes, calibrating
the wheel and sensing the traffic in the front,
back and side. A HEPA filter using Tesla’s
bioweapon defense mode protects the passengers
from bacteria in the car. Still not satiated
by your futuristic tech appetite? Using a
phone app or your keys, you can retrieve your
car as it moves forward or backward. Also,
it cares if you’re a vegan, as the interiors
of the car are fitted with your comfort in
mind. And Tesla owners can charge their empty
car batteries with 150 miles of range in a
half an hour. Talk about quick service.
Model S The Most Expensive Tesla
Speaking of cars with toys, an upgraded Model
S is considered as the priciest of them all.
It comes with the price tag of over $200,000.
Now that’s a lot of moolah to throw at an
electric car. The model is upgraded by T Sportline.
It doesn’t end there as it comes with all
the bells and whistles you would expect from
Tesla, tech like autopilot, over-the-air updates,
advanced parking sensors, and so on. It has
approximately $80,000 worth of upgrades and
the interiors cost $25,000 and are custom
made. With a carbon fiber body kit and $7,500
wheels, this is ‘luxury on roads.’ Looking
at the upgraded version, that’s a lot of
numbers we are talking about. Now we just
have to wait and watch as to which Tesla dethrones
the S and takes up the mantle as the next
most expensive car. Only time will tell.
Setbacks And Failures At Tesla
Like other multi-billion dollar conglomerates,
Tesla has had its own demons to face. The
company sure hasn’t been able to maintain
a constant streak when it comes to realizing
innovative ideas and implementing new technologies
to challenge how we usually perceive the very
concept of driving a car. In one of the shareholders'
meetings in 2016, Musk admitted to it that
the Roadster, the 1st Tesla Model, was a catastrophe.
This was so because the gasoline-powered car
Lotus Elite was converted into an electric
vehicle, which resulted in high expenses,
was labor-intensive, and time-consuming. Apart
from that, there were manufacturing decisions
made for the car line, which were considered
a mistake. He was also pretty vocal about
the “completely unsafe” nature of the
model, even though it had passed all regulatory
requirements. Recently a Model X crash in
California in March 2018 has raised eyebrows
regarding Tesla’s autopilot features.
The 
Road To Tesla System Updates
Briefly mentioned before, like cell phones
and other electronics that need updates to
keep improving them, Tesla has also decided
to go for the update route. Our phones require
constant updates to weed out the pesky bugs
from the apps we use. Similarly, Tesla aims
for a continued support experience for its
customers by changing the user-interface and
offering other improvements within the software.
There have been people with issues regarding
car steering and one of the customers got
their’s fixed by the company accessing the
car database and adjusting accordingly. With
the upcoming version 9 update, Tesla has made
certain tweaks within the UI and has added
waypoints. Another extension is the Drive
On Nav feature added to the list, but it hasn’t
been tested yet. Although there is speculation
that it has something to do with the car’s
autopilot mode. With all the possibilities
that come with software installation in Tesla,
let’s hope it’s your own personal JARVIS
AI from the Iron Man mythology. You never
know what’s being cooked up in Musk’s
secret lab of unforeseen technology and one
can always dream.
Tesla Model S P100D
Tesla Model S P100D is the answer to everyone’s
prayers who have an appetite for the need
for speed. It is the new version of the Model
S sedan. Clocking at a speed of 0-60 MPH in
2.5 seconds, it is a competitive beast just
falling shortly behind the Ferrari LaFerrari
and the Porsche 918 Spyder. One other attractive
feature of the car is the price it comes at.
It costs under $150,000, which isn’t terrible
when you compare the cost with other supercars.
It also comes with the 100kWh battery that
increases range significantly to about 315
miles on the Emission Test Cycle and around
600 km on the New European Driving Cycle.
Fortunately, unlike LaFerrari and Porsche
918 Spyder that are two-seaters, Model S P100D
owners get four doors and lot of cargo space.
It is also considered the safest car, along
with the Model X, and is part of the Tesla
Supercharger network, which allows freedom
to travel long distances for free.
The Mark Of The Tesla Gigafactory
The Tesla Gigafactory is a massive undertaking
by the company and is the world’s biggest
battery factory. It is being constructed in
the middle of the Nevada Desert. After its
completion, it will be the largest building
by footprint. It aims to increase the production
of cars and will create large amounts of lithium-ion
batteries to feed the Teslas around the globe.
Elon Musk, along with other investors, have
poured millions to realize this project and
they sure are taking it quite seriously judging
by the impressive aerial shots of the building
being constructed. It currently occupies around
100 acres of land and once gotten over with,
might surpass over 10 million. When it comes
to whether it will be environment-friendly,
let's not sweat it. It will have solar panels
on top of the roofs and will utilize geothermal
and wind power to generate energy required
for the plant. As can be imagined, when it
comes to the cost of the undertaking, Musk
believes that if all car companies along with
industrial companies in the US, China, and
Europe merge together to favor the potential
of the Gigafactory, we can start using sustainable
energy in no time. Also, the government has
to play an important part in vouching for
sustainable energy. It is an answer to rectify
the criticism towards low car production and
batteries and also the high costs of Tesla
products. The factory will lead to more production
and because of the abundance in batteries,
the company will become more accessible for
people. The target is to achieve affordability
through economies of scale, once the factory
is completed and starts production. For those
wondering about the job opportunities that
come once the cogs start moving, Musk expects
about 6000 people to move in. The robots will
do manual work, but still, priority will be
given to hiring people to come work for Tesla.
Rise Of The Phoenix
During troubled situations, the best of us
can make the most irrational of decisions
to come out of it safe and sound. Tesla too
saw that phase. What it was promising was
not being seen by investors and consumers,
and the rise of complaints because of faulty
cars, lack of high production to meet demands,
and excessive costs was paving the way for
the company to dig its own grave. This led
to Musk getting in touch with the then-Google-CEO
Larry Page to sell off the company in 2013.
With demands like an $11 billion price point
and the guarantee to allow the company to
produce a third generation electric car before
and if the company was shut down or broken
up, Google agreed to the terms and conditions
made by Musk. Also, an eight-year timeline
was attached to the agreement, whereby Musk
would be able to operate. The deal was almost
in the final stages. But surprisingly in desperate
times when you think of taking the plunge
to save what you hold dear to you, Musk decided
otherwise. He made the decision to make amends
and give a bright future to Tesla. He kicked
out the senior employees and roped in young
people to work for him, including a well-oiled
sales team whose job was to give their all
when it came to delivering cars. With an efficient
staff at hand and a new hope, Tesla rose like
the Phoenix, without sounding too dramatic,
and managed to create profits that same year.
There were rumor mills spinning that Apple
also had set its eyes on Tesla. Despite the
company’s problematic past and the change
of ownership plans, Musk managed to pull the
company out of bankruptcy and give a fresh
start for growth and evolution. Now that’s
what it truly means to come back with a bang.
Tesla Donation for a good cause
Apart from focusing on innovation and thinking
about the environment, Tesla has also donated
solar panels to America’s largest non-profit
solar installer. The non-profit organization
GRID Alternatives promote solar energy as
the answer to solve air pollution, help families
who are financially stricken to live affordably,
and also career opportunities for people looking
for jobs. Along with the donation of the solar
system, it also included 15,000 hours of job
training for GRID Alternatives network of
area work volunteers. The move encourages
the use of sustainable energy and energy cost
savings and at the same time gives a chance
for low-income families to experience the
solar lifestyle. The organization has installed
around 9,000 systems, leading to more than
a quarter of a billion dollars lifetime savings
and estimated 30,000 trained participants.
Tesla and Musk have also made other donations
in the past, notably the ensuring of $37.5
million to Nevada’s public education system.
Let's all have faith in the company and aim
for a weekend getaway to Mars when SpaceX
makes that a reality in the coming years.
Maybe you could get your own personal Tesla
taking you to a galaxy, far far away.
But since we’re all still gonna be here
for a while, stick around with us! GO ahead
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