Tesla has been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons lately. Once upon a time, they were the global leader in innovation and their sales were immense. Leading to their CEO, Elon Musk, becoming the richest man in the world. However, the company has experienced a u-turn in their fortunes since their CEO made the choice to meddle in American politics. Not to mention the horrible public backlash the Cybertruck in particular had after it launched. With Tesla dealerships being set on fire across the world, their latest move is just another nail in the electric coffin for Tesla.
How did Tesla and indeed Elon Musk get it so horribly wrong?
When Elon Musk invested in Tesla, the company was on the verge of success. He became CEO in 2008 and led the company to historic success. Their Model S was the hottest commodity on the market when it released. The EV became hugely popular and gave the world a view of what the future could look like. And for a while, it was good.
Along with Tesla, Musk had another company that proved to be hugely successful, SpaceX. The company was purely focused on space exploration and have established a satellite network that the world relies on. That just added to Musk and Tesla’s reputation. Musk even went as far as to send a Tesla Roadster up into space aboard one of his SpaceX rockets.
All the hype came to a point with the Cybertruck. Elon Musk made some amazing claims about the Cybertruck before it came out. The biggest appeal was the price and the range the truck offered. Range has long been the mortal enemy of the electric vehicle. The Cybertruck made some crazy promises before it launched for sale, all of which it failed to live up to.
What have Tesla removed from the Cybertruck? What’s the newest problem?
The Cybertruck made some insane claims before launching. Amongst the claims that Musk made were that the Cybertruck would be bulletproof. A claim that has since been proven wrong in spectacular fashion online. Some estimate that every Cybertruck ever made, has had a recall of some sort because of quality issues. So this new move by Tesla is just the latest in a long line of problems.
The range was a big selling factor for most of the thousands of people that ordered a Cybertruck. The original claims of 500 miles on a single charge were quickly replace with more reasonable 320 miles closer to launch. The company’s solution was to make a range extender that could be fitted to the trucks bed. Taking up a third of the space in the back was a sacrifice that a lot of people were willing to make, even pay for.
Now it has emerged that Tesla have removed that option from the Cybertrucks specs on their website. The range extender can no longer be found as an option. They quietly removed the option hoping that nobody would notice. The question is, why? Why have they done this? Some point out that Musk is keenly focused on other projects and the Cybertruck is not one of them. Being that it failed so spectacularly.
Is this the end for Tesla and Elon Musk? Or can they be saved?
With the world’s attention keenly focused on Elon Musk, his actions have extreme consequences for Tesla. His appointment as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency(DOGE) had the opposite effect as what the enigmatic business tycoon was hoping for. His cuts in the federal government institutions have led to a huge amount of public backlash. The world is looking for the next Tesla, and one must ask, if Elon Musk continues with his escapades in the American political arena, what will the end be for Tesla and his other companies look like?
