Boston, MA 03\/11\/2014 (wallstreetpr) –\u00a0Very few corporate CEOs are as well-known as Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)<\/b> CEO, Elon Musk. Mr. Musk wears many hats including being the founder of Tesla and SpaceX Corporation.<\/p>\n
Great Expectations<\/b><\/p>\n
Both Tesla and Elon Musk carry the burden of great expectations. Mr. Musk, born in South Africa, made his millions when eBay acquired PayPal (the second company he had became a owner of) in 2002. Musk started SpaceX to advance the cause of private commercial space exploration and has successful products like the space launch vehicles Falcon 1 and Falcon 9. SpaceX also makes the Dragon spacecraft which became the first spacecraft made by a commercial company to dock with the International Space Station as part of a NASA program that seeks to entrust private companies with the responsibility to deliver cargo to the ISS.<\/p>\n
Musk came to own Tesla Motors after making major investments following the financial crisis in 2008. The Tesla Model S sedan launched by the company in 2012 has enjoyed major success among technology enthusiasts as well as car buyers. In 2013, independent testing by the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) awarded the Tesla Model S a 5-star safety rating. Similarly, Consumer Reports also gave the Model S the highest score in their ratings: 99 out of 100.<\/p>\n
Minor Challenges<\/b><\/p>\n
There have been a few small speed bumps along the way. There was the slightly negative review in the pages of the New York Times<\/i> after which Musk disputed some of the claims made by the reviewer regarding the capabilities of the Model S. A few cases of Model S sedans catching fire were highlighted by the media leading to a 20% drop in Tesla\u2019s stock price in November 2013.<\/p>\n
The building of the Supercharger network all across the continental United States remains a challenge. The plan is to make the network available in high-traffic corridors to begin with. The setting up of battery swapping facilities in each of its stations is another major endeavor. Recently, Musk announced a $5 billion plan to set up a major battery manufacturing facility to produce cheaper batteries for a mass-market electric vehicle, which will be rolled out in the next three years. A lot will depend on how that mass-market electric vehicle from Tesla Motors manages to meet consumer expectations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Boston, MA 03\/11\/2014 (wallstreetpr) –\u00a0Very few corporate CEOs are as well-known as Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO, Elon Musk. Mr. Musk wears many hats including […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":15733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[2236],"tags":[635,2066],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-17043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-nasdaqtsla","tag-tesla-motors-inc-nasdaqtsla","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n