Credibility Gap

Tesla, the electric auto company, has a history of over-promising and under-delivering.  Its excuses are for events the company knew or should have known, such as the difficulty of getting parts.  The question now is how long the public is going to let the company get away with its lack of performance before it abandons the vehicle and goes elsewhere.  Tesla has 300,000 back orders for its newest, $35,000 machine, but if it can’t produce its current model reliably, how is it going to pump out that many vehicles with efficiency?  Tesla is still a bit of a “wannabe” car company.  It wants to join the majors but it doesn’t have the industrial knowledge to make the transition.  By that, I mean making tens of thousands of cars with the fit, finish and promised power of its advertising.  Detroit still has an advantage because it makes millions of vehicles to Tesla’s thousands.  Tesla needs to close the credibility gap quickly, but hasn’t shown progress to date. It is becoming a PR crisis.