While Elon Musk deserves credit for SpaceX, I fail to see what credit he deserves for Tesla. The founders of Tesla and the designers of the first car should absolutely get credit, but Musk is neither. He delayed the release of their first car to get rid of the founder, in fact.
In all seriousness, founding a company and designing[0] a car aren't really remarkable achievements. This has been done many times. What's really impressive is moving from a glorified proof-of-concept to manufacturing at a massive scale—a feat rarely achieved by startup automotive companies anywhere in the world.
[0] Especially when "design" really just means an electric drivetrain and bits of custom trim for a Lotus skateboard.
Musk was a founding investor and Chairman of the company. The company was incorporated shortly before that. He also oversaw design of the Roadster. Before Musk's involvement it consisted of a handful of people and some plans to build a prototype adapted from an existing vehicle, the AC Propulsion T Zero. The Roadster project didn't start until after Musk's involvement and he participated in design discussions from day 1.
The first Tesla is a car for rich people only. The reason for Tesla's 700b valuation is the innovation that Tesla has made in producing the model y and model 3 and the current goal of producing the first $25k mass produced electric car.
That ship has sailed a few years ago: Volkswagen e-Up, Seat Mii, Renault Twingo, several models from BYD, Dacia Spring, Smart EQ, Fiat 500e, and even Renault Zoe or MG ZS in some markets. All under 25k€, including value added tax
Indeed. I was recently considering getting an ev and it's amazing how much choice you have in the "budget" segment. Dacia Spring is 17k€ (VAT included) and it offers 250km of range. Granted, it's equipped only with an airco and a basic infotainment, but still.
The only way Tesla can make a dent in this market is by offering autopilot and much greater range at 20k or so. Or by making a bloody fast car for young people (which will cannibalize their own sales probably).
