Tesla Roadster - The World's Most Important Car

"TheHondaBro" (wwaveform)
02/14/2015 at 17:56 • Filed to: tesla, tucker, delorean

You've probably asked yourself this many times: how the hell did Tesla become so huge? This is a valid question, considering they started out as an indy car manufacturer building a terrible electric sports car, now building the most advanced cars in the world. The jump from the Roadster to the Model-S was a huge one, and it was one of the greatest business strategies ever undertaken.

"Wait, you're saying that building a bad car was a smart move?" Well, yeah. Many people set out to change the automotive industry, but very few actually make it far. I'm going to talk about how the Roadster paved the way for Tesla's success, but first let's talk about a controversial topic: the Tucker.

Built in 1948, the Tucker 48 set out to change the automotive industry, and it did. Many features on the 48 made its way into the established automotive world, such as the "cyclops eye." This is the third headlight in the middle that would swivel with the steering wheel, illuminating where the car will be turning. The car was built with a perimeter frame as well as a roll bar integrated into the roof. All the Tucker's innovative features can be read on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Basically, it was a very advanced car for its time.

I'm now going to delve into the conspiracy surrounding the car, that !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! In a nutshell, they got the US Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Tucker, killing it off before it could deal damage.

Nowadays, the Tucker 48 is a sought-after classic, with prices skyrocketing. This isn't too different from the DeLorean DMC-12, the conspiracy behind its dismantling is a bit hazier. Basically, both the Tucker 48, with its advanced features, and the DMC-12, with its corrosion-resistant body panels, were poised to change the automotive industry forever, except they were suspiciously shut down quickly.

Both of these companies had one fatal problem: they came out to the world with industry-changing technologies, immediately marking them as targets. Elon Musk must have known this.

Tesla was in a dangerous spot when it began: Elon Musk set out to rid the world's dependence on gasoline. He knew this was an extremely risky move. In order to circumvent its demise, he did the only thing that would get him up there without the elite noticing: start with a terrible car.

The Roadster was garbage, Elon Musk himself even admitted that the Roadster was nothing but a poorly-executed hack job. What it did though was incredible. The Roadster gave him the means to build what he wanted to build in the first place, the Model-S. It worked out perfectly, because when the Model-S was announced, people thought little of it. "The guys who built the Roadster now think they can build a sedan? Wow, they must be thick." Except the Model-S turned out to be the world's most advanced car, and a serious player in the electric car market. People began to take him seriously.

At this point, Elon Musk is a part of the elite class. No one can stop him. No one can stop him. He did what John DeLorean and Preston Tucker should have done in the first place, which was go in under the radar. Now he can continue changing the world without obstacles in his way, and that's incredible.

SpaceX, HyperLoop, Tesla. We have all this...

Thanks to the Roadster.

DISCUSSION (17)

GhostZ > TheHondaBro
02/14/2015 at 18:07

The roadster was not that important. The fact that he followed through and didn't go bankrupt to make the Model S is what is important.

Also, PayPal is more to blame for Tesla's early success than the roadster. That's what gave Elon the income necessary to start Tesla.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > TheHondaBro
02/14/2015 at 18:20

Yeah GhostZ is right. The reason Musk was able to take such a large gamble on the Roadster and Tesla in general was the huge success of Pay Pal

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > TheHondaBro
02/14/2015 at 18:21

Time to get a time machine...

TheHondaBro > GhostZ
02/14/2015 at 18:22

Yes, but if he came out with something like the Model-S, he would have suffered the same fate as Tucker or DeLorean.

BigJayDogg3 > TheHondaBro
02/14/2015 at 18:38

I disagree. Elon Musk was flush with cash and investors, and had built a successful business in the past. He would have had the foresight and (more importantly) knowledge to keep all his dealings above board in order to avoid a Tucker-like fate.

I'm sure Musk knew what it was like to have the big guys in an industry try to take you down. I doubt Visa, AIG, and Capital One were in love with PayPal.

The Roadster was important in that it showed them how to R&D a car and where the pain points of an electric car lie. That knowledge greatly helped the Model S, and that process will only improve as time goes on.

TopSirloin > TheHondaBro
02/14/2015 at 18:42

Musk may have never had to experience trying to break into an already well established industry while on a budget. The guy's never really been cash strapped, and I imagine he had pretty much unlimated resources at his disposal to get his idea off the ground..

dogisbadob > GhostZ
02/14/2015 at 18:44

Can you buy a new Tesla with Paypal? :p

dogisbadob > TheHondaBro
02/14/2015 at 18:44

The worst part is that he changed the suspension so it's not the same as the Elise, AFAIK. That was a big mistake because less aftermarket support., if true.

GhostZ > dogisbadob
02/14/2015 at 19:08

I dunno. Probably.

Garrett Davis > TheHondaBro
02/14/2015 at 19:17

Just taking a little snippet out here, but it is no conspiracy why DeLorean went under. Poor reviews of his car, using terrible parts/labor, and cocaine are why DeLorean went belly up.

TheHondaBro > Garrett Davis
02/14/2015 at 19:19

From what I heard, the cocaine situation was a setup.

Garrett Davis > TheHondaBro
02/14/2015 at 19:28

The case was thrown out for entrapment, but he was most definitely trying to make the deal happen. Where he got off is that it was the undercover officer that offered the deal, not DeLorean, technically making it entrapment even though he was totally going through with it and was even on tape referring to the coke to be "as good as gold."

bryan40oop > TheHondaBro
02/14/2015 at 21:03

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

lol no

TheHondaBro > bryan40oop
02/14/2015 at 21:07

Here, read this:

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/tesla-roadster…

bryan40oop > TheHondaBro
02/14/2015 at 21:14

Here, read this:

http://forums.motortrend.com/70/6526109/the…

Why isn't the tesla roadster important? Well, it's not affordable to what? 80% of the population? Maybe more.

If they can make an affordable car with mechanical support network then yes, they will have th world's most important car. But for now, they do not.

TheHondaBro > bryan40oop
02/14/2015 at 21:24

It's important because it started the foundations of what would be a car company that would make the most technologically-advanced cars in the world, which would give him [Elon Musk] the capital to benefit humanity with things like the Hyperloop and SpaceX.

It's a bit of an obscure connection, but it can still be made.

MINISQL > Garrett Davis
02/15/2015 at 04:24

Testing the waters with a hacked up Lotus. Hmmm, I never thought of it that way. But you're right, Tucker and DeLorean jumped in with finished products to take on the big manufacturers, Tesla started with a niche product.

Someone once said "How do you make a small fortune in automobiles? Start with a big one." I hope that's not true for Musk, I want to own a Tesla some day and maybe if enough people think the same way they'll be around for a while.