Written by Reananda Hidayat PermonoCompleted Master of Science - MS, Petroleum Geology from Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
Are Tesla and Elon Musk in Trouble?
Last week, federal safety regulators announced that they had conducted multiple investigations of Elon Musk’s Tesla for various reasons.
For instance, one report will examine a fatal crash in California that may involve Tesla’s automated driving system.
It comes a few weeks after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asked the company to recall more than 350,000 vehicles to update “Full Self-Driving” software.
The safety regulators are concerned that the programming “didn’t adhere to traffic laws and could cause crashes.”
It was a warning for Musk’s promises that Tesla vehicles will have self-driving capabilities soon.
These issues give an assumption that Tesla is losing its way.
Furthermore, it faces tough competition from other automakers investing billions of dollars in electric car projects.
Experts say Tesla’s problems go way beyond Elon Musk.
Structural problems exist since the company’s stock fell in April 2022 when Elon Musk launched his Twitter bid.
It happened due to high prices, and limited designs make it vulnerable to compete with older automakers.
For example, competitors like Ford offer the F-150 “Lightning” electric truck.
On the other hand, Tesla’s Model S is more than ten years old now.
Musk’s overpromised and underdelivered key features, including the “Full Self-Driving” capabilities, also worsen everything.
During the recent Investor Day, he outlined a “plan” to end the world’s use of fossil fuels without explaining it deeper.