Never a figure without some controversy following him – very often but not always originating with Twitter – Elon Musk has once again defied personal and business critics alike as Tesla enters the new decade on a high.
In the last quarter, Tesla delivered a record 112,000 vehicles, much higher than the forecasted 103,000. In total, this has seen Musk’s company deliver 367,500 cars and, as a consequence, saw Tesla’s shares hit new highs this month. Shares reached $451 (£345) on the New York markets, an increase of five per cent.
Feeling buoyant, Musk has been looking to the future, announcing that The Boring Company (TBC) (Musk’s infrastructure and tunnel construction company) will complete its major underground project in Las Vegas, Nevada at some point in the next 12 months, hoping it will be “fully operational.”
Once the system is operational, they will be able to transport visitors around the Las Vegas Convention Centre in vehicles supplied by none other than Tesla. The project in Las Vegas is already expected to be expanded upon with Musk announcing plans for very similar tunnel systems in Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington DC. Musk announced that the company will be working on “other projects.”
Musk came under much criticism from fellow business leaders and the media after announcing in an empty field near Shanghai in January 2019 that he would have a factory up and running there in “record time.” The Shanghai plant is now rolling 1,000 Model 3 sedans a week off of its production lines.
With Tesla building up a reputation for failing to meet some of its targets over the years, Musk has earned the right to look forward to the next decade with a renewed confidence and many of his critics would be wise to give him his due; at least for now.
