Tesla bankruptcy an increasing possibility in a risky move to skip beta testing.
Tesla is an innovative automobile manufacturer with a focus on electrical and driverless features.
The American company has ambitiously worked on introducing automated vehicles into the market, and onto the road. It’s fair to say that Tesla’s bid for a driverless future has revitalised the industry, and stimulated the imagination.
However, Chairman Elon Musk’s zeal for cruising ahead of the competition has fostered rumours of a possible Tesla bankruptcy.
Following model behaviour
Speculation arises from Musk’s eagerness to skip the beta testing process for the Model 3. The Model 3 is the descendent of the troublesome heritage of the Model S and Model X
Fundamental to ensuring the commercial viability and safety of newly produced cars, beta testing can take up to a year.
Musk’s risky endeavour to skip it altogether signals a worrisome combination of over confidence and ill-advised market strategy.
The premise behind the move lies in eliminating the extra features of the Model 3’s predecessors. In fact, Musk believes that the troublesome ramp up from previous models was due to their extra features. These include:
- Two screens powered by two separate computer systems
- Three kilometres of wiring
- Falcon-wing doors
- Self-presenting door handles
In comparison, engineers have scaled down the Model 3 to one screen and 1.5 kilometres of wiring. Furthermore, its design does not include falcon-wing doors or self-presenting door handles.
By drastically reducing the additional trimmings in the Model 3, Musk believes that beta testing is no longer necessary.
Forecasting as little as two weeks for release candidates to be produced, the Tesla CEO seems confident in his tactic.
Theorizing performance
The new production strategy for the Model 3 is entrenched in the reduced complexity of its design. It seems as if the basis for its success is hinged upon reducing the force majeure of previous ramp ups.
However, while Tesla is transparent about mistakes with previous models, sceptics question whether his new approach is one of hubris.
Other car makers with more robust reputations in regards to reliability still adhere to stringent testing.
While Tesla is arguably a visionary presence in the automobile industry, the sub-par performance of its earlier models throws its dependency into question.
Pundits refer to companies such as Toyota as leading examples of following proper industry practices. For some, the Japanese company leads the way in car reliability. Furthermore, its efficient use of resources through its lean manufacturing highlights it as both dependable and innovative.
That Toyota still adheres to analysis and testing even though its products are consistently reliable, puts Tesla in a comparatively questionable light.
Queries surrounding Tesla going bankrupt seem to stem from Musk’s reliance on hypothetical situations.
While production worthiness can be assessed from past experience, it appears unwise to determine success based on design tweaks.
Tesla bankruptcy: fears from a bygone era?
However, the same instinct to jump directly to release candidates may be the key difference that separates Tesla from other traditional car manufacturers.
Musk seems immune to risk aversion, a personality trait that could be the driving force in bringing Tesla ahead of its competitors.
His technological background in software development may also provide predictability insight into performance issues that other manufactures miss.
Perhaps an alternate consideration is that Musk is keeping with his innovative instincts through bypassing possibly unnecessary production approaches.
If Musk is right, then critic’s fears of a Tesla bankruptcy could be reminiscent of outdated business models.
For now, only the performance of the Model 3 release candidates can provide concrete answers.