the audit

Promise and Peril at Tesla

The Washington Post has an interesting look at Tesla Motors, the startup electric-car company that’s run into trouble recently. It’s a good time to be looking...
November 18, 2008

The Washington Post has an interesting look at Tesla Motors, the startup electric-car company that’s run into trouble recently. It’s a good time to be looking at alternatives to the Formerly Big Three, I’d say, and this one is also just an interesting business column—although it’s far too short.

Tesla apparently has a great electric car that’s faster than a Porsche and that it is producing at the rate of ten a week, but the company may go broke anyway. It seems genius is volatile, and its founder is a little bit troublesome.
But if the product is as good as it looks, maybe Congress should be taking a look at this company along with the dinosaurs in Detroit. I’d like to read more on this.

Ryan Chittum is a former Wall Street Journal reporter, and deputy editor of The Audit, CJR’s business section. If you see notable business journalism, give him a heads-up at rc2538@columbia.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @ryanchittum.