When all Tesla made were electric cars, and the CEO tweeted a lot less, the company didn't make as many headlines as it does now. The company has revolutionized the electric vehicle industry and announced the release of many new products, including the Cybertruck and Optimus Humanoid Robot, causing confusion and wonder.
The common denominator to all the controversy around Tesla is Elon Musk, and while many admire his genius inventions, some can't help but raise eyebrows at some of the things he says. Tesla may make the world a better place, but it also makes it funnier because of the many rib-cracking memes about the company and its controversial CEO.
The Underwhelming Cybertruck
Elon Musk hyped the cybertruck as a futuristic game changer with an indestructible body and lots of power. While the production has been postponed multiple times since the announcement, the launching of the truck was, in itself, an embarrassment. The supposedly indestructible windows broke during the launch, which caused the CEO to promise that the company would work on them before production.
The angular design of the truck, which makes it look like a vehicle from the '60s, didn't look very futuristic to many either. Tesla is still determined to go ahead with its production and buyers can only hope that the final version will be better than what the company brought to the launch.
The Controversial CEO
Elon Musk is the CEO of four different companies, but Tesla is the one place where he makes most of the negative headlines and the fate of the company often seems to hang in the balance because of the CEO's actions.
He was the chairman and CEO of the company until his proposition to take the company private in 2018 caused trouble with the SEC, forcing him to make a deal and step down as Chairman. After his settlement, he tweeted in 2019 that Tesla stocks were too high, causing the shares to lose 10 percent, which cost investors $14 billion.
Ambition To End Gas Cars
When Tesla launched the Roadster, the idea of a car that didn't require any gas or oil to move around was foreign. Even now, most buyers still want to know everything they need to know before buying Tesla and other electric vehicles. But the company's products always seem to be ahead of their time and that trend doesn't seem to be going away any time soon.
During a speech in July 2022, Elon Musk suggested that gas cars have no place in the future, saying, "Gas cars without autonomy will be like riding a horse and using a flip phone...." However, gas cars still dominate the auto industry and Musk's dream doesn't seem to be unfolding in full, just yet.
The Tesla In Space
Elon Musk has the ambition to colonize Mars one day, and all of his companies have been forced into the controversy. While Tesla doesn't manufacture space rockets, its first vehicle, the Roadster, became the first of its kind in space in February 2022.
Elon Musk put the vehicle on a test flight with a rocket launched by his rocket company Astra. The idea of a Roadster orbiting around the sun and probably going into the orbits of other planets wasn't agreeable to everyone. The most interesting meme is this one suggesting that unfortunate aliens may end up getting hit by Musk's car.
The High Costs Of Autopilot Packages
Tesla has some of the most expensive cars in the world, and for the high price, many would expect all the premium features needed for autonomous driving would be included, but that is not the case. New Tesla cars only come with basic autopilot, which only includes lane keeping and Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC). To get more autonomous control, owners have to invest in the company's updates, which are apparently good, but pricey.
The lowest autonomous driving package is Enhanced Autopilot, which includes Automatic Lane Change and Autopark, but it costs a whopping $6,000. When Elon Musk announced the launch of the ultimate autopilot package called FSD Beta, the company priced it at $15,000, which is close to the price of a new Tesla.
The Extra Attention On Tesla Car Crashes
Expectations are always high when it comes to Tesla cars because they are supposed to be the ultimate safe vehicles of the future. The skepticism surrounding the autopilot feature on Tesla cars is the main reason for the attention. The automation was accused of causing 273 crashes in 2021, which is understandably an issue of concern for Tesla owners.
Some say that there is no proof that Teslas are any less safe than other cars, but the high price tag attached to the cars and the FSD technology are enough reasons for potential buyers to seek clarification on the safety standards before they purchase.
High Stock Prices
Elon Musk announced that he wanted to take the company private and that he had secured funding to buy the shares for $420 per share. The SEC fined Elon Musk and Tesla $40 million for fraud after the slump in stock that the tweet caused.
The company's stock has continued to react to the CEO's tweets since then, but it is still high and often prices out retail traders.
A split of the stocks didn't change the prices much either because they nearly hit $1,000 again before the second split was announced in August 2022. The stock always falls in price when the CEO tweets something that rattles the market or involves something controversial, but it has always recovered.
Futuristic Sounding Names For New Products
Tesla product names always make headlines before the products are even launched. The names seem to be way ahead of their time, which is why people have high expectations of the products. Before the launching of the controversial Cybertruck, all Tesla cars had Model as the prefix (Model S, X, 3, and Y).
The launching of Cybertruck led some people, including Redditors, to predict that the company will continue with the same trend and use the word Cyber as a prefix for their upcoming vehicles. The company then announced that it would launch the Robotaxi and the Optimus Humanoid Robot instead, which are just as futuristic as the Cybertruck.
The Wrong Perception Of Tesla Owners
Autopilot in a car is an idea that is still foreign to many people, as discussed in Ted Talks about electric vehicles, and some wonder what Tesla drivers actually do now that the car does the focusing and steering on its own.
Some Tesla car accidents have been blamed on the semi-autonomous steering of the car causing drivers to be complacent. Tesla itself doesn't encourage drivers to leave everything to their autopilot though, but the perception of the media and other drivers is that Tesla drivers misuse the system.
Trend-Setting Products
While Tesla cars are expensive, they are enviable because of the qualities they bring with them. The Cybertruck's angular design isn't the best, but the earlier models are loved by many people and other car manufacturers have been copying Tesla's design.
The internal features, including the information system and the oil-free maintenance, are one of a kind. But the best part of Tesla cars is the powerful battery system, with the latest models packing up to 600 miles, which is the longest range of any electric vehicle on the market.