THE CAR COACH REPORTS:

April 7th, 2017

Hubris? Edition

When I read this http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/tesla-model-3-will-go-straight-productio-without-prerelease-testing about Tesla not preproduction testing its Model 3, I have to cringe.

Tesla is an innovator. No doubt about it. But sometimes bucking conventional wisdom for the sake of doing so isn’t the best course of action.  I mean let’s face it. The Model 3 is pretty much an all-in bet, is it not? Deposits have been taken, and this is the model that will supposedly propel Tesla forward. But real world testing helps solidify a quality product and work out the bugs.  And testing and working out of bugs is kind of important when you have more or less bet it all.

I wonder if maybe Tesla’s decision is hubris and not just breaking from tradition to break from tradition’s sake. Just this week Tesla surpassed Ford as the most profitable American auto maker. TheVerge wrote a piece http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/4/15180402/tesla-most-valuable-carmaker-market-capitalization-ford-gm that posits perhaps Tesla’s value is from promise and not actual dollars and profitability. And so, perhaps, the reasoning could be that Tesla is changing the future and testing isn’t necessary.

As idealistic as Tesla’s investors may be, they are investors and eventually they will want to see something for their money besides a loss. Which brings me back to the decision to not test the Model 3.

In a lab, a vacuum, a boardroom, even on a computer the environment is perfect and everything works. But in real life, nothing is ever perfect and mistake and malfunction after mistake and malfunction for parts that don’t fit or work properly can get expensive over time. And if things don’t work properly, consumers get annoyed and maybe even hurt and that affects a company’s credibility and then their profitability.

Which makes me think this decision is based on hubris. I think Tesla and Musk are betting that even if the Model 3 isn’t perfect when it comes out, Tesla fans will still be Tesla fans, much like Apple fans are Apple fans no matter how lackluster the product may be.

But, what do you think?

Post your comments on Twitter @LaurenFix

Final Thought:

Prom season is upon us. After the corsages have dried and the tuxes returned what else is there to do? Watch this video of a limo derby of course. http://blackflag.jalopnik.com/a-limousine-demolition-derby-is-the-ultimate-ending-to-1794058563

In my opinion, the comments to this post and the subsequent derbies posted are just as good, if not better.

Post your comments on Twitter @LaurenFix

Love Your Car! See you next week!

–Lauren Fix