Imagine my surprise yesterday
when I, a Model S owner, learned for the first time that Tesla was running on fumes and almost BK
when I ordered mine in mid-April 2013! That surprise was doubled when I learned that Google's Larry Page and Tesla CEO Elon Musk had reached a handshake deal for Google to bail out Tesla. But, as fate would have it (happily!), Musk's and the company's fortunes turned dramatically upward precisely as the lawyers were papering the deal. In a matter of weeks, Model S "word of mouth" -- and resulting sales -- radically changed, skyrocketing Tesla's stock upward. The company immediately achieved profitability in the ensuing quarter and, as they say, the rest is history.
(That's me picking up my Tesla -- at essentially the precise moment when, unbeknownst to all of us -- Tesla's fortunes changed.)I love my Tesla -- have had it for nearly 2 years now -- and have nearly 40,000 miles on it. I have written several times about it (
here is my original post about my buying experience two years ago) -- including
my recent post about how the car essentially saved my life, or at least great bodily harm (I really believe it).
I also have frequently predicted that Apple ultimately will buy Tesla because the two companies -- and their respective founders -- share similar DNA (
here is my overall analysis of this tantalizing possibility from nearly 2 years ago -- well before such rumors hit the mill).
But, Google? Didn't see that one coming!
Then again, that was long ago ... and in far, far away land.
Tesla is a very different company now of course. And, it will have a radically different outcome ....
