Having listened to every quarterly call since 2013... 4 memorable EM quotes (paraphrased)...
Elon to investors - Model X will be really straight forward (2014?) we have the skateboard base.
You should see the plans they're like an alien dreadnaught.
5000 model 3's by end of 2017 - I guarantee it.
You should see model 3 - it's like a spaceship.
and then it all takes a MASSIVE 180.
Elon to investors, X being 2-3 years late... Model X is incredible. Probably the most complicated car ever made. It's amazing. It's a work of art - just the seatbacks (the ones that scratch really easily). We probably over-engineered it. I'm guilty of that.
Humans are over-rated. We had this machine. This fluff layer. It was crazy. The robot couldn't pick it up, it didn't work. Then we realised we didn't need this fluff layer. We had conveyor belts everywhere. (I'm really not joking - the wording was that stupid, like Trump stupid).
(on the 2 big Gigafactory battery assembly delays). We over-estimated our core things. I'm responsible. Production barely at 1000 cars.
Then the under-sell starts... well - it's minimalist. You want 2 screens - buy a model S or X. You want a hatchback. Same. You want a heads-up-display? "no soup for you. Next!" Ok, that last bit's a joke
And I haven't even mentioned Vernon (the caver) or the $420 fiasco.
Any other CEO would be ousted for just 1 or 2 of these.
I wonder if the latest fiascos about pricing are because that guy took over from Deepak (who left for the 2nd time) - and Tesla really doesn't know their pricing strategy any more... or fundamentals about lease commitments!