And there is a much longer list of incredible features that Tesla has delivered and then there are amazing features that no one expected that have been delivered. That list also goes on and on...
Agree.
...but there is also the long list of owner-desired (basic) features that are not there, and were not inserted in MX or MS 2016 Refresh that continue to be questioned why they are missing by both prospective and new owners. Maybe some will be in M3, but perhaps not.
I also acknowledge that a start-up business has to be laser-sharp and focused on an objective to just stay alive in the early times, so earlier on I was willing to give more benefit of the doubt because of that. The challenge IMHO is Tesla is emerging from that start-up mode and is now entering a growth phase. As such, there is an absolute need to better balance customer requirements WITH a brand's vision for long term successful customer satisfaction and growth.
I believe many of our own (and that includes me) earlier-adopter, enthusiast, shareholder, and "people that have $100K to drop on a car, or another $20K for completely optional ludicrous mode" opinions here sometimes do not represent reality in regards to what future buyers (that don't frequent forums like TMC) and the masses both want and expect. E.g. we don't always consider as much as we should that as M3 enters the market, sure, having arguably the best technical EV with some wizz-bang features is a big reason to buy Tesla, but owners will also expect:
- basic creature comforts (think coat hooks, grab handles, more interior storage, etc)
- capabilities that other similar vehicles have (Infotainment) to just be there the day they take their new toy home
- reasonable time and cost-to-repair, along with cost of insurance (Tesla has to do something about better parts availability, as well as balance having a 5-star safety rated vehicle for the occupants WITH the post-sale cost to repair it when a fender-bender happens so insurance rates don't continue going up)
IMHO, Elon and Tesla have not yet demonstrated much focus on those sort of things, perhaps in part because Elon himself does not use or care about them in his own daily life and therefore see them as valuable as (future) owners do in even <$20K vehicles, let alone competitive non-EV luxury ones.
...there are also features that Elon has acknowledged as perhaps being mistakes or over-complicating the design. We know what those are to a large degree so it does not need debating. Tesla is learning which is good, but the question becomes, when one guy is basically in charge from top-to-bottom, will their vision (e.g. think falcon wing doors) and ability to say "do this anyway", loose the BALANCE required to produce acceptable product for the masses longer-term?
...we could also debate that Tesla has been absolutely lax at resolving non-safety/AP firmware bugs, like Service Centers try to manage and resolve physical problems for customers that look Tesla employees in the face. Yes, part of that could be because of the whole start-up discussion, or "software engineers" have at times been a constrained resource ...but, not all software engineers have to be perhaps the caliber that can architect AP -- others could be focused on fixing bugs and showing constant improvement to the fleet in littler ways that make a difference to how satisfied one is with their driving experience. I suggest in a vehicle like our Tesla that is touted as being software controlled unlike any other, and which has a complete OTA capability to distribute fixes to the fleet, Elon and Tesla have not done a good job treating more pervasive firmware bug resolution with the same intensity they do hardware. It's a shame, because as an owner, I expect failures with my vehicle to be resolved -- be that hardware or software related. Period. IMHO, firmware fixes have not been worked-on to-date because Elon does not see them as important, even if his customers do.
Leadership
I doubt most of us here will question Elon's vision and ability to get something earth-changing done. I sure don't. What I will suggest from my own personal experience working with and for many different sorts of Executives in my life, is that visionaries that can successfully start a business,
may be the same ones that can right a sinking ship by redesigning a business model, but for the most part the executives that have either of those abilities don't have the skill to operationalize, sustain and grow a business. It takes a rare individual that can do all of that and acknowledge their own weaknesses, then surround themselves with key leaders who are fully delegated and entrusted with complimentary responsibilities for a business to grow with some sort of checks and balances
on one another that balance out what needs to be done -- vision with profitable growth.
People have been using the Apple analogies -- well, think of Jobs who entrusted Cook and others as key operational leaders but stayed clearly in the middle of the big decisions, and during Jobs time a lot of new product innovation was started or restarted ...and Cook now in the CEO role who acknowledges he can't do it all, surrounds himself with the leaders he has and that we regularly see communicating on Apple's behalf -- while Apple has seen exponential growth in their business the last several years, but perhaps lately not the same sort of innovation in the early days of Jobs... although there are rumors of what may come some day. See the connection with my generalization on leadership qualities and where a business is in it's lifecycle?
I'm not sure where I put both Elon and Tesla in all that today. As I said, I think there is the beginning of a business transition going on, or that needs to happen within Tesla. I have read Vance's book, know who appears to be the single voice for Tesla these days, and have my impressions of what is working and what could be improved from an owner's POV. As an entrepreneur who has the financial means and percent of ownership he does, Elon personally chooses to lead multiple businesses. That's fine by me, but only if he makes commitments to his shareholders and product owners that he can meet. Excuses just don't count any more as Tesla enters it's teenage years and is growing up.
