Step back for a moment. Sure Model s is a beautiful looking car and will have great performance BUT... Is this really the best way to spend 500 million of taxpayer loans. I for one would have been much happier to see a small commuter vehicle that truly could help to save the planet and the pockets of the middle class. The annoying thing is that Elon Musk and the engineering team could have pulled it off. Instead they chose ego over eco and built a luxury saloon for the wealthy.
1. Ford got 5.9 billion in taxpayer loans and won't pay it back for 25 years--if ever. Tesla already paid back their loan and yet the only complaints heard are for the measly 500 million that Tesla received. Something is rotten in Denmark.
2. No they couldn't have pulled it off--not and remain in business anyway. Small commuter cars have to have high volume to be profitable because they have to sell for a low price. You can't do that when you are a startup. You have to have high gross profits to cover your costs. This is just economics 101.