Bob Lutz, former CEO of a bunch of companies and often referred to as “the father of the Volt,” penned a piece for Road and Track regarding Tesla Motors. The title says it all, Bob Lutz thinks that Tesla is doomed.
We don’t necessarily think that Lutz is wrong in his assessment that Tesla is in financial trouble and that the Model X crossover is not going to pull it out. His reasons for Tesla being in that position are not seriously flawed. We are, after all, talking about a car company that doesn’t actually make money on the product it sells once you figure in the costs of doing business. Tesla’s heavy investment outside of its carmaking, including the initiial and continued costs of the supercharger network, the Gigafactory, and, as Lutz points out, the cost of having your own storefronts.. These are all worrisome.
What’s strikingly stupid, however, is Lutz’ way out for Tesla. He basically wants them to build a cheaper version of the Chevy Volt. He compares this literal destruction of the Tesla brand to Porsche building a front-engined car. You can take that ludicrous mode comparison for what it is. Don’t get us started on how Lutz’ own Via Motors fares..
