Total recalls: A brief history of Tesla’s biggest roadblocks
Tesla Motors has reportedly delayed the launch of its highly anticipated low-cost electric vehicle, adding to a list of challenges faced by the world’s second-largest EV maker in its colourful yet controversial story.
The company founded by the world’s wealthiest person, Elon Musk, had touted that the more affordable Model Y would be rolled out in the first half of 2025.
However, this has been pushed back to anywhere between the second half of this year to early 2026, Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources. Texas-based Tesla has yet to comment on the report.
Here are some of the biggest challenges Tesla has faced.
Rookie pains
Tesla made its first big splash with its debut EV, the two-seater Roadster, in 2008 – catapulting the upstart company into the limelight and planting the seeds for a seismic change in the auto industry.
However, two major issues arose at the time. First was charging – still an issue despite innovations to speed it up – as Tesla’s original EV needed anywhere between 24 to 48 hours to power up using a home charger.
The second was the price – Tesla charged $100,000 for the Roadster, pricing out most consumers. For perspective, while the Model S Plaid now fetches a similar price, customers can get a Model Y for as low as $41,490 and even the Cybertruck starts at a little over $72,000. That’s in addition to the plethora of options offered by Tesla’s rivals, particularly those from China.
Financial humps
In its earliest days, Tesla struggled with its finances. At one point, it had less than $10 million to operate with, and $50 million from Germany’s Daimler would not have been enough to support its lofty goals.
To address this, Tesla went public in 2010, raising about $226 million. However, the company was still criticised for its losses, and it was not able to post a quarterly profit until 2013. It was not until 2020 that it finally turned in a full-year profit.
Today, things are more stable. Tesla’s market capitalisation surged past the $1 trillion mark in 2021, at the time becoming only the fifth US company to join that elite club. As of Saturday, its market cap sits at more than $776 billion, good for 11th globally, data from CompaniesMarketCap shows.
Chinese rivals
Never mind European and fellow American carmakers, Tesla’s biggest headache seems to be the onslaught of competition from China. That country’s EV manufacturers have found a way to offer competitive vehicles at even more competitive prices.
The most popular of those foes is BYD, which in the fourth quarter of 2023 overtook Tesla as the world’s biggest EV maker, eventually knocking Tesla off the top spot for 2024 – the first time Mr Musk and Co did not finish at No 1 on a yearly basis.
As of January, six of the 10 biggest EV manufacturers are from China, data from CleanTechnica shows.
Total recalls
Last month, Tesla recalled thousands of Cybertrucks in the US due to the risk of part of its trim falling off, in the vehicle’s eighth and largest recall.
But that is only part of a wider picture. Tesla has been forced into recalls 79 times, according to data compiled by online marketplace Cars.com, based on statistics from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Cybertruck ridicule
The Tesla Cybertruck was the epitome of futuristic – radical design, advanced technology and a polarising reputation.
However, it immediately ran into trouble when, during its much-hyped unveiling in 2019, metal balls thrown at its “virtually unbreakable” windows shattered them. And since its launch in late 2023, the Cybertruck has polarised opinion – one side swears by its performance, while the other lambasts it.
The numbers are not helping either. Mr Musk predicted that 250,000 Cybertrucks would be sold annually, but since its rollout only about 46,000 have been sold, which is 82 per cent below expectations.
Musk’s politics
It is no secret that Mr Musk played a big role in helping Donald Trump recapture the White House, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the campaign trail. As a result, Mr Musk was named a special government employee (SGE) tasked with heading the US Department of Government Efficiency, which we know by its acronym Doge.
Doge’s mandate is to streamline and cut costs on US federal spending – AKA, in Mr Musk’s apparent strategy, fire people and take over sensitive government units.
For that, and for his alignment with the Trump administration, the retaliation against Mr Musk has taken three main forms. The first is falling sales – first-quarter figures were their worst in three years, while the second is investors punishing Tesla in the stock market: from a high of nearly $480 in mid-November, its shares more than halved to about $222 earlier this month.
The third came from consumers and the general public, particularly those incensed by his job cutting, with one popular protester slogan being “Nobody elected Elon Musk”. Tesla owners have also found creative ways to make their sentiments known by either “rebranding” their Tesla EVs or removing their logos.
As an SGE, Mr Musk is limited by law to working for the US government for 135 days or less in a 365-day period. It is unclear what his and Mr Trump’s plans are after this term expires.
Some of Darwish’s last words
“They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope.” – Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send “thenational” to the following numbers:
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MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65′, Barella 83′)
Verona 1 (Verre 19′ pen)
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RESULT
Aston Villa 1
Samatta (41′)
Manchester City 2
Aguero (20′)
Rodri (30′)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
RESULTS
6.30pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.
8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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More from Armen Sarkissian
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: “The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one”
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
The%20specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%204cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E261hp%20at%205%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E400Nm%20at%201%2C750-4%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10.5L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C999%20(VX%20Luxury)%3B%20from%20Dh149%2C999%20(VX%20Black%20Gold)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeap%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ziad%20Toqan%20and%20Jamil%20Khammu%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
– Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
