It didnt happen by chance that the main movie character from the hit “Iron Man” is a prototype of Teslas CEO Elon Musk – billionaire industrialist. The chief executive has aimed to revolutionize transportation and that could only be done by a engineer, tinkerer and entrepreneur.
“I don’t spend my time pontificating about high-concept things; I spend my time solving engineering and manufacturing problems,” said Musk, 42, in a factory-floor interview for Bloomberg.
“Have you seen my desk? It’s right there in the middle of the factory,” he added, pointing to a work-space beside the Model S line. “It doesnt look like Tony Stark’s office.”
Tesla is an automotive industry phenomenon, with leading share price jump that dramatically hit the skies of its first quarterly profit. Adding to that Model S review by Consumer Reports magazine and rushed repayment of the Energy Department loan that got the company’s factory into operation. Beyond this year’s goal of selling 21,000 electric sedans, South African-born Musk wants to one day make a half-million battery-powered cars annually at California’s lone auto-assembly plant.
Teslas recent success didnt come easily as company was struggling to sell 400 cars a week just last year while now this seems like a walk in the park for the electric vehicle producer.
Along with the auto business Musk also runs rocket maker Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, and is chairman of solar-power provider SolarCity Corp. Gains for Tesla and SolarCity shares, along with expanding SpaceX business, have pumped Musk’s fortune to $6.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Tesla’s Fremont facility is highly self-contained compared with most large auto plants. It produces its own aluminum body panels and chassis parts, molds plastic components and even die-casts individual metal components. Company seeks deep vertical integration which is important for such an innovative technology.
“We still have a lot to learn and can get a lot better, but I think we’re pretty good at this point managing the supply chain for tens of thousands of units a year,” he said. “We’re going to really have to step things up.” concluded the CEO for Bloomberg.
Teslas share price dropped 2.03% yesterday but is more than 275% up till the beginning of the year.
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