On June 30, government regulators revealed they were looking into a tie between the fatal accident and Tesla's Autopilot feature. The first fatal Autopilot accident occurred in May 2016, but word didn't get out about the incident until more than a month later. Musk drives the first production Tesla Roadster, but he is apparently relegated to Model S # 002 Jurvetson stunned an early 2009 Tesla board meeting by pulling a blank check from his wallet and filling it out on the spot to reserve the very first Model S to come off the line.ĭoing so, he even beat Tesla CEO Elon Musk to the punch. The first Model S off the production line went to none other than venture capitalist and Tesla board member Steve Jurvetson, complete with a telltale personalized "TSLA S1" California license plate. In a major milestone, Tesla started delivering the Model S to customers in June 2012. However, it wouldn't actually enter production until the end of 2015. The vehicle's most novel feature was its falcon-wing doors. By February 2012, the company had amassed advance sales of more than $40 million.Īt the time of its reveal, Tesla aimed to have the Model X in production by 2014. Just a few months later, Musk unveiled a Model X prototype, the company's first SUV. It was the last hour of the last day that it was possible," Musk said in 2015. "Even then, we only narrowly survived.We actually closed the financing round on Christmas Eve 2008. To help restore Tesla's coffers and speed up Roadster production, the company's board of directors approved $40 million in convertible debt financing. He also pushed the launch date of the Model S sedan, Tesla's next vehicle, from 2010 to mid-2011.īy November, the company's financial situation had worsened and Tesla was on the brink of bankruptcy. Musk announced he would be taking over the company and that there would be layoffs. It's not an understatement to say that nearly every business will be impacted by what has unfolded in the past weeks, and this is true for Silicon Valley as well," Musk said at the time. "The global financial system has gone through the worst crisis since the Great Depression, and the effects are only beginning to wind their way through every facet of the economy. Tesla produced the Roadster, which priced at $109,000, until January 2012 and in total sold 2,450 of them.īy October, Tesla was feeling pressure created by the financial crisis. To celebrate the occasion, Musk jumped in the Roadster and led four other prototype Roadsters packed with engineers down Highway 101 and University Avenue in Palo Alto, California.īy mid-March, the company had met its goal of getting regular production of the Roadster up and running.Īt the time, Drori referred to the event as a "milestone for the company and a watershed for the new era of electric vehicles." In February, Tesla's first Roadster was delivered.ĭrori managed to bring the Roadster into production on time and the first vehicle was delivered to Musk, who was serving as the company's chairman at the time. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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