"In 2012, when Tesla made its first Model S deliveries to customers, Facebook acquired Instagram. Apple launched the iPhone 5 and iOS 6. Barack Obama sailed into his second term. Superstorm Sandy shredded New York City and highlighted the ominous threat of climate change. As the nation recovered from the 2008 financial crisis, cautious optimism flowed through the airwaves as medium-sized tech companies seemed positioned to solve the world's most challenging problems."
"The Roadster, first introduced in 2008, was an irreverent spinoff of a Lotus sports car. Tesla unveiled the Model S the following year, but by 2012 automotive analysts doubted its viability. Making and manufacturing a production car at scale was a daunting task, and the swirl of borrowed cash Tesla burned was dizzying. The industry had seen startup car companies come and go. The odds were stacked against the California startup."
"That June, Tesla hosted a launch event at its Fremont, California, factory and hyped up its first customer deliveries under the guise of an investor relations meeting. The buzz was palpable. "In 20 years more than half of new cars manufactured will be fully electric," Elon Musk said to journalists in attendance. "I feel actually quite safe in that bet. That's a bet I will put money on." Even if the predictions didn't come to fruition, the characteristic bluster and fortitude was on full display."
The Tesla Model S completed a 14-year production run that transformed electric vehicles from niche experiments into mainstream contenders. Early deliveries in 2012 coincided with major cultural and technological moments, and early adopters embraced rapid iteration and bold design. Tesla overcame industry skepticism about building cars at scale despite heavy cash burn and past startup failures. The Roadster predecessor served as a bold proof of concept, while the Model S's launch and Elon Musk's optimistic projections captured broad public imagination. The Model S forced dealers and automakers to confront new sales models and accelerated acceptance of fully electric cars.
Read at The Verge
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