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Tesla Motors new CEO Elon Musk theory

By Amarendra Bhushan for CEOWORLD Magazine Updated:October 17, 2008

The news comes in the wake of several Silicon Valley venture capitalists warning start-ups that they must slash expenses and get to profitability as quickly as possible to cope with the likely recession. Elon is confirming that he will be replacing Ze’ev Drori as CEO, who will stay as vice-chairman. “With SpaceX now having reached orbit and about to enter its third year of profitability, I can afford to increase time allocated to Tesla.”

His theory, These are extraordinary times. 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. 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.

At Tesla, we have decided that the wise course of action is to focus on our two revenue producing business lines – the Roadster and powertrain sales to other car companies. In the Roadster, Tesla has a unique product with a large order book that continues to grow, despite softness in the automobile sector. Our powertrain business is profitable today and is also growing rapidly.

Our goal as a company is to be cash-flow positive within six to nine months. To do so, we must continue to ramp up our production rate, improve Roadster contribution margin and reduce operating expenses. At the same time, we must maintain high production quality and excellent customer service.

For this critical phase of the company, the scope of my role at Tesla will expand from executive chairman and product architect to CEO. With SpaceX now having reached orbit and about to enter its third year of profitability, I can afford to increase time allocated to Tesla. Ze’ev Drori, who has made extraordinary progress with the company over the last year as CEO, will stay on the board of directors as vice-chairman and continue to help Tesla make the right decisions. It has been and will continue to be a pleasure and an honor working with Ze’ev.

Special Forces Philosophy and Consolidation of Operations

One of the steps I will be taking is raising the performance bar at Tesla to a very high level, which will result in a modest reduction in near term headcount. To be clear, this doesn’t mean that the people that depart Tesla for this reason wouldn’t be considered good performers at most companies – almost all would. However, I believe Tesla must adhere more closely to a special forces philosophy at this stage of its life if we aspire to become one of the great car companies of the 21st century.

There will also be some headcount reduction due to consolidation of operations. In anticipation of moving vehicle engineering to our new HQ in San Jose, we are ramping down and will close our Rochester Hills office near Detroit. Good communication, tightly knit engineering and a common company culture are of paramount importance as Tesla grows.

What Does This Mean for the Model S?

Tesla is absolutely committed to development of our next generation vehicle, to be unveiled early next year. However, we are going to reduce activity on detailed production engineering, tooling and commitments to suppliers until our Department of Energy loan guarantee becomes effective.

The DOE loan guarantee will cover most of the Model S program at a very low cost of capital compared with raising equity financing in what could quaintly be described as a “bear market.” The loan funding can only be drawn down after we receive environmental approval for our new 89-acre consolidated headquarters in the city of San Jose. If all goes reasonably well, we will receive that approval in Q2 next year.

The net result will be a delay in start of production of the Model S of roughly six months to mid-2011. On the plus side, we will spend the extra time refining the vehicle design and powertrain technology, so the car will end up being slightly better.

Financing

The Tesla investors and I are unequivocally dedicated to ensuring the success of Tesla. If you have bought a car from Tesla or are thinking of doing so, please know that I personally stand behind delivering a product that you will love and continuing to develop new models in the future. We are not far from being cash flow positive, but, even if that threshold ends up being further than expected, I will do whatever is needed to ensure that Tesla has more than sufficient capital to get there.

I’d like to thank the loyal customers of Tesla that have stood by us through thick and thin. Beyond delivering a great Roadster, Tesla will find other ways to reward that loyalty, including among other things an exclusive preview of our upcoming Model S sedan.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk has been the primary funding source for Tesla Motors, from when Tesla Motors was just three people and a business plan to present day, having led the Series A, Series B and co-led the Series C. Electric vehicles have long been one of his primary interests, stemming from his days in the early nineties working on high energy density capacitor technology in Silicon Valley.

Mr. Musk is known for co-founding PayPal and Zip2 and founding SpaceX. The latter company is in the business of developing and launching the world’s most advanced rockets for satellite and later human transportation. As Chairman of the Board of Tesla Motors, he helps develop the company’s business and product strategy, and assists with knowledge of composite and metallic structures, domestic manufacturing, and navigating federal regulations.

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