Auto123.com - Helping you drive happy

Will the Tesla Model S be ready on time? Elon Musk's $1M bet

Get the best interest rate
Khatir Soltani
Dan Neil, the Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive journalist who now writes for the Wall Street Journal, bet Tesla Motors president and CEO Elon Musk $1 million that the company's Model S won't meet delivery schedules.

Neil is among those who believe the big boss of the Silicon Valley-based automaker tends to make promises he can't fulfil, just like with the new car.

When Tesla gave out brief rides in a prototype Model S in April 2009, Neil called it "a far more ambitious – some would say unlikely – project" than Tesla's Roadster in his Los Angeles Times article.

He also wrote that the schedule promised by Musk was "an audacious timeline that makes many in the car industry roll their eyes'', adding that "even people inside Tesla are leery".

Photo: Tesla Motors

A week later, Musk replied to Neil. After a series of passionate e-mails, the two men agreed to disagree, throwing a $1 million bet into the mix.

The requirements for Musk to win are as follows:
  1. Series production models of the Tesla Model S have to be delivered to paying customers before the end of 2012;
  2. The Model S has to have seven passenger seats, certified as such by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and earn a 4- or 5-star safety rating from the NHTSA;
  3. It has to have a battery pack that allows en-route swapping at a highway roadside station;
  4. Prices must remain at the levels Tesla and Musk announced: $57,400 for the version with 160 miles (257 km) of range, $67,400 for the 230-mile (370 km) version, and $77,400 for the 300-mile (482 km) version. All prices are before any federal or other incentives.
Whoever wins the bet, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) will reap the benefits. Should it be Tesla, the company will have made a major PR coup.

As for Neil, who may have the most to lose, he said: "I like, respect, and admire Musk. And I want desperately to lose this bet".

''Credibility is the most important thing in the green-car climate; if you don't deliver what people expect, it tends to discredit the technology in general", he added.

So, who do you think will win the bet?

As far as we're concerned, knowing the incredible story of Elon Musk, we're willing to risk a cool $2 since we can't afford to make 7-figure wagers.


Source: Green Car Reports
Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
Automotive expert
As a car enthusiast, he tests and compares vehicles from different categories through the eyes of the consumer, ensuring relevant and objective reviews.
  • Over 6 years experience as a car reviewer
  • Over 50 test drives in the last year
  • Involved in discussions with virtually every auto manufacturer in Canada