Power Play Elon Musk, Tesla and the bet of the century

Join the race to drive the future

Can a startup conquer the biggest and most entrenched industry in the global economy?

The petrol car transformed our lives, both as a lifestyle object and a means of transport. It created a new economy and changed the design of our cities, but also led to pollution, congestion and climate change. Electric cars are the next frontier that could save the industry– but will they ever be good enough?

Few people are crazy or ambitious enough to enter the automobile market from scratch – with infamously thin profit margins that require massive scale, against gigantic incumbent companies with global platforms that have been around for over a century. But Elon Musk likes a challenge.

Tesla silenced their doubters early on by doing the impossible and creating a luxury electric sportscar, but now they face the biggest trial yet: delivering and manufacturing an affordable electric family car to the masses – the Tesla Model 3. This is the car they’ve been promising since the start, the £30k electric car that will change the market forever. Hundreds of thousands have been pre-ordered, and are due to deliver around the world. Success would transform how we travel, bring massive environmental benefits and the potential to fast-track the self-driving car revolution. But amid high-profile resignations at the company, profit warnings and late-night twitterstorms, can Elon Musk and Tesla meet demand and deliver what they’ve promised?