Author(s): Tim Higgins

Business

The fast-paced business story of Tesla- Egos, Engines and Elon's battle to build the mass-market electric car to change the world

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 e30k 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?

A fascinating, insider business story of one of the most talked-about companies in the world.