Tesla just gave birth to the next generation of supporters

Simon Alvarez

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Posted on January 1, 2020

December 31, 2019 held significance for Tesla, as it marked the end of another quarter. The day determined if the company could follow its momentum from Q3 2019 and turn in another profit. It also marked the final day when the $1875 federal tax credit could be applied. Yet, perhaps more importantly, the end of 2019 marked the day when Tesla potentially gained thousands upon thousands of new supporters and future influencers. 

On New Year’s Eve, numerous dedicated Tesla owners decided to help out the electric car maker in its push to deliver as many cars as possible. Some provided orientations to new owners about the basic features and functions of their new electric vehicles. Others provided pointers about configuring their Teslas. Just like the past year, Tesla’s end-of-year deliveries were powered, at least to some degree, by regular owners who just happen to be passionate about their vehicles. 

In Fremont, for example, large groups of people gathered on New Year’s Eve to take delivery of their cars. Unfortunately, the DMV caused a delay with issuing out license numbers, creating a backlog for many would-be owners. As the wait times turned to hours, Tesla owner-volunteers stepped up. Tesla Raj, a Model 3 owner who started a YouTube channel about his ownership experience, described how owner-volunteers contributed. 

“We helped by pulling groups of people from the showroom to do orientations where we covered the car inside and out. This helped ease the stress and pain in the wait… Lots were very pleased that we were volunteering, and they were interested in who we are and why we were doing it. We had a member following customers to their car for 1-on-1 training, and I was in the lobby gathering groups of people for a walkthrough-orientation. They loved it. They felt a sense of the Tesla community and what we stand for,” Raj said. 

True to his tweets, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also dropped by the Fremont site to help deliver cars to new owners. His mom, Maye, also paid a visit to the delivery center. Amidst all the waiting that resulted mostly from the DMV delay, Musk’s presence helped boost the morale of the Tesla employees. It also eased the patience of many owners looking to receive their cars. Arash Malek, a Model 3 owner-videographer who also volunteered his time on New Year’s Eve, described the atmosphere after the CEO’s arrival. 

“Before Elon came, people were getting really frustrated. Some people had been waiting all day. But soon as Elon arrived, you could feel the energy change. I heard an employee behind me say, ‘This is why we love working for Tesla.’ It was pretty awesome and inspiring to see the CEO eager to help deliver cars. Raj and I along with other members of the (Tesla Owners) club were giving future Model 3 owners full tutorials on how to use their cars. Everyone was genuinely soo excited! I had some people ask me why am I volunteering to help on New Years’ Eve. I told them that if it was any other car company, I wouldn’t, but the Tesla community is so awesome that I felt honored to be able to help the mission,” Malek said.

Tesla would go on to deliver cars to new customers until the final moments of 2019, and reports from the community on social media suggested that deliveries happened even after midnight. Some have mentioned that their deliveries were pushed to the next few days as well. Yet, despite these challenges and tests of patience, the Tesla community did grow significantly on the 31st of December, and a lot of it was due to the thousands of volunteers who dedicated their time to help out newcomers to the Tesla community. Thousands, after all, saw a glimpse of the Tesla community and how it functioned, and that’s really what matters the most. 

Seeing such a close-knit community of owners-enthusiasts and a driven CEO who spends a holiday with his employees is a pretty unique experience. Very few companies in the world have experienced something similar. The latest iPhones from Apple may invite long lines of waiting customers, but rarely does one see a longtime iOS user volunteering their time to help new owners with their devices. This is even more notable with other car brands. When was the last time avid Ford or GM enthusiasts volunteered at a dealership to help hand over cars? Such events would be difficult to recall. 

From the Tesla volunteer-powered delivery push to Elon Musk’s contribution to the year-end deliveries, there is a good chance that a couple dozen of new owners in Fremont were inspired enough to be passionate community members themselves. Perhaps some would start their own Tesla-themed YouTube channels. Maybe some with start Tesla aftermarket businesses. Perhaps some will love their car enough to the point where they recommend Tesla to their close friends and family members. This is pretty much how the Tesla community has grown over the years. It’s just happening now at a far quicker rate, with the adoption of higher-volume vehicles like the Model 3.

Tesla just gave birth to the next generation of supporters

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Tesla Cybertruck: Elon Musk pays year-end tribute to Blade Runner artist that inspired it all

Joey Klender

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Posted on December 31, 2019

Syd Mead is recognized as the brain behind the design concepts of Blade Runner, the film that inspired the unique and futuristic look of the Tesla Cybertruck. Without his mind and creativity as a designer, we would never have seen the Cybertruck become a reality.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk used Mead’s ideas for vehicles in the 1982 film Blade Runner as inspiration for his company’s newest release of the Cybertruck. Following the news of Mead’s passing yesterday, Musk tweeted, “Rest in peace Syd Mead. Your art will endure.” This tweet from Musk was met with responses from followers who shared their appreciation for Mead’s futuristic-themed artwork, especially considering it was a direct inspiration for the pickup that Tesla will begin producing in late 2021.

Credit: sydmead.com

Credit: sydmead.com

Credit: sydmead.com

Mead and Musk, two minds that have led their respective industries, had tremendous amounts of respect for one another. When Tesla finally unveiled the truck in late November, Mead stated the truck was “stylistically breathtaking” and said he was flattered by Tesla’s use of his design for their newest product. This was obviously a compliment to Musk who shared Mead’s comments on the Cybertruck on his Twitter with a series of heart emojis by his name.

Mead was born in 1933 and notes his father’s pulp magazines like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon as being the inspiration for his inspiration in science-fiction. He graduated high school in Colorado and after a three-year stint with the U.S. Army and a degree from Art Center School in Los Angeles, Mead accepted a position with Ford Motor Company in its Advanced Styling Studio.

After a lengthy career in the corporate world providing illustrations and designs for an extensive array of companies, he began working with movie studios on films like Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Bladerunner, Tron, and even worked with Star Wars director George Lucas to develop the All Terrain Armored Transport or AT-AT. Mead lost his three-year battle to a type of blood cancer known as lymphoma. Elon Musk was sure to give his condolences to the man who ultimately was the inspiration behind the design of the Cybertruck.

When the Cybertruck design was speculated about by electric vehicle enthusiasts, Tesla’s Elon Musk stated the truck was even more “Blade Runner-Esque” than designs and renders suggested. The truck’s futuristic shape and design were meant to be different than anything that was available to consumers today, and it is. “It doesn’t look like anything else,” Musk said at the vehicle’s unveiling event at the SpaceX Rocket Facility in Los Angeles.

Mead’s passing is unfortunate, but as fans of Tesla’s work, we should all be grateful that the man who designed some of the inspirations for the truck had the opportunity to see it before he left Earth. His work with science fiction films is impressive and his passion for his work has evidently led to other’s feeling inspired by it. “I’ve called science fiction ‘reality ahead of schedule,’” Mead said in a 2011 interview with the New York Times.

Tesla Cybertruck: Elon Musk pays year-end tribute to Blade Runner artist that inspired it all

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Tesla Model S gets another ‘Car of the Decade’ Award: ‘Nothing Else Comes Close’

Joey Klender

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Posted on December 31, 2019

The Tesla Model S was recently recognized as “Car of the Decade” by a sustainable transportation media outlet, and it was not a tough decision.

Green Car Reports has named Tesla’s flagship sedan as the best car of the 2010s in a recently published article. The electric vehicle arguably started the movement of battery-powered transportation by becoming one of the most popular electric cars ever sold within its first few years of production. The vehicle’s performance and luxurious features were what made Green Car Reports name it the “Best Car to Buy” in 2013. Seven years later, the Model S is still being talked raved about, making it impossible to ignore as one of the best cars of the decade.

Perhaps the most impressive piece of information regarding the Model S is the fact that it was the car that not only set up Tesla to become the leader in innovation in terms of electric modes of transportation, but it also sparked the revolution that began a serious phase-out of petrol-based vehicles.

In 2014, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in an interview with 60 Minutes that the Model S was a key factor in the company’s success. “I didn’t really think Tesla would be successful, I thought we would most likely fail,” he said. “But I thought that we at least could address the false perception that people had that an electric car had to be ugly, and slow, and boring like a golf cart.”

The Model S did all of those things.

The Model S has stood head and shoulders above the rest of the electric car industry for a majority of the decade. The 2012 Model S P85 has been available to consumers for 80% of the 2010s. Yet car companies who have entered the electric vehicle sector are just now starting to match the car in terms of its luxury features, notably its 17-inch touch screen.

However, no company has come close to Tesla in terms of performance. The company’s frequent release of Over-the-Air software updates that improve accessibility, entertainment, and performance paired with its industry-leading battery technology have made Tesla the industry standard.

The Model S put Tesla on the map, and the company’s development of other cars has kept them there. Tesla has made significant strides this decade by releasing an affordable sedan, its first SUV and Crossover models, and unveiled its first pickup truck. However, all of these cars would have never become a reality if it wasn’t for the Model S catalyzing effect on not only Tesla but the electric car industry as a whole.

Tesla Model S gets another ‘Car of the Decade’ Award: ‘Nothing Else Comes Close’

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