Investor's Corner

Bob Lutz Says Tesla Is Doomed

Bob Lutz has written a piece for Road & Track in which he questions whether Tesla is financially viable. He would tell Elon Musk to do things very differently.

elon musk

Writing in the current issue of Road & Track, automotive executive Bob Lutz says that Tesla is doomed to failure, and soon. Lutz has been a prominent person in the world of auto manufacturing for more than four decades having worked at General Motors, BMW, Ford and Chrysler throughout his career. He is credited with being directly involved with the development of the BMW 3 Series, the Holden Manero based Pontiac GTO, the Ford Explorer, the Dodge Viper, and the Saturn Sky. His signature car was the stillborn Cadillac Sixteen.

In his essay, Lutz writes, “Tesla’s showing all the signs of a company in trouble: bleeding cash, securitized assets, and mounting inventory. It’s the trifecta of doom for any automaker, and anyone paying attention probably saw this coming a mile away.” He is especially critical of Tesla’s sales model that uses company stores. He understands that Elon Musk is using Apple stores as his marketing model, but says the car business and the computer business are completely different animals.

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