A Sight Through Time: Tesla History

On July 1, 2023, the electric car company Tesla will celebrate its 20th anniversary. As one of the used Tesla dealerships in Indianapolis, Indy Auto Man has been dealing with these electric vehicles for more than a decade. You can always find several good Tesla options in our car lot – browse the inventory online right now!

For two whole decades, Tesla has revolutionized the automobile and energy industries. The company is famous for its bold ideas and implementations, stirring the minds of car enthusiasts. And today, we offer a quick look at the brand history.

The first electric cars were born long before Tesla. Back in the early 20th century, electric cars were already cruising the streets of America.

According to The Washington Post, in 1901, about 38 percent of cars in the United States were electric, 40 percent were steam-powered, and only 22 percent were gasoline-powered.

We can safely assume that even a century ago, people were concerned about maintaining a healthy environment.

The real popularity of electric cars at that time was brought by the first persons of America, namely the President of the United States of America, William Howard Taft, and his wife Helen. It was Helen, riding on the roads behind the wheel of an electric car, which triggered a boom in sales.

However, soon enough the popularity of electric cars was trampled by the “Tin Lizzie” – the Ford Model T gasoline-powered car produced by the Ford Motor Company, which became the first car in the world to be produced in a million series. The simplified design coupled with low production costs dropped the market: the Ford Model T sold for $650, while the price of a similar performance electric car reached $1,750.

By the beginning of the 30s, the Texas oil boom gave up on electric cars: the country became rich in cheap fuel, and the number of gas stations has grown dramatically, including in rural areas, where people often did not have access to electricity. So electric cars were consigned to oblivion for several long decades.

Today, a casual conversation about Tesla would not go without mentioning the main “brain” of the company – Elon Musk. But if you happen to meet a meticulous interlocutor, who likes to appeal to dry facts about the whole history of Tesla, he will remember the names of Martin Eberhard – an electrical engineer, and Mark Turpenning – a computer developer. It is thanks to the tandem of these men, inspired by the colossal breakthroughs in the development of computer, mobile, and energy technology at the end of the twentieth century, that we now have the pleasure of witnessing the existence of Tesla in principle.

The company name was naturally born as a tribute to the inventor Nikola Tesla, whose development – the asynchronous AC motor – Eberhard and Tarpenning intended to use in their cars. The idea was that the car should provide all the advantages and absorb the characteristics of a high-end sports car, but at a lower cost to the customer and minimal resource cost to the planet.

The plan was: acceleration to 100 kilometers per hour in 3.9 seconds, zero tailpipe emissions, and a selling price below half that of the cheapest sports car. The thorny path to creating an electric car that is not only as environmentally friendly as possible but also put into production, led this tandem to the negotiating table with Elon Musk – their first major investor, who later became the chairman of the company. It would seem that a real Dream team was formed.

The team’s first brainchild was an electric car called The Roadster. Its production and release became a stumbling block between Elon Musk and the original tandem of inspirers Martin and Mark. Colossal financial expenses, which exceeded the original budget many times over, and different views on the style and concept of The Roadster led to a split at the top of Tesla.

Even though the first presentation of The Roadster can be considered a success (even Arnold Schwarzenegger, then Governor of California, was present at the event), the electric car’s release date was constantly postponed. Different hypotheses can be put forward about the degree of responsibility of Dream Team members in The Roadster’s first mistakes, but the fact remains that very soon Elon Musk became the CEO of Tesla.

The company’s strict management by Elon Musk gave its fruit – the model became a success. By the end of 2012 the number of cars left the assembly line was 2,600 units. The characteristics of an electric car surpassed all expectations – the car accelerated to 60 miles (100 km) per hour in 3.6 seconds and could go 220 miles (350 km) without recharging. The Roadster reached 125 miles per hour and was in fact the world’s first available all-electric vehicle.

Next, in 2012, the Tesla Model S was released. On a single battery charge, the Model S can travel 265 miles. Full battery charging time has been reduced to 30 minutes. In the most expensive configuration, the car is able to accelerate to 62 miles (100 kilometers per hour) in 3.1 seconds. Today prices for the Model S start at $100,000.

In 2015, Tesla set its sights on producing its first full-size crossover, the Tesla Model X, which is capable of covering about 311 miles (about 500 kilometers) on a single battery charge.

Over time, Musk managed to get closer to the realization of the original mission and the idea declared by Tesla: the cost of electric cars is reduced, and the characteristics are not inferior to cars powered by gasoline engines.

In 2017, the world is presented with the Tesla Model 3 – an economical electric car, the price of the standard version of which does not exceed $46 thousand today. During the first week of presales, 325,000 people reserved the car. But Musk didn’t stop there.

In 2017 Tesla held a presentation of the electric truck Tesla Semi, deliveries of which began in 2019.

Without recharging the battery, the Tesla Semi can travel up to 500 miles (about 800 kilometers). The unladen vehicle will accelerate to 100 km/h in 5 seconds, and with a full load of 36 tons, the acceleration time will be 20 seconds. The battery of an electric truck is fully charged in just 40 minutes.

Curiously enough, even in the year of the Tesla Semi presentation, the company began to receive orders from global corporations. It is known that only PepsiCo booked 100 electric trucks for its own logistics service.

In March 2019, Tesla produced its first SUV, the sixth model, the Model Y. Series production of the vehicles was launched in 2020, the year the world was shaken by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Model Y has an uncharged range of 230 miles and accelerates to 100 kilometers per hour in 5.9 seconds. The car will have a top speed of 120 miles per hour.

The number of electric cars still loses out many times over the number of gasoline-powered cars. However, in big cities like Indianapolis, the number of people with a conservative view of cars is getting smaller and smaller every day. We live in an era of conscious consumption and principles of respect for the environment.

Modern electric cars, especially those produced by Tesla, are distinguished not only by their elegant, minimalist design, which has become the company’s trademark, but also by the richness of various functions. These features will turn daily driving into an almost relaxing process even for a mother with many children, busy with packages from Walmart, a stroller with a baby, and a group of active children around her.

• Last year, nearly 1.5 million people around the world became Tesla owners.
• The most popular models were the Model 3 electric sedan and the Model Y crossover.
• Tesla prices have recently become more affordable. For example, the Tesla Model 3 Performance is now 20 percent cheaper – be prepared to pay just $56,900 instead of $70,000, and you’ll get a Tesla Model Y for $52,900 instead of $66,000. Save even more buying a used Tesla .

Keeping up with the times and being in tune with your anxious thoughts about the future of the environment is possible today, thanks to Tesla. Stay Mobile. Stay Eco Friendly. And buy a used Tesla at the Indy Auto Man dealership– check our Indianapolis inventory right now!