One decade ago, he said Tesla would be delivering 500,000 EV in 2020. This looks more and more probable as we get closer to EOY.
That's the most important criteria to evaluate the success of Tesla (in addition to profitability). I'd say he's been the most reliable executive in the industry. No wonder why he's the CEO in auto with the longest tenure.
The quality surveys and several owners I know would beg to differ. Tesla has had, and continues to have, horrendous quality issues. Don't get me wrong, Tesla does do some things well, and they're certainly not afraid to innovate, but they're anything but "excellent vehicles".
I don't know a single Model S owner that hasn't had the door handles fail. It's a $900 repair, unless you haggle with them for weeks ant threaten to sue them, at which point they'll agree to pay for it, because Tesla knows they don't work.
Oh, and a tire/wheel budget of $3000+ a year is pretty excessive, too. (On Teslas, both are notoriously unable to withstand potholes and dips that even other cars with low-profile tires can just drive over. All that battery weight is a really bad combo with low-profile tires and thin-cast wheels.)
