Tesla Australia
Tesla Australia: History
Tesla Australia is a subsidiary of Elon Musk’s American electric vehicle (EV) and clean energy company, Tesla Inc. In Australia, Tesla is best known for their range of electric vehicles: Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y as well as solar panels and their home battery storage system, Powerwall.
Tesla entered Australia’s market with its electric cars and energy solutions in an attempt to capitalize on the growing interest in renewable energy and sustainability. They established a nationwide network of Supercharger stations for their vehicles to allow drivers quick recharging during long journeys.
Tesla has also participated in larger-scale projects across Australia, such as installing large battery storage systems. One such initiative is Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia which boasts the world’s largest lithium-ion battery to help protect renewable sources of energy and stabilize grid voltage.
Tesla’s presence in Australia has played an instrumental role in Australia’s transition towards renewable energy and electric transportation, in line with global efforts to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change.
Martin Eberhard & Marc Tarpenning founded Tesla Motors in July 2003 as a homage to electrical engineer Nikola Tesla. Elon Musk became the largest shareholder of the company in February 2004, before taking on his current title of chief operating officer in 2008. Tesla produced its inaugural car in 2008 – the Roadster sports car – before going on to produce Model S in 2012, Model X in 2015, Model 3 in 2017 (the most popular plug-in electric vehicle globally) as well as Cybertruck 2023 (Tesla Semi sold one million units globally). Model 3 also became the first EV ever to sell one million units globally!
Tesla is one of the world’s highest-valued companies by market capitalization. Tesla became only the seventh U.S. firm to reach trillion-dollar status in October 2021 and in 2023 held a 19.9% market share for battery electric vehicle sales and was listed 69th on Forbes Global 2000 that same year. By March 2024 it will become the most valuable automaker globally. Since its establishment, Tesla has faced lawsuits, government scrutiny, and journalistic coverage as well as allegations regarding whistleblower reprisal violations worker rights violations product defects fraud allegations stemming from allegations surrounding whistleblower reprisal as well as controversial statements made by CEO Elon Musk himself.
Elon Musk: Tesla Co-Founder
Tesla produces three other energy storage products: the Powerwall residential battery, the Powerpack battery for commercial use, and the Megapack designed for large-scale utility installations. In 2016, Tesla became the world’s first vertically-integrated sustainable energy company with the acquisition of SolarCity, the leading provider of solar power systems in the United States, and in 2017 released Solar Roof – a beautiful and affordable energy generation product.
Elon is the lead designer for SpaceX. He oversees rockets and spacecraft development to reach Earth orbit, and eventually other planets. SpaceX’s Falcon 1 rocket was the first private liquid-fuel rocket to reach space in 2008. In 2017, SpaceX achieved another first by reflying a Falcon 9 and Dragon rocket. Falcon Heavy completed its first flight shortly after. It is the most powerful rocket in operation in the world, by a factor of two. SpaceX will launch NASA astronauts into the International Space Station in 2020. In 2019, SpaceX completed its first demonstration flight with a crew-capable Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX will build on its achievements by developing Starship, a fully-reusable transportation system that will transport crew and cargo to Mars, the Moon and beyond, and Starlink which will provide high-speed broadband internet in areas where access is unreliable, costly or unavailable. SpaceX’s long-term goal is to make humans multi-planet by developing reusable rockets.
Founding (2003 – 2004)
Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning established Tesla Motors, Inc. on July 1, 2003, with Eberhard serving as CEO and Tarpenning as CFO respectively. Eberhard stated his goal to establish “a car company that also makes technology” while his focus technologies would include proprietary motor, computer software and battery technologies.
Ian Wright soon joined Tesla. Elon Musk then raised $6.5 million (equivalent to $10 million by 2023) through Series A funding in February 2004, having previously received $100 million from selling PayPal shares two years earlier. As chairman of the Tesla board and largest shareholder, Musk appointed J. B. Straubel (former Chief Technical Officer at Tesla). J. B. Straubel later joined as Chief Technology Officer.
(2005 to 2009) Tesla Roadster (first generation )
Elon Musk had an active role in his company, yet was not directly involved with its day-to-day operations. Their strategy consisted of first releasing an expensive sports car for early adopters before expanding into mainstream vehicles like sedans and compacts.
Musk was co-leader of a third $40 million round, completed in May 2006, which attracted notable entrepreneurs including Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page as well as former eBay president Jeff Skoll, among many others. A fourth $45 million round was completed by May 2007. As such, total private funding investment totalled over $105,000,000 after completion of this fourth round in May 2007.
Elon Musk led a motion for Eberhard to step down as CEO, which Eberhard did, taking on the title “President for Technology,” before leaving in January 2008. Marc Tarpenning left shortly thereafter as well, leaving Michael Marks as interim CEO until December 2007 when Ze’ev Drori took his place as both president and CEO – Elon Musk then replaced Ze’ev Drori on October 8, 2008, when Eberhard sued Musk alleging forceful removal of Ze’ev Drori from office; eventually, this case was dismissed within weeks by August 2009. Eberhard sued Musk in June 2009 for forcing Ze’ev Drori out, however, this case was eventually dropped within weeks after when Elon replaced Ze’ev Drori as President; this case was later dropped against Elon when Drori took his position; when Eberhard was forced out allegedly being replaced by Ze’ev Drori after Ze’ev Drori replaced Ze’ev Drori replaced Ze’ev Drori on October 8th 2008. After being replaced as president; Ze’ev Drori replaced Ze’ev Drori on December 7, 2008. Elon Musk replaced Ze’ev Drori as president when Ze’ev Drori replaced Ze’ev Drori on October 8th 2008. Eberhard sued Musk; this suit had already been dismissed by August 2009. Eberhard sued Musk; however, this lawsuit was also sued and dismissed in August 2009.
Tesla started producing their Roadster at an old Chevrolet dealer in Menlo Park in 2008. By January 2009, Tesla had delivered 147 vehicles and raised $187 Million with Musk himself investing 70 Million into the company.
In June 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy granted Tesla an interest-bearing loan of $465 million as part of their $8 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturer Loan Program to support commercial engine technology research as well as engineering the Model S sedan. Tesla paid back their loan with interest by May 2013 in return for $12 million.
Tesla launches electric vehicle sales in Australia, plans charging network
The four-door Model S can reach a distance of 500km, and accelerate from zero to one hundred kilometres per hour in just 3.4 seconds. However, the price tag is likely to put off many.
Tesla, the US pioneer in electric vehicle technology, has officially launched its zero-emission vehicles on Australian roads.
Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of PayPal, opened his first Australian showroom on Wednesday in North Sydney. He plans to open stores next year in Melbourne. Model S is the first Tesla available to Australian motorists.
The company also unveiled its first two supercharger stations on Wednesday, one in the Sydney showroom and the other in the Star Casino at Darling Harbour. These can charge the vehicle to half in just 20 minutes or the full battery in an hour.
Model S isn’t the first electric car in Australia, but it is the most expensive. A standard model costs about $117,000, which isn’t cheap. The price of the Model S is more than $200,000 because it has a dual motor that increases power and range and an autopilot that can change lanes and steer autonomously.
Heath Walker from Tesla Australia said that the vehicle’s 500km range and its acceleration (zero to 100km/h is 3.4 seconds) rivalled similar-priced high-performance cars. Heath Walker, Tesla’s Australian spokesman, said the vehicle’s 500km range and acceleration – zero to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds – rivalled similar-priced high-performance vehicles.
Daryl Budgeon from the Australian Electric Vehicle Association says that prospective buyers will need to pay for the installation of a 40-amp single-phase charger to operate the vehicle. This could cost an average of $1000 if the home is older.
The electric models that are available further down the line, like the hybrid Holden Volt ($60,000) or Nissan Leaf ($40,000), can be plugged into a standard 10-amp PowerPoint. Budgeon stated that the Model S was an aspiration vehicle, a statement of lifestyle.
Tesla will unveil eight more superchargers in 2015 between Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney, allowing vehicles to travel interstate. The company plans to expand the network of chargers to Brisbane by 2016.
Walker stated that the Gigafactory – a lithium-ion batteries plant, that the company plans to build in Nevada and start production in 2017 – would reduce the price.
The company plans to launch the Model III in Australia, priced at about $60,000, as soon as possible. Walker explained that the company plans to launch the newly announced Model III in Australia, with a retail price of about $60,000.
