Nov 18 / monicadhaliwal

Tesla vs. Texas

CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk announced plans to build a pickup truck within the next five years. Although the electric car company has a dedicated target niche by selling eco-friendly luxury vehicles, profiting from a pickup truck is going to be nothing short of an uphill battle. Musk told Business Insider that the company intends to build a pickup modeled on the Ford F-150, which is America’s top-selling vehicle (Weissman, 2013). Tesla aims to have a hybrid version of the truck by 2020.

Judging from this news, one might not see an issue regarding Tesla’s upcoming plans. Unfortunately, building an electric pickup truck may not be as hard as marketing it. As of now, Tesla’s home base of California is the source of half its customers, and the largest market for electric vehicles. However, the state of Texas is home to the majority of pickup trucks. Sadly, the ratio of electric cars or hybrids that the residents of Texas buy are 4% and 6%, respectively (Weissman, 2013). If that isn’t bad enough, “Texas banned Tesla from marketing its cars in state, thanks to a statute that bars vehicle manufacturers from selling directly to customers” (Weissman, 2013). The electric car company already lost at its attempt to change the law earlier this year. Unless it finds an alternative plan soon, building a pickup truck will be nothing but a short-lived dream for Tesla.