Former General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz has recently vented his disappointment at how Tesla promises too much but delivers too little.
Even more so, he has expressed in a CNBC interview how Tesla supporters are blind to the fact that Tesla has been burning capital like no tomorrow and has likened them to "members of a religious cult."
After spending almost 50 years working at traditional automaking companies such as General Motor and holding executive positions at BMW, Chrysler, and Ford, Lutz just could not fathom how an emerging clean technology company that promises more energy-efficient and reliable cars could be successful.
In the interview, he said that "Tesla supporters are like members of a religious cult. Just like Steve Jobs was worshiped at Apple, it's the same way with Elon Musk." Lutz added that Musk is "seen as a new visionary god who promises this phantasmagorical future, a utopia of profitability and volume." The ex-GM vice chair tried to make it clear that at the very least Steve Jobs delivered with his promises but Elon is yet to prove anything. He said that Tesla's CEO "hasn't delivered a thing, except increasingly negative cash flow, and an increasing lack of profitability; more and more capital spending."
However, with Tesla's recent announcement of enormous third-quarter profit, critics have started to reevaluate that the electric carmaker could indeed be the next giant in the carmaking industry. Shares of Tesla popped by nearly 5% after this huge milestone and its sister company SolarCity also spiked 7% per share, proving how much investors are seeing a brilliant future for Musk's risky ventures.
Lutz still could not see how the entire merger between Tesla and SolarCity could benefit both companies as he explains that the Tesla CEO, who is also chairman at SolarCity, is only "tying two sinking ships together for synergy."
