Roadster

"When Eberhard had brought his idea for an electric sports car to Elon Musk, they had seemingly shared a vision for what the company might become. But with each hard-won milestone, the company’s—and Musk’s—ambitions grew ever larger. Those ambitions were running headlong into the realities of the moment: the Roadster was a mess, threatening to undo all of their future plans."

"The mechanics of the plan, reductively speaking, were this: Tesla would cut to the bone to save cash, and hope Roadster reservation holders didn’t freak out and seek their deposits returned. They would quickly reveal a design for the Model S to stoke further interest in the company, then again begin taking deposits. This would give them enough runway to coast until further investment could be generated. If the plan succeeded, they could eke their way through to Model S production. If it failed, they would stiff an ever-growing base of customers, all but spelling their demise."