Tesla Inc. vehicles are transported on a truck after leaving the company's manufacturing facility in Fremont, California, U.S., on Wednesday, June 20, 2018. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
JOHANNESBURG — You either love him or hate him, is probably the best way to look at South African born entrepreneur Elon Musk. He's made space travel affordable and electric car ownership fashionable, but it has not been a smooth ride. Musk has burnt through cash like few before him, missed many Tesla production deadlines, making it the most shorted stock in the United States, but he's soldiered on. And this weekend saw Tesla build 5,000 Model 3 sedans in one week, a number that potentially allows the company to sustain operations. The big question now is around sustainability. Musk and the team reached said goal by pushing the limits, erecting a giant tent outside the headquarters used to create another assembly line, with Musk himself sleeping on the factory floor. But Musk has surprised many before, and one cannot discount him doing the same again. – Stuart Lowman
