Cars and Drivers

How the Tesla Is Different From Ford's Model T

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: May 5, 2016 6:46 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 9:51 am

Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) may be able to build fewer than 90,000 of its three models this year. Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) produced 9,000 to 10,000 Model T cars a day in 1925.

It can be argued that the Tesla is a more complex machine. That comparison to the Model T is reasonable when the simple Ford car is looked at through the lens of history. However, when compared side by side, the argument is not as true. Much of the technology used 90 years ago to build the Model T was new at the time and revolutionary, as was the process used to assemble it.

The comparison is absurd on most levels. Tesla does not plan to build 500,000 cars a year until 2018. It has a backlog of 350,000 of its new inexpensive Model 3 electric cars. And demand for the Model S and Model X continue to be extraordinary. One of Tesla’s problems is that battery manufacturing will not ramp up until late 2016. The company said in its quarterly letter:

We remain on plan to make the first cells at the Gigafactory in Q4 2016, and we are adjusting our plans there to accommodate our revised build plan.

The news about the factory is good for potential buyers:

The growth in Model S orders and the Model X reservation conversion rate support our plan of 80,000 to 90,000 deliveries in 2016. Notably, this demand level was reached ahead of the Model S refresh, before Model X could be seen in stores, and prior to the unveiling of Model 3, which we believe is stimulating demand for all of our vehicles.

One other difference with Ford in 1925 is that history tells that the manufacturer was profitable then, when it built 2 million Model T cars. Tesla lost $282 million on revenue of $1.5 billion last year.

Another difference between the Tesla and the Model T is that Tesla uses an electric engine. The Model T ran on gasoline, ethanol and kerosene.

The two cars are substantially different, sort of.