Its interesting that Elon Musk is the descendant of missionaries. It shows. Much of his success derives from his ability to inspire people by addressing their emotional needs. He has developed a cult like following and his company behaves as an atypical organization. Very little can be believed of its public statements and rants.
Achilles heel? Musk has a few. First and foremost are his character flaws. He is an intelligent and driven narcissist who regularly uses drugs. His behavior is erratic and at times he appears paranoid and delusional. However he has had solid accomplishments with Space X and the cars he has created at Tesla.
His business Achilles is as others have mentioned. Electric vehicles have significant limitations in range, durability and all terrain, all weather performance.Unless severely coerced the average consumer overwhelmingly prefers a vehicle with an internal combustion engine. Tesla has had some success catering to a wealthy “wok” niche market in California but it has learned ( as have Ford, GM and VW), that there is a very limited market for these electric vehicles. Also even in the “wok” market people have a second vehicle powered by gas and are not likely to buy a second Tesla. Also it is not possible to power an American sized fleet with electricity that was generated with wind and solar sources. There probably is no environmental benefit in the widespread deployment of electric vehicles considering the amount of fossil fuels burned to generate the electricity. Just ask the Chinese.
Ultimately market forces and the laws of physics will doom Tesla as a viable business. Also it is very dubious that Space X will make a sustainable profit with its services.
Didn’t know there was a “wok” niche market, stir frys must really be making a comeback ;-). The Volkswagen Group is a huge proponent of EV vehicles, Ford just launched their Mustang Mach-E, and Cadilac plans to be totally EV by 2030; although the rest of GM appears to be going hybrid.
SpaceX is making a very sustainable profit for its services. Launches cost far less than they’re charging - which customers pay because that charge is far less than competitor’s charge.