Consider Musk's lofty goal of manufacturing one million cars by 2020. Taken by itself, this seems like a bold objective that only a visionary CEO could oversee. Taken into greater context, it could be considered yet another promise that Musk could fail to live up to.
The Wall Street Journal profiled Musk and his ambitious goals. The publication accurately pointed out that over the past five years, Tesla failed to meet more than 20 of Musk's projections, and 10 of those goals were delivered nearly a year late on average.
For example, Musk said in May the company was expected to deliver around 17,000 vehicles in the second quarter. A few months later, the company reported it fell short of the goal and delivered just 14,370 vehicles.
"I have never set a goal which I know is unrealistic, unless I have specifically said I know it's unrealistic," he told the Wall Street Journal.
To his credit, Musk also said he doesn't "set targets that I know can't be met," which is a good thing because when an executive makes a prediction there may be a legal basis to believe that the objective is reasonably obtainable.
The Wall Street Journal also suggested that Wall Street's stringent requirements for CEOs to deliver on their promises doesn't necessarily apply to Musk. This is a sentiment shared by Ron Baron, founder of the asset management firm Baron Capital Group, which owns more than $300 million worth of Tesla's stock.
"The odds are very favorable that we are going to make a lot of money on this investment," the Wall Street Journal quoted him as saying.
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