Is Tesla Ready for an Apple Moment?

"On March 31, his Tesla Motors unveiled its long-promised Model 3, a $35,000 electric car that will go 215 miles per charge," reports an article by Steve Levine. Most importantly, however, is how the market has responded, with levels of demand for a new car, unprecedented "in more than a century of automotive history." According to Levine, "The market response suggests to some the potential as a category killer, not just in electric vehicles, but mainstream cars in general."

In the week since the Model 3 was unveiled, "more than 325,000 Model 3s have been pre-ordered by people putting down $1,000 per reservation," reports Levine.

The question posed by the article, is if Tesla is about to perform a similar feat to what Apple did to Nokia when it announced the iPhone—overthrow a company completely dominating an industry with high barriers to entry, thus "[reconfiguring] the commercial landscape and [transforming] society."

The article concludes by considering the various factors that will determine whether Tesla succeeds or fails in this monumental effort.