Directing Tesla's unique trajectory

JB Straubel wears far more hats than most auto motive CTOs. He talks about vehicle development, his engineering team, and what they've got in the works.

With production ramping up on its first clean-sheet vehicle program, the Model S, and with numerous Car of the Year awards to show for the remarkable effort, Tesla Motors continues to earn respect from throughout the auto industry. The scrappy and bold Silicon Valley-based luxury electric vehicle (EV) maker founded by Internet billionaire Elon Musk is committed to an ambitious product plan that includes the S-based Model X crossover tentatively scheduled as a 2014 model.

There's also a next-generation vehicle in the works that the company is aiming toward a more “affordable” price point than its stablemates.