VAN Management 81

37 characters. That was all Tesla CEO Elon Musk needed to turn the entire Twitter community and therefore also the real world – because the world revolves around Twitter, right – upside down at the beginning of October. “About time to unveil the D and something else”, the flamboyant Musk tweeted from his armchair that evening. The result? Masses of electricity in the air, even in times of possible blackouts. Tesla's share immediately rose 5 percent, Elon Musk could go to sleep with a clear conscience – and with almost 2 billion new dollars under his mattress. We too were on the edge of our seats the next day, because while everyone was wondering out loud what Musk meant by “something else”, we had already made our crystal-clear analysis: the first Tesla van, that was a sure thing. Our disappointment could hardly have been greater on October 9, when it turned out that Tesla had 'only' conjured up a BMW M5 competitor with 700 hp. A missed opportunity, without a doubt. The Tesla Model S P85D is brilliant, we're the first to admit that. The slender sedan pleases the senses, and doesn't emit a single gram of CO2 into the air. But what Tesla needs to really break through, in our opinion, is a light commercial vehicle. Because professionals can fully utilise the advantages of electric vehicles, due to more repetitive journeys over relatively short distances, as Renault already calculated when it introduced the Kangoo ZE. During our very first Van Day, of which you can read an extensive report in this issue, fleet owners also appeared to be particularly charmed by the driving qualities of that electric Kangoo. So, dear Elon, the next time you post something on Twitter, let it be a Tesla van. We bet you'll sleep even better.