In 2016, Elon Musk stood on stage at the Tesla Shareholder Meeting and showed three simple images:

Sun, battery & Tesla car.

His question: Why is this so hard to understand?

The sun – that reliable giant in the sky – provides energy, solar panels capture it, batteries store it, and you drive emission-free. Practically for free. And the idea: The Supercharger network was supposed to be funded “forever” by growing sales. Sounds like the perfect plan, right?

Reality then threw in a few plot twists. The “forever free” promise stuck with early Model S and X owners – for the mass market (Model 3/Y), it switched to paid charging. But hey, early adopters know: Promises from the pioneer days sometimes last about as long as the range when you floor it.

Similar story with the subsidies debate. Critics like Saifedean Ammous (“The Bitcoin Standard”) argue that without government boosters (tax credits, ZEV credits), Tesla would never have taken off so fast.

Nearly 10 years later: The three images have become everyday reality. Batteries are cheaper, millions of Teslas are on the road, solar + storage is booming. The vision was brilliant – the implementation is still lagging behind. Want to change something?

At teslify, we let you experience the vision firsthand: Rent a Tesla anywhere in Switzerland (free delivery and pickup included) and find out for yourself how electric driving feels today – from daily commutes to Alpine tours. Model 3, Y, or Cybertruck: Hop in! What do you think?