Tesla Doesn't Make Motorcycles Due To Elon Musk's Near-Death Experience

Tesla is currently one of the world's largest makers of electric vehicles, second only to China's EV behemoth BYD. The Elon Musk-owned automaker has been in the EV business since 2008 when it launched its first-ever product, the first-generation Tesla Roadster. More than 15 years after the company started making electric cars, the company has chosen to only focus on four-wheeled vehicles while completely ignoring the rather fascinating world of electric motorcycles.

Despite growing global interest in electric motorcycles, Tesla has chosen to ignore the electric two-wheeler space. The company almost never talks about the segment during its quarterly financial results and earnings calls, almost acting like motorcycles never existed. Interestingly, the only instance of a senior company official — none other than CEO Elon Musk — publicly commenting about the prospects of the company making motorcycles happened during a shareholder's meeting in 2018, as reported by Inverse. Towards the end of that meeting, a journalist asked Musk whether Tesla would ever consider making motorcycles.

In his response, Musk reminisced about the fun times he had with motorcycles in his childhood, adding that he had a road bike until he was 17 years old. However he went on to add that he was nearly killed by a truck while riding a two-wheeler, which he cited as a reason why Tesla will never venture into making motorcycles.

Musk's funny but curt answer to the journalist's question about a possible Tesla motorcycle was a clear indication that he considered motorcycles as an unsafe means of transportation. While a lot has changed in the world, in the six years since Musk last talked about motorcycles, Tesla and Musk remain steadfast in their decision not to ever make Tesla-branded motorcycles. 

Safety issues aside, there are several other reasons why Tesla may be disinterested in making motorcycles and scooters. To begin with, Tesla's biggest market — the U.S. — doesn't seem to be too interested in electric motorcycles as a segment. This is evident from the fact that despite being the world's second-largest market for electric cars, consumers are simply not buying electric motorcycles and scooters in sizable numbers in the U.S. 

Going by most recent data, the U.S. doesn't even make it to the list of top countries buying electric two-wheelers, with countries like Vietnam and India far outpacing it. The fact that electric motorcycles in the U.S. are more expensive compared to standard ICE counterparts isn't helping the cause either. 

Currently, there are only a handful of players in the electric motorcycle space in the U.S., and most of them are unknown entities. While the electric motorcycle industry as a whole may experience growth in the future, as things stand now, the U.S. doesn't seem to be an attractive market for electric motorcycles and two-wheelers. So even though Musk's decision to stay away from the electric motorcycle might be rooted in safety concerns, in the U.S. context, his decision seems to have worked well for Tesla.