With the stock up almost 400 percent in the last year and the Model S collecting numerous accolades, not to mention stronger sales, it looks at first glance like nothing can slow down Tesla right now.
But, there are three things that could potentially slow down Tesla.
- Production glitches
When we walked into the Tesla plant with CEO Elon Musk in Fremont, Calif., I asked him, "What's your biggest challenge?"
"The biggest challenge has been supply chain," he replied without hesitation. "We've got about 250 direct suppliers, and if you go one level below that it's a few thousand suppliers. If any one of those suppliers can't deliver, we can't produce cars moving at the same cadence."
(Read more: Elon Musk: Tired but optimistic about Tesla)
Musk admited Tesla has, at times, had to slow the Model S assembly line. Still, it's been able to raise production of the electric car to 500 per week.
The execution risk and challenge will only multiply as the company moves to building 40,000 vehicles annually starting next year.
"We're making as many cars as we can while keeping quality standards high. So the main focus is actually how do we increase our production rates," said Musk.