[zeus greek gods olympus]Wikimedia Commons Tesla reported its first-quarter sales on Monday, and deliveries fell short of expectations (about 15,000 vehicles versus an predicted 16,000). It wasn't a horrible miss, and Tesla has a history of overpromising and underdelivering, which is actually a good thing given the company's ambitions. But the electric automaker made a remarkable admission in explaining the shortfall, which largely resulted from a lack of necessary parts for the Model X SUV. "The root causes of the parts shortages," Tesla said in a statement, was "Tesla’s HUBRIS IN ADDING FAR TOO MUCH NEW TECHNOLOGY TO THE MODEL X in version 1." [Our emphasis.] Tesla has said some revealing things in the past — Elon Musk was actually calling the car maker's stock overvalued when it was surging above $200 per share in 2014 and 2015. And we already knew that problems with the Model X's exotic "falcon wing" rear doors and sculptural rear seats nearly sank a timely launch of the crossover last year. "I'm not sure anyone should have made this car," he said in October. "We probably should have just [modified the Model S]," he added. "There are so many more features and difficult to build parts on [the Model X] than it is necessary for us to sell the cars." Hence the remarkable "hubris" admission this week. In case you were wondering, the word "hubris" comes from Greek tragedy — it means, in fact, "tragic overconfidence" and to fall victim to it leads to a confrontation with Nemesis, the goddess of retribution. It's the ancient equivalent of a world of hurt. Tesla is the only car maker on Earth and probably in history that would analyze a disappointing quarter in such highfalutin literary terms. This is both good and bad: good because it shows that the company contains some folks who can grasp the tragic implications of a shortfall in sales; bad because it's continuing evidence that Tesla can't turn itself into a true automaker — one that, you know, can _make its cars _on schedule and without a lot of drama. A General Motors or Ford would brush off a weak sales quarter, acknowledging the disappointment but not treating it as an existential failure. A Japanese automaker might engage in a round of ritual apology — but this would be rare, because Japanese car companies are stupendously good at building cars. Yes, it's just another very big way in which Tesla is different. _Extremely_ different. But that raises an obvious question: Can Tesla overcome its tragic overconfidence in the Model X, or is it destined for a grim reckoning with the automotive gods in 2016? NOW WATCH: Chevy's 'Tesla-killer' has some sweet features
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