????這要放在以前通用汽車（General Motors）還沒破產的時候，肯定沒有哪個稱職的高管會去效仿或稱贊特斯拉公司（Tesla）推出的Model S電動轎車，不然也太看得起這家小公司及其自以為是的創始人埃倫?穆斯克了。

????通用汽車首席執行官丹?艾克森并不是底特律汽車人出身。他來自私募資本，加入通用汽車的目的在于改造底特律巨人的傲慢性格并帶領公司走出泥潭。根據電池選擇的不同，特斯拉Model S單次充電后續航里程最長可達265英里，這吸引了艾克森的注意。要知道，通用汽車推出的“長程”電動車雪佛蘭沃藍達（Chevrolet Volt），其充電后最多也就能跑50英里。

????通用汽車的高管們非常關注新電池技術，他們表示通用電動車的續航里程有望突破200英里。雖然該公司并未透露更多相關信息，但艾克森暗示電動版卡迪拉克 EV或將成為Model S的競爭對手。

????另一方面，艾克森無疑也對特斯拉令人瞠目的股價上漲速度頗為關注。雖然特斯拉在2010年IPO時發行價還不到20美元，但如今已如坐火箭般暴漲至每股180美元。目前其市值高達220億美元，比菲亞特汽車（Fiat）還高。

????通用汽車目前市值——即用流通股本數乘以股價——超過550億美元。通用汽車的全球銷量約為每年900萬部。而截至今年8月，特斯拉總共也就售出了11,000輛Model S汽車。這款車型起售價為7萬美元，旗艦型的售價超過10萬美元。特斯拉的股價可能已經嚴重被高估，但也有可能穆斯克將成為下一個史蒂夫?喬布斯或者是比爾?蓋茨，到那時，那些沒眼力的人可就追悔莫及了。這類人中顯然不包括艾克森。

????和喬布斯、蓋茨不同，穆斯克完成了大學學業。不過，在自主創業僅僅兩天后，他毅然放棄了應用物理學博士的攻讀。艾克森則念完了美國海軍學院的碩士學位。

????穆斯克是Paypal的聯合創始人，并因此大賺了一筆，隨后，他又成功的發射了一艘火箭，并順利的與國際空間站實現對接。因此，當他投身汽車領域時，立刻就贏得了信任。更令人敬畏的是，Model S不僅獲得了用戶的交口稱贊，《消費者報告》（Consumer Reports）等評論機構也對其贊不絕口。

????電動汽車目前仍是極其小眾產品，原因主要在于電池昂貴、續航太短而且汽油價格仍處低位。不過，情況正在改變。電池技術甚是熱門，正吸引著越來越多的風險投資和創新性人才，他們早晚會在降低成本同時提升電池容量上取得重大突破。

????不過特斯拉在股市上的風光恐怕難以長久，因為該公司超過四分之一的股票暫借給了做空者。這幫人專門出售自己并不持有的股票，以期日后以更低的價格回購該股票。但通用汽車的艾克森顯然不是這群看空埃倫?穆斯克的人之一。（財富中文網）

????譯者：項航?

????In the bad old pre-bankruptcy days, no General Motors executive worth his or her salt would have dignified tiny Tesla Motors Inc. or its brash founder Elon Musk by emulating or praising the automaker's battery-powered Model S.

????Dan Akerson, GM's (GM) chief executive officer, isn't an old-line Detroit auto executive. He's the guy, recruited from the private-equity world, who was put in charge of stamping out GM's arrogance and putting the auto giant back on its feet. What's gotten his attention is the Tesla Model S's range of up to 265 miles -- depending on battery option -- on a single charge. That compares with GM's Chevrolet Volt, an extended-range electric vehicle that travels about 50 miles before it must recharge.

????GM executives have been working on new battery technology that they say will give future electric vehicles a range of 200 miles. The automaker isn't describing the vehicle precisely, though Akerson has hinted that a future Cadillac EV is a probable competitor to the Model S.

????Akerson no doubt is also watching the eye-popping performance of Tesla's stock. Since its initial public offering in the summer of 2010, when shares were trading at less than $20 each, Tesla (TSLA) has rocketed to more than $180 a share. With a market capitalization of about $22 billion, it's worth more than Fiat. (Anyone who has driven some of Fiat's less successful models won't be shocked.)

????GM's market capitalization -- number of outstanding shares multiplied by the stock price -- is more than $55 billion. GM sells about 9 million vehicles annually worldwide. Tesla had sold a grand total of 11,000 units of Model S through August. The car starts at about $70,000; the fanciest version costs more than $100,000. Tesla's share price could be wildly overblown -- or Musk might be the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, and those who don't realize it will be kicking themselves one day. Akerson won't be in that group.

????Unlike Jobs and Gates, Musk did finish his undergraduate education. But he dropped out of a Ph.D. program in applied physics after just two days to be an entrepreneur. Akerson is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.

????Having already made a fortune as a co-founder of Paypal and succeeded in launching a rocket ship that docked with the International Space Station, Musk brings instant credibility to the automobile business. He's even more formidable because the Model S has been widely praised by owners and reviewers like Consumer Reports.

????Electric vehicles remain a very small sliver of the automotive market, mostly because the batteries are expensive, range is limited, and gasoline remains affordable. Things change. Battery technology is attracting more investment capital and creative minds all the time; a major breakthrough in the amount of energy a battery can store at a reasonable cost could occur at any time.

????Tesla stock, on the other hand, might be a short-lived bubble. More than a quarter of its shares are on loan to short-sellers, those who sell shares they don't own with the hope of repurchasing and replacing them later at a lower price. GM's Akerson surely isn't one of those selling Elon Musk short.