It was obvious a week ago that it was going to be a rough year for the electric car maker.

Between reports of layoffs, China cracking down on its autopilot software, CEO Musk's disastrous ownership of Twitter, and long-promised products like the Cybertruck and Roadster, there seemed to be a plan in place for the future of the company.

It is saying a lot that a company that has weathered as much turmoil in a decade as many manufacturers do in a century, only to become the most valuable car company on the planet, is doing so well.

Things didn't feel better this week.

With more challenges than it has ever faced before, it seemed like there was more to come from the company.

On Tuesday, the stock price of the company was half of what it was in October. It came after reports that it would reduce production at its crucial Shanghai plant in January for some reason. The prices of used electric cars seem to have fallen.

On Tuesday, Musk was open to the idea of buying Substack.

Musk is connected to the past, present and future of the company. Those who trust in Musk because he has delivered value in the past are fed up and begging the CEO to focus on the car company whose stock price remains his primary source of wealth

Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said last week that it was a loser. While he still believes in the long-term value of the company, he has become a critic of the deal.

The damage has been done by the slight increase in the share price. The falling price of the stock may force Musk into a margin call situation that could cause the stock to go into a death spiral.

Tuesday was a bad day for stock prices. He said that investors need a CEO to navigate this Category 5 storm at the time that Musk is viewed as asleep at the wheel.

It is a group of people who are not winners across the board.

According to the report, Musk sent an email to the staff of the company, asking them not to be distracted by stock market craziness and that they will be the most valuable company on the planet.

It's realistic to think thatTesla is in the middle of a rough time. It is just a fleeting moment. Other car companies will bring the biggest headaches to the company in the years to come.

For the first time, there are real competitors. Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and almost every other legacy company are trying to get people to buy a car from the electric car company. Musk's antics seem poised to send customers into the arms of competitors, who aren't as eager to air grievances about people's pronouns on social media.

It will be a year in which the ability of the company to remain a leader in the EV market will be tested. It would be foolish to write the obituary at this time. Things need to change according toTesla's bulls. That begins with where Musk's priorities lie.

In order to have any sort of similarities to where a CEO is so crucial to the story, you would have to go back to Apple and GE. There is a modern-day Thomas Edison who is going through a Howard Hughes moment.

Musk can do a lot to restore investor and consumer confidence, but nothing has been done. Time is of the essence and I think this could be corrected.

Early shift at Tesla in Brandenburg Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images

The company predicted 50 percent growth at the beginning of the 20th century. Increased materials costs and reported "total chaos" with the labor force at its Berlin factory are some of the challenges it has faced since then.

Competition from China's EV companies, whose cars grow by leaps and bounds each year, is one of the reasons for the COVID- related production slowdowns in China. When asked how that meshes with his huge ambitions for China, Musk generally goes silent.

According to reports, the Gigafactory in Berlin is in complete chaos.

It has been three years since the first Semi trucks were delivered by the company. At a time when companies like Daimler, Volvo, and Peterbilt are getting into the long-haul EV space, this should open a whole new line of business for the automaker. More than 100 EV semi trucks have been delivered by Nikola, even though his founder was convicted of fraud.

While Ford and Rivian have EV pickup trucks on the roads right now, there are no new announcements fromTesla beyond that. The new car concept from Musk was shown a long time ago, but it isn't likely to make it to the market in the foreseeable future. You can be forgiven if you forgot about that robot.

According to the report, there is hope in the form of a reworked Model 3. The update is expected to update the sedan's design, reduce the overall parts involved and bring costs down, as well as providing some enhancements. It is expected to begin production in the third quarter of the following year.

It is understandable why fans of the company may be turned off by the use of social media.

It's unfortunate since we want a smaller EV for around town and the Model 3 is a great car, but that's not the case withTesla. I will be selling our stock for a loss just to be done with him. Shame on us because we made some money off of him.

It is no longer possible to haveTesla on the table.

It is hard to say how many prospective buyers have turned away from the brand because of it. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal last month, Morning Consult and YouGov research shows that the brand ofTesla is falling out of favor with self-proclaimed Democrats as it increases in popularity with self-proclaimed Republicans. The green image ofTesla has been associated with progressive buyers.

It is not possible to prove how Musk's views will translate to new business for the company.

Potential buyers of the electric car company may not care. Many other social media platforms are used more by the public. Many people want to be able to use the Supercharger network.

Anthony Johnson is a member of that group. He works in the electric power space in Colorado and recently purchased aTesla despite a long-time disdain for him and his statements about the Thailand cave rescue.

We traded in the Nissan Leaf for a new Model 3 last week despite our dislike for Elon. In spite of the CEO, we are supporting the thousands of engineers and employees working for the company.

Many with a financial stake still see Musk as important to the future success of the company. It might be seen as the downside to hinging a company's hopes on one person; maybe it's proof that success in one arena isn't always the same in another. Many investors would like to see Musk return to the game ofTesla.

He said that Musk is the heart and lungs of the tale. The crash of the train has had an outsize impact on the stock of the company.

Musk claimed that he had not missed an important meeting of the company. I'm not completely missing.

There is not an important meeting that Musk has missed. I wondered if there was anything I could have done in the last couple of months that would have helped with the execution ofTesla. I can't think of a single thing.

Through the end of the year, there will be rare $7,500 discounts on the Model 3 and Model Y, as well as 10,000 miles of free Supercharging. The EV tax credits will keep the price discounts on the car.

The decision was called odd by some experts. Ivan Drury, the Director of Insights at car-buying website, said that a premium brand that used to be in high demand is now having to offer steep discounts.

It is a large amount of money per unit. I think we are starting to see problems with traditional car brands likeTesla.

US-POLITICS-BIDEN-AUTOMOBILE-ENVIRONMENT-GM-ENERGY Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

The same companies will be vying for it in 2023 if that's the case.

The cracks are getting bigger. According to S&P Global, the number of electric vehicles sold in the U.S. is expected to drop by 20 percent over the course of the next ten years.

It isn't all direct competitors when it comes to its 10 most cross-shopped brands. Lucid isn't showing up yet. Rivian isn't on that place. You have a lot of mainstream brands.

It is not all direct competitors when looking at its 10 most cross-shopped brands.

All of them compete with the high-range, high- performance cars ofTesla. When most automakers offered compliance cars, they were usually low-range, electric-converted compact cars meant to meetCalifonia's tough requirements.

He said it was a joke. The market was handed over by the established automakers because they didn't trust it. They are going full-throttle because they have seen a lot of customers.

In a few years,Tesla has gone from effectively zero direct competitors to facing the Mercedes EQ cars, BMW's i4, i7 and iX, and the Volvo-backed Polestar.

There is an EV arms race. There are other games in town, likeTesla is not the only one.

New players like the Fisker Ocean will be looking for more market share next year as they ramp up production of their products.

This is an electric vehicle race.

Due to demand and scarcity, deals on any of these brands' EV have been hard to come by. He said that they are not throwing money at the cars. The electric vehicles they have are sold out. They are going for a higher price.

As America's charging infrastructure continues to lag, there are non-EV options forTesla. It's a "50-50 split" between buying an EV and a gasoline car if you trade in your car for one of them. Plug-in hybrid is preferred by many buyers.

There is a lineup that is proven but long in the tooth.

The Model S will be 10 years old and the Model X will be eight. Both have received a lot of hardware, software, and feature upgrades. The smaller model continues to sell well. Both are at a point where most manufacturers would replace them with newer models.

Paul Waatti is the industry analysis manager for AutoPacific, an automotive marketing research and consulting firm.

He said thatTesla rolled it out as it was available. But look at the vehicles. It is the same look as it was when it was first launched.

Hong Kong International MotorXpo Photo by Vernon Yuen/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Despite all of this, pundits, industry analysts and stock shorts have predicted the death of the company for years.

Whether it was struggling to ramp up factories, or challenges rolling out new technologies that later defined the rest of the modern car industry,Tesla has found a way to silence all of its doomsayers. In the third quarter of the year, it had $3.3 billion in profits, up from $1.6 billion in the same period in the previous year.

Some of the problems ofTesla are not unique to it. The coming year's new car market will be difficult for buyers due to supply chain issues. The whole car industry is affected by rising interest rates. New car sales may be affected by inflation. Even as the Supercharger network becomes more available to non-Tesla cars in the future, it is still considered to be a "killer app" by the company.

All of the doomsayers have been silenced by the company.

Unlike many direct competitors, the made-in-AmericaTesla models are eligible for tax incentives. Many EV buyers will be influenced by that.

This moment of Musk's distraction, potentially worsening brand perception, aging products and increased competition is a speedbump that will require more attention than other problems the company has faced before.

It is hard to imagine a few things that can take the brand under their wing. There are still consumers who are deathly loyal and have at least one car in their driveway. They've built up a lot.

It would be easy to throw in the towel on the stock because of the terrible year it's had. The long-term story of driving transformation in the auto industry is intact, but he said Musk's worst habits can't help him in the process.

The ride has been a Cinderella ride. For the first time, the back is against the wall. Musk needs to stop being on the social networking site. A pilot is needed on the plane.