[dkokelley]

The auto industry works a little differently. Some of Tesla's competitors have been in business for over 100 years, making primarily the same product today. Tech companies today exist in industries that didn't exist even 15 years ago.

Tesla Motors has only been around for 10 years (founded 2003), and their first product didn't sell until 5 years later. I think it's safe to say that Tesla Motors is still a startup. They are a startup in an industry that measures time in decades.

[lttlrck]

That's tenuous. The telecoms industry has been around as long so is Blackberry a startup?