新闻周刊:马斯克的豪赌:特斯拉能为汽车制造带来革新吗?(4)

Musk¹ had a good run of living up to his hype, until his ability to deliver the Model 3 slipped well behind his promises to start shipping² in the beginning of 2018.

马斯克一直在大肆宣传，直到他交付Model 3的能力远远落后于他在2018年初开始发货的承诺。

At present, no cheaper Model 3s will be rolling off the assembly lines in the hundreds of thousands anytime soon.

目前，在短时间内，将不会有数十万台更便宜的Model 3型汽车从生产线上下线。

And according to some reports, the lower-priced versions won’t reach customers until 2020.

据一些报道称，低价版本要到2020年才能到达消费者手中。

That’s a problem, because most analysts⁴ agree Tesla’s survival is pegged⁵ to its ability to deliver a $35,000 car in big numbers.

这是一个问题，因为大多数分析师都认为，特斯拉的生存取决于它能否大批量生产价值3.5万美元的汽车。

Making matters worse, a growing litany of complaints and safety concerns have dogged the company.

更糟糕的是，越来越多的投诉和安全问题困扰着该公司。

The much-touted Autopilot driver-assist system has been implicated⁶ in several crashes, a few of them serious and one of them fatal.

备受吹捧的自动驾驶驾驶辅助系统与几起撞车事故有关，其中几起严重事故，还有一起致命事故。

Earlier this year, Consumer Reports rated the Tesla Model 3 one of the worst-braking cars it had ever tested.

今年早些时候，《消费者报告》对特斯拉Model 3进行了评估，认为它是测试过的刹车性能最差的汽车之一。

A software update to the car—which, like Tesla’s other models, is available with the Autopilot system—apparently⁷ helped,

与特斯拉的其他车型一样，这款车的软件更新也可以在自动驾驶系统上使用。

but concerns recently rose again when Tesla dropped a standard factory braking test, apparently to boost lagging production rates.

但最近，人们的担忧再次升温，因为特斯拉为提高落后的生产率放弃了一项标准的工厂制动测试。

(The company has claimed it thoroughly⁸ tests braking in other ways.)

(该公司称，已经通过其他方式对刹车进行了彻底的测试。)

Meanwhile, Tesla’s highly regarded top engineer, Doug Field—a former Apple executive considered among the most influential⁹ in the valley—left in early July amid the struggle to fix production woes¹⁰, the latest in a long string of management departures over the past few years.

与此同时，特斯拉备受尊敬的顶级工程师道格·菲尔德——被认为硅谷最有影响力人物之一的前苹果高管——这是过去几年一连串管理人员离职事件中的最新一起。

And a former employee has turned whistleblower, alleging¹¹ Tesla shipped cars with dangerously damaged versions of its potentially highly flammable batteries, drawing a $1 million lawsuit¹² from the company over what it says are false claims.

一名前雇员成为举报人，指控特斯拉汽车运送的汽车中含有危险的、可能高度易燃的电池，该公司以虚假索赔为由，向特斯拉提起了100万美元的诉讼。

It doesn’t help that a federal tax credit that effectively knocked $7,500 off the price of a Tesla is phasing out.

一项联邦税收抵免政策实际上使特斯拉的售价降低了7500美元，但该政策并没有起到什么作用。

Even some of Tesla’s customers, whose loyalty¹³ is the stuff of legend—500,000 buyers have plunked down $1,000 deposits on the Tesla 3, sight unseen—may be getting tired of the delays and bad news.

50万名买家在看不见实体的情况下，在特斯拉3上投入了1000美元的定金，这种传奇般忠诚的特斯拉客户，可能已经厌倦了延迟和坏消息。

One financial analyst³ estimates that about a quarter of those advance orders have been canceled.

一位金融分析师估计，约四分之一的预购订单已被取消。

Wall Street is growing increasingly dubious¹⁴ as well.

华尔街也越来越可疑。

Investors¹⁵ have shorted more than 35 million shares of the company’s stock—essentially betting the stock price will dive—saddling it with the distinction of being America’s most shorted.

投资者已经做空了该公司3500多万股股票——本质上是押注股价会跳水——让它背上了“美国最短线”的标签。

The stock price recently spiked¹⁶ 15 percent in one day on a less-grim-than-expected quarterly earnings¹⁷ report that included the company’s prediction it will be profitable by year’s end.

该公司股价最近一天内飙升了15%，原因是该公司公布的季度收益报告没有预期的那么糟糕，其中包括该公司预计年底前将实现盈利。

But that still leaves the stock down $35 from mid-September last year.

但该公司股价仍较去年9月中旬下跌35美元。

In March, Moody¹⁸ downgraded Tesla’s credit rating, flipping¹⁹ the company’s outlook from “stable” to “negative.”

今年3月，穆迪将特斯拉的信用评级从“稳定”调降至“负面”。

1 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

2 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 pegged   

v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的过去式和过去分词 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• They pegged their tent down. 他们钉好了账篷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She pegged down the stairs. 她急忙下楼。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

9 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

10 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

11 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

12 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

13 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

14 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

15 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

16 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

17 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

18 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

19 flipping   

讨厌之极的

参考例句：

• I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！
• Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。