They are in a tough spot with so much riding on every model. If GM makes a bad car, it's one of many current products and one dud in a century-long track record

They are in a tough spot with so much riding on every model. If GM makes a bad car, it's one of many current products and one dud in a century-long track record. If Tesla makes a flop ... they might be bought by GM (which, after all, was originally an agglomeration of smaller car companies). And unlike a small software company, they can't just fix the problem (at least, not a hardware problem) with an update. Then again, they may have more room for error than someone making spaceships.