Tesla Had Its Own Category on 'Jeopardy!' in 2014

Tesla Had Its Own Category on 'Jeopardy!' in 2014

Looking back at the early days of electric vehicle adoption shows how dramatically the automotive landscape has changed. Before battery-powered cars climbed the global sales charts, a block of trivia on one of America’s biggest game shows brought a young California startup’s technology to mainstream TV.

An episode of the long-running game show Jeopardy! that aired on November 26, 2014 featured a full board category titled “A Visit to Tesla.” The segment, which has resurfaced online for anyone feeling nostalgic, quizzed contestants on electric drivetrains and factory manufacturing.

Clue Crew at the Fremont Factory

To capture the clues on location, Jeopardy! Clue Crew members Jimmy McGuire and Sarah Whitcomb Foss visited Tesla’s Fremont factory in California. Delivering the responses from the factory floor, they covered topics from the fundamentals of all-electric driving to the materials used in vehicle frames.

Sarah also took the wheel of a Model S to showcase its rapid acceleration for the $200 clue, underscoring how an electric motor benefits from having fewer complex moving parts than an internal combustion engine. You can watch the Tesla segment from the episode below.

Just How Far We Have Come

The archived footage makes clear how much growth followed over the next decade and beyond. When the episode aired, Tesla’s lineup was limited: buyers could choose only the Model S or the Model X. The mass-market Model 3 was still a development effort that hadn’t been unveiled, and the Model Y was even further off. At that time, Tesla stock traded around a split-adjusted $16 per share, valuing the company at about $30 billion.

Today, the company and the broader auto industry look very different. The Model Y has earned the crown of the world's best-selling vehicle of any kind. Even though Tesla officially discontinued the flagship Model S and Model X earlier this year, it is clearing the deck for newer platforms, and the ecosystem is larger than ever. With the long-awaited Cybercab robotaxi preparing to make its public debut, Tesla currently carries a valuation of $1.3 trillion with a share price near $388.