Against all odds Tesla is still in business — here's why (TSLA)

• The auto industry has a history of quickly eliminating competitive threats.
• Tesla still isn't perceived as a threat, although it's widely admired.
• Automakers remain happy to let Tesla take on all the electric-car risk.
Elon Musk is so charismatic and Tesla is so cool that it's easy to overlook how unlikely the automaker's success is.
After a brush with bankruptcy in 2008, the company has thrived, minting a $60-billion market capitalization (surpassing all three of the D