Elon's Smartest Idea: Making Tesla a Tech Company, Not a Car Company
There is an interesting discussion on Reddit Tesla about what made Tesla successful and the discussion starter shared some interesting points about what he called Elon Musk's smartest idea that made Tesla successful. He says one of Elon's smartest ideas about Tesla was to make it a tech company and not a car company.
I have paraphrased the original part of the discussion and am presenting it here for Torque News readers.
One of the biggest problems for many alternative energy/environmental companies is that their focus lies on how their product is going to save the world. All the customer has to do is buy the product, and they will save the world! Everybody gets to feel good, pats on the back, the environment is saved.
They forget that most humans are selfish and slaves to their passions and desires. We got this way because we humans are greedy. We want the coolest toys, the biggest guns, the tastiest fruit. In addition, most of us think we are going to die before the world burns up. It's hard to care about something that will not affect you at all (although it will affect your children and grandchildren).
So, take your greedy people and put them in front of two cars. One is marketed as environmentally friendly, fake leather, no animals were hurt in the making of this car, 0-60 in 5 seconds so you don't waste any energy.
The other is: "wrrrraaahh me so tuff." When you drive me, you are faster, stronger, better. Big ice strong. Buy our cars, and you get laid. It's all about you.
Our greedy person is going to buy the second car because he cares about themself first, and others second.
This is how Tesla is winning. Instead of focusing on the EV portion, and how buying a Tesla will help save the planet, Tesla is focusing on what the greedy humans want: cool gadgets, full glass ceilings, falcon-wing doors, auto-pilot. They are making an EV car for greedy and self-centered people. Actually, everyone does.
Also, Tesla is successful because Tesla means a lot of things to many different people, as it explains another user on Reddit.
- To the Prius tree-huggers, it's the zero emission.
- To the Techies, it's iPhone on wheels.
- To the petrol head, it's a ridiculous fast car that smokes almost everything else.
- To those who hate driving, AP is godsend for heavy traffic.
- To the 2 vegans, it's a steering wheel with no animal killed.
- That's why it's successful.
Do you agree?
Supercharging is a big plus for Tesla’s success. One person comments on Reddit, saying “A buddy of mine back home (in Norway) has a Mercedes EQC and a Tesla Model 3. They still chose to take the Model 3 on road trips just because of the hassle of charging EQC when on the road... competition still has a long way to go.”
What do you think are some other ideas that make Tesla successful in building and selling electric vehicles? Also, see Elon's latest loud "statement" about the Tesla Cybertruck in NYC.
Armen Hareyan is the founder and the Editor in Chief of Torque News. He founded TorqueNews.com in 2010, which since then has been publishing expert news and analysis about the automotive industry. He can be reached at Torque News Twitter, Facebok, Linkedin and Youtube.
Reference: Reddit
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