Tesla is poised for success and Hassan, an electrical engineer, shares why this is so in a recent article on Medium. He starts by sharing a little of his background and says that when he had first started his degree in electrical engineering at Concordia University of Montreal, there were many potential companies where students could work. Tesla had just released its Model S, so this was years ago.
After some other topics, he delves into the question, “How did a company disrupt the car industry, an industry known for its difficulty to penetrate the market?”
Electrification is the future and there is no hiding it, Hassan writes. He points out the obvious: gasoline has no future in transportation in a world where global warming is an existential threat. It’s so obvious — we either evolve or die. “In hindsight, I think everyone knew that EVs would be on the road. The question was rather ‘when,'” he writes.
He then asks us to imagine a world in which emissions are killing our planet, and noticing that the very way we travel every day is a part of the problem. “That seems like a dystopian world that Elon Musk refused to live in, and thus founded Tesla in 2003.”
Traditional Automakers were talking about it’s bad idea to have their own factory for battery cells production few years ago.
Now… it’s too late for them.. sorry.. too late.
Tesla:
GF 1 Nevada 🔋🔋
GF 3 Shanghai 🔋🚗
GF 4 Berlin 🔋🔋🚗
GF 5 Texas (Maybe) 🔋🔋🚗— vincentyu.eth (@vincent13031925) February 9, 2020
Hassan then takes on Tesla Full Self Driving and batteries as well. Even though Tesla has not rolled out Full Self Driving (FSD) capability, it is actively working toward that while other car companies are struggling to keep up with Tesla. He mentions that Tesla should license FSD to partners. This would enable Tesla to profit for every vehicle sold. Imagine for a moment a BMW or Mercedes with Tesla’s technology in it — and for every BMW or Mercedes vehicle sold, Tesla gets a cut. This could actually happen.
Batteries are another aspect of Tesla’s leadership. With Tesla being the only automaker producing its own batteries, this definitely puts Tesla in a position for ultimate success. Imagine Ford producing its own oil and gas. This is the level of thinking and planning Tesla is on. While other automakers only think of making and selling cars, Tesla is making cars, selling cars, and making the parts that fuel the cars — the batteries.
Roofs never looked so good https://t.co/kC0NQAuklW pic.twitter.com/tPW7rJtNHQ
— Tesla (@Tesla) February 9, 2020
Hassan also talks about Tesla’s brand culture and that Millennials love this brand. It’s true. Tesla is doing what Apple did for the music and telecommunications industry: it has already disrupted the auto industry and it’s working on the energy industry as well. “It’s not just about cars anymore. It’s about turning the world green,” he writes. You can read Hassan’s full article here.
My 2.5 Cents
People don’t like change, especially when they think all is well. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is something I grew up hearing said. This would be a common response to something new or a new way of doing something. Elon has a different approach.
“When Henry Ford made cheap, reliable cars, people said, ‘Nah, what’s wrong with a horse?’ That was a huge bet he made, and it worked.” —Elon Musk
The issue is that a lot of people don’t believe global warming exists. They think that there will always be oil and gas or they think that it will run out but not in our lifetime. The issue is that people don’t think beyond their scope of work and a hobby or two, so it seems the problems aren’t real or worth their time.
It’s true — if there is a problem that you have no power to change, you shouldn’t stress over it. But if there is a problem that you are contributing to (whether intentionally or unintentionally), you shouldn’t discourage someone from trying to solve it just because you think it’s impossible.
This is why, in my opinion, Tesla isn’t just positioned for success, it’s already succeeding. Tesla has created a worldwide movement and push toward the switch to EVs, and it can’t be ignored. Tesla is doing the impossible, because it’s not really impossible.