However, you don't get there without Tesla. Why not?
Because you can't compete with low-margin products in a low-margin industry, and still innovate in a sector where you need lots of R&D, where component costs are currently expensive but are expected to drop over time, etc.
Even the much-celebrated entry, at scale, of other manufacturers into the electric-car market is due to Tesla.
Tesla is kinda like Apple in this. They built a very adventurous, dangerously new, premium product, and really committed to it (think mac/iphone; like Tesla, it's not like there weren't other similar products/concepts, but a good consumer product hadn't existed). Upon market validation of the concept, other people jumped in (windowed PCs with initially non-clipping windows; initially crappy android phones).
The reason this is exciting? Because: 'electric cars for everyone! woohoo!'
IT'S VALIDATED THE MARKET! They've waded into a real, big industry, taken on incredibly ambitious problems ('start a car company', 'make an electric car'), and in the process created demand for a new premium product, something the market 'didn't know it wanted'.
Without Tesla demonstrating that there's a premium market segment here to be targeted -- essentially doing market research for larger companies -- we don't get there as fast.
Other people invented (windowed desktops|electric cars). But without (Mac|Tesla) productizing it successfully, how many years would it be before the consumer enjoyed (windowed OS'|electric cars)?
"Try as I might, I simply can't get worked up about cellphones.
They make excellent toys for rich people, but are irrelevant to everyone who is not some sort of millionaire entrepreneur or high-paid executive.
Mobile communication is incredibly attractive and massively beneficial to society if they are adopted at scale. Unfortunately, cellphone manufacturers seem content to cultivate an image as an ultra-luxury brand, and hasn't attempted to lower the barrier to entry for mobile.
I have no problem with companies that only want to sell expensive things to very wealthy people, but we can't possible pretend that companies like these will matter in the grand scheme of things.
Wake me up when we can buy an cellphone for $120."
^^ that's the exciting bit, right?
However, you don't get there without Tesla. Why not?
Because you can't compete with low-margin products in a low-margin industry, and still innovate in a sector where you need lots of R&D, where component costs are currently expensive but are expected to drop over time, etc.
Even the much-celebrated entry, at scale, of other manufacturers into the electric-car market is due to Tesla.
Tesla is kinda like Apple in this. They built a very adventurous, dangerously new, premium product, and really committed to it (think mac/iphone; like Tesla, it's not like there weren't other similar products/concepts, but a good consumer product hadn't existed). Upon market validation of the concept, other people jumped in (windowed PCs with initially non-clipping windows; initially crappy android phones).
The reason this is exciting? Because: 'electric cars for everyone! woohoo!'
IT'S VALIDATED THE MARKET! They've waded into a real, big industry, taken on incredibly ambitious problems ('start a car company', 'make an electric car'), and in the process created demand for a new premium product, something the market 'didn't know it wanted'.
Without Tesla demonstrating that there's a premium market segment here to be targeted -- essentially doing market research for larger companies -- we don't get there as fast.
Other people invented (windowed desktops|electric cars). But without (Mac|Tesla) productizing it successfully, how many years would it be before the consumer enjoyed (windowed OS'|electric cars)?