> Tesla may not be the future of EVs
Based on what metric? I have a hard time looking at Tesla's sales, revenue, profit, production capacity growth and not thinking they will continue to be a leader in EVs far into the future.
Based on what metric? I have a hard time looking at Tesla's sales, revenue, profit, production capacity growth and not thinking they will continue to be a leader in EVs far into the future.
you’re the leader and category creator until one day you’re just another player in a sea of competition
There's no hatchback, mini, SUV, or truck models available yet... And it feels like Tesla is even further behind in these areas because they are not giving any roadmap details (that I've heard of), while other companies have offerings available now.
I hope Tesla can remain a market disruption and continue to push people to electric, but they currently are a one trick pony (which isn't a bad thing, it let them enter the space)... But as a one trick pony, I would agree they do not currently "look like THE future of EVs"
Tesla shipped that many cars in 2016, and is growing 50%/year.
Ford competes directly with the Y, and also in an entirely new segment Tesla does not compete in -- the pickup.
Chevy has the pickup coming, and already competes in the affordable compact car segment (27K MSRP for a Bolt? That's getting into 'excellent value' territory) that Tesla does not compete in. GM also has the Hummer, which is blazing an entirely new trail.
Then you have VW, Kia, Polestar, etc. Tesla has a nice head start, and a good charging network, but rivals are catching up fast and will end up outpacing what Tesla can offer. The Model S is aging, with no apparent revamp in sight, and if the Model 3 follows that same pattern then Tesla is quickly going to look outdated while the competition is one-upping each other in new designs.
There's also a fair number of people who do care about reliability, don't want a touchscreen dashboard, don't care about fart gimmicks, and want windshield wipers that just work. AP is no better than the competition, and FSD is a gimmick that appeals to a very particular kind of buyer.
I enjoyed my P3D but have no expectation I will buy another.
Well, personally, based on Elon Musk's Twitter. Unless he is leaving the company very soon, he's going to take the company down with him.
From a more technical perspective, they're literally the only EV manufacturer selling cars in the US without a CCS connector. (With the minor exception of Nissan, who have already announced that the Leaf will switch from Chademo to CCS.)
And finally, from an "I actually own a Tesla" perspective. I would never buy another one. Not because of the car, which is fine, but because of the service experience. It's awful. It's so bad, I have trouble putting into words how terrible it is. I live in fear that something will go wrong with my Tesla again, because getting it fixed will be yet another nightmare.