On the other hand, they didn't need to create the company, the product and distribution network from scratch in a competitive environment. They had R&D and testing facilities, engineer workforce, factories and supply chains in place.
They are just excusing themselves out of this blunder. They sat on their asses changing the grill shapes and let an upstart undercut them.
It's easy to undercut another company if you're willing to make a loss.
If Tesla reaches profitability you can bet there will be a lot of other EVs on the road within two years from that point precisely for the reasons you listed in your first paragraph.
Tesla is as much a manufacturing upstart as it is a charger network upstart. Both parts can grow side by side. Shoehorning a charger network that is starting from zero into an existing, massive manufacturing and development organization that is perfectly tuned to the well trodden path would face a whole class of difficulties that simply don't exist in the all-new company.
>They sat on their asses changing the grill shapes and let an upstart undercut them
Or...maybe no one has figured out how to produce an economically viable electric car yet, Tesla included?
I mean, if already having the company, product and distribution is such a huge advantage, then the competitors have massive leverage, no? Or do you think Tesla has "already won"?
But isn't always the game with ground-breaking technologies though? At first you don't make as much money, but you're laying the road for the big thing. And when the revolution begins, you're the one making the big bucks.
Not always at all. Also often, the forerunner disappears when other companies jump in at a later, proven, profitable stage of the technology, when both technology and the market are ready for mass production.
Look back at 100 years of automobile manufacturing. The big companies we have today are the survivors. As recently as this century, Rover Group, a company that was around for a century and made a great product ceased to be.
The tax perks in many countries that have buoyed up Tesla sales are ending. So perhaps manufacturers don't see now as a good time to enter a market containing risk. Better to wait it out and plan accordingly.
They own Here maps, have laser-mapped all of Europe, work on self-driving cars, and own several european Uber-competitors and have stakes in many smaller taxi companies.
varjag|9 years ago
They are just excusing themselves out of this blunder. They sat on their asses changing the grill shapes and let an upstart undercut them.
jacquesm|9 years ago
If Tesla reaches profitability you can bet there will be a lot of other EVs on the road within two years from that point precisely for the reasons you listed in your first paragraph.
usrusr|9 years ago
forgetsusername|9 years ago
Or...maybe no one has figured out how to produce an economically viable electric car yet, Tesla included?
I mean, if already having the company, product and distribution is such a huge advantage, then the competitors have massive leverage, no? Or do you think Tesla has "already won"?
VeejayRampay|9 years ago
wott|9 years ago
kagamine|9 years ago
The tax perks in many countries that have buoyed up Tesla sales are ending. So perhaps manufacturers don't see now as a good time to enter a market containing risk. Better to wait it out and plan accordingly.
mtgx|9 years ago
kuschku|9 years ago
I’m sure they’ll find a way to survive.