top | item 13673104

(no title)

aoeu345 | 9 years ago

Incumbent automakers are cash cows, not startups. Tesla will spend all of it's money on the Gigafactory. GM will destroy new product lines that threaten it's current profits.

Remember, incumbent auto makers are not fast moving or innovative at all. They are all cash cows. Although they can predict that a move to EVs will keep them alive long-term, such a move will always be done with a small fraction of GM's resources and labour in the coming decades, and Tesla with Elon's burning desire to destroy them are probably going to win.

Remember, GM can't sell these two products on the same lot: One which is a cash cow, and one which only exists to combat some distant threat of GM becoming obsolete.

Also you're forgetting that Tesla cars are just better in every sense. Better brand, faster, longer range, novelty...

discuss

order

rfurmani|9 years ago

There's a lot of companies out there, and dismissing them outright is the same brand of arrogance that lets startups win over incumbents, but reversed.

> better brand

GM/F/Honda/Toyota/etc are reliable, BMW/Audi/Lexus/etc are luxurious and have a package that's been very carefully tuned

> faster

Doesn't matter to 90%

> longer range

Debatable, also price constrained

> novelty

Not what you look for in a massive purchase that you want to last 10+ years

aoeu345|9 years ago

First off, speed matters to the young and environmentally conscious EV market. Range has maxed at 800km on a single charge, there is no

> debate

to be had.

GM and any other electric carmaker will be buying their batteries, powertrains, or both from Tesla after they flop with their own native lineups.