You know, it's actually crazy. Over the past couple of years it's safe to say that my perception of Tesla has changed.
And, frankly, it should. For everyone.
After the Tesla Model 3 started production, and then had a botched launch, it recovered after some serious adjustments. It was on a trip to San Francisco, on business, that I realized things were changing — fast. Model 3s were everywhere. When I returned back to SF months later, again on business, there were even more.
On both trips I remember calling Agent 001 and letting him know what I had seen. In SoCal it was the same story. Then, eventually, New York came online.
Today we find ourselves at an interesting crossroads. Tesla is humming, as is its share price, and the German auto industry is slowly being pushed to the edge of a cliff.
Need further proof? Take a peek at our cover image. Some will retort that "consumers aren't buying sedans." Yes, they are. Just not traditional ones.
I recently drove a Tesla Model 3 for the first time. It was OK. It didn't blow me away or make me lust for one. Not in the slightest. BUT, I can see why the average consumer would be onboard with it. The game isn't being won by trick suspensions or how well built a vehicle is right now. Think of it as a cell phone — It's about technology.
The Model 3 I drove had suspect build quality and an interior that felt like a bad General Motors vehicle, at best. The main events are the screen and the power. The reality is that Steve Jobs 2.0 is here with an EV "reality distortion field." His name is Elon Musk.
All that said, I've got to ask:
Do YOU see the macro shift here? Or, are you not observing the change in consumer sentiment away from the German auto manufacturers?Germany’s economy is on the verge of recession as its once-illustrious car making industry falters. It’s no stretch to say that Tesla has disrupted the very backbone of Europe’s largest economy.
A German engineer put it best when he called Tesla an ‘existential threat’ to the entire German automotive industry and urged the country’s CEOs to ‘do better’:
Your ambitions for electric vehicles are falling short of consumer expectations. Those expectations have been set from your strongest competitor today and in the future, Tesla.
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