Tesla’s Radical Innovation: Making Electric Vehicles Better Than Gas
Let’s be honest: before Tesla electric cars were a joke. The key selling point was “lower your standards to save the environment”, and manufacturers hoped you’d overlook the low range, poor performance & lack of features because you were helping the planet. It’s no wonder they didn’t sell.
Then Tesla came along, and next thing you know Jay Leno’s losing races in his AC Shelby Cobra to a Granny driving a car powered by laptop batteries. The Tesla outperforms nearly every car out there — although I hear you can still beat it in the quarter mile with a $319,000 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.
It’s not about the racing, it’s not about the 620 mile range of the new Roadster, the cross-country network of charging stations for it, or even about the self-driving computer control systems. It’s about the fact that Tesla combined all of these things and more into a single package to build a luxury performance vehicle that actually inspired consumers.
Not only did Tesla inspire consumers, it’s inspiring massive change in the auto-industry. In 2020, we’ll be seeing even more sporty, high-performance electric car & SUV models from nearly every major auto manufacturer. Not only is the auto-industry going green, but it’s doing it in style. I’d call that a radical innovation.
