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As much as I'd love to own a Tesla car and it does show a lot of innovation in the right direction, it's still a luxury sports car that only few very rich peopl

by Draiken 11y ago

As much as I'd love to own a Tesla car and it does show a lot of innovation in the right direction, it's still a luxury sports car that only few very rich people can own. If he built an electric car for the masses, that would be a big deal for the world. Of course he's pushing inovation, but he still hasn't done "a great deal for the world". Maybe he caused some changes in the US, I'm not in a position to see that, but saying he changed the world is quite a stretch

vlucas 11y ago
> If he built an electric car for the masses, that would be a big deal for the world. This is exactly Tesla's goal with the Model 3, targeted at $35,000. I don't think you understand the amount of time and money required to reach mass production scale of affordable vehicles. Tesla was very wise to start with high-margin sports and luxury cars, because it gives them the capital needed to continue re-investing in production capacity and battery technology for more affordable cars in the future. Tesla is playing a long game, and so far it's working. The popularity of Tesla alone has driven other auto makers to step up their electric car game, which is indeed a "great deal for the world" to help get us all off combustion engines.
- Draiken 11y ago
  Interesting, was not aware of that project. Agreed that maybe the luxury car is the right way to start his attempt with a healthy cash flow. In fact, I'm a big fan of people like him, who have the money and instead of just playing the markets to get more of it, he uses it to build something that can eventually help us. The main reason for my comment was that some people idolize him like he has cured cancer or erradicated world hunger. These people should to take a step back :)
13thLetter 11y ago
You could say the same thing about cellular telephones, which once upon a time were also luxury items that only very rich people could own. If they hadn't gone through the "here's a fancy thing for the rich" phase they never would have reached the "here's an affordable thing for everyone" phase.

by Draiken 11y ago

vlucas 11y ago

> If he built an electric car for the masses, that would be a big deal for the world. This is exactly Tesla's goal with the Model 3, targeted at $35,000. I don't think you understand the amount of time and money required to reach mass production scale of affordable vehicles. Tesla was very wise to start with high-margin sports and luxury cars, because it gives them the capital needed to continue re-investing in production capacity and battery technology for more affordable cars in the future. Tesla is playing a long game, and so far it's working. The popularity of Tesla alone has driven other auto makers to step up their electric car game, which is indeed a "great deal for the world" to help get us all off combustion engines.

Draiken 11y ago
Interesting, was not aware of that project. Agreed that maybe the luxury car is the right way to start his attempt with a healthy cash flow. In fact, I'm a big fan of people like him, who have the money and instead of just playing the markets to get more of it, he uses it to build something that can eventually help us. The main reason for my comment was that some people idolize him like he has cured cancer or erradicated world hunger. These people should to take a step back :)

13thLetter 11y ago

You could say the same thing about cellular telephones, which once upon a time were also luxury items that only very rich people could own. If they hadn't gone through the "here's a fancy thing for the rich" phase they never would have reached the "here's an affordable thing for everyone" phase.