Benz and Audi and BMW can sell their products into an existing transport system. Fuel of the correct octane is generally available. The dealer network can suppo

Benz and Audi and BMW can sell their products into an existing transport system. Fuel of the correct octane is generally available. The dealer network can support itself on maintenance fees as well as sales commissions. Telsa has to build the transport system. They need to get people interested in deploying charging stations. They need to build a distribution system that doesn't depend on US$5000 per year in maintenance fees from each customer. They need to overcome range anxiety. In this they have common cause with Nissan (Leaf) and GM (Bolt and Volt). But they're head-to-head with the big European high-end carmakers. A car maker switching to electric power is like a computer hardware maker switching to software: it disrupts the sales process so dramatically that it's very hard to do successfully. As a (well-to-do hipster) Tesla Model S customer, I hope I don't end up getting stuck with the Betamax of charging connectors. I hope the various EV makers can sort out the J1772 / ChaDEmo / Tesla connector issue pretty soon.