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The difference is that Blackberry spent years ignoring the iphone, pretending they didn't need to change anything. The car manufacturers don't appear to be ign

The difference is that Blackberry spent years ignoring the iphone, pretending they didn't need to change anything. The car manufacturers don't appear to be ignoring tesla at all. In fact, Tesla is being outsold by more than one of the "old" companies electric cars today. If you have to compare it to phones, it's much more similar to iphone vs android. Android might not have been first, but they responded quickly.. a variety of phones/cars allows manufacturers to meet the requirements of more market segments. At the end of the day, Tesla/Apple can only offer a handful of models.. if you don't like it, you're choices are the large variety produced by Android manufacturers. That virtually guarantees Android will have a greater market share than the iphone/Tesla.

rbanffy 10y ago
I have a feeling Tesla is a battery company that makes cars to prove a point and generate demand for their batteries.
- duaneb 10y ago
  That's reductive, even if it does indicate the competitive edge tesla has.
  - rgbrenner 10y ago
    I agree.. but it's interesting to think of Tesla in that way. Powerwall clearly is not a complimentary product of a car. If it was wildly successful, it would have had minimal effect on Tesla's car sales, while having a significant effect on it's battery production. Similarly, SolarCity (which is merging with Tesla) increases demand for batteries.. but again, has little effect on their car sales. In fact, the one thing all of their products share in common (solar, powerwall, cars) is that they increase the demand for batteries. Tesla may be a car manufacturer.. but it would easy to think their primary business is actually batteries.
    - greglindahl 10y ago
      More battery production -> lower battery prices -> lower car price -> more car sales.
    - crdoconnor 10y ago
      Powerwall doesn't make a lot of sense. It's about 30-40% more expensive than other batteries that were on the market when it came out. And, while Tesla cars might be bragworthy and worthy of showing off to your friends, house batteries are not. All that really matters is cost and efficiency.
      - jacquesm 10y ago
        If you already have a Tesla you effectively have a powerwall too. All you need to do is plug it into your home circuit and store whatever energy you want. If the car isn't moving it's just a huge battery. The extra hardware required to convert the energy in the batteries back to household power is pretty trivial, and it shares major characteristics/components with the electronics in the power module of the inverter driving the electric motor in the car.
        crdoconnor 10y ago
        I don't see the point of that either. It'll just wear out your expensive battery more quickly. And to what end?
        greglindahl 10y ago
        One thing that doesn't wear out your battery at all is a smart controller that charges your battery when energy is cheapest. So all that excess night-time wind energy can be sopped up, not to mention that day-time excess solar energy for cars that plug in at work. It's like storage, only it costs almost nothing: all you need is a lot of cars with overly-large batteries plugged in, and a little predictive software.
        TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago

rbanffy 10y ago

I have a feeling Tesla is a battery company that makes cars to prove a point and generate demand for their batteries.

duaneb 10y ago
That's reductive, even if it does indicate the competitive edge tesla has.
- rgbrenner 10y ago
  I agree.. but it's interesting to think of Tesla in that way. Powerwall clearly is not a complimentary product of a car. If it was wildly successful, it would have had minimal effect on Tesla's car sales, while having a significant effect on it's battery production. Similarly, SolarCity (which is merging with Tesla) increases demand for batteries.. but again, has little effect on their car sales. In fact, the one thing all of their products share in common (solar, powerwall, cars) is that they increase the demand for batteries. Tesla may be a car manufacturer.. but it would easy to think their primary business is actually batteries.
  - greglindahl 10y ago
    More battery production -> lower battery prices -> lower car price -> more car sales.
  - crdoconnor 10y ago
    Powerwall doesn't make a lot of sense. It's about 30-40% more expensive than other batteries that were on the market when it came out. And, while Tesla cars might be bragworthy and worthy of showing off to your friends, house batteries are not. All that really matters is cost and efficiency.
    - jacquesm 10y ago
      If you already have a Tesla you effectively have a powerwall too. All you need to do is plug it into your home circuit and store whatever energy you want. If the car isn't moving it's just a huge battery. The extra hardware required to convert the energy in the batteries back to household power is pretty trivial, and it shares major characteristics/components with the electronics in the power module of the inverter driving the electric motor in the car.
      - crdoconnor 10y ago
        I don't see the point of that either. It'll just wear out your expensive battery more quickly. And to what end?
        greglindahl 10y ago
        One thing that doesn't wear out your battery at all is a smart controller that charges your battery when energy is cheapest. So all that excess night-time wind energy can be sopped up, not to mention that day-time excess solar energy for cars that plug in at work. It's like storage, only it costs almost nothing: all you need is a lot of cars with overly-large batteries plugged in, and a little predictive software.
      - TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago