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Difficult to say, but one of the big factor for everyone saying they will stop to make gas cars was the Dieselgate. The world may have decided to reluctantly d

by gutnor 9y ago

Difficult to say, but one of the big factor for everyone saying they will stop to make gas cars was the Dieselgate. The world may have decided to reluctantly drag itself to electric the "Nissan Leaf" way, leaving the rich people brags about their high power ice cars. Tesla has made electric car looks cool, so sure the bulk of the electrification will come from uncool car like the Leaf or the Bolt, but Tesla made people dream of going electric. Thanks Elon, probably sped up electric adoption by a decade.

ams6110 9y ago
This is close to my view. I think electric vehicles would have started to get popular at some point anyway, because the battery technology is finally able to support a car that has practical power and range. But Musk had a vision, and the money, and the motivation to show the world what an electric car could be, at a time when most people's concept of an electric car was something closer to a golf cart than a real automobile. Speeding things up by a decade sounds about right to me. I disagree about dieselgate though. Much ado about nothing. There just aren't enough diesel cars in the USA for it to really make a difference. GM destroyed the US consumer interest in diesel cars in the 1970s with their abysmal offerings.
- gutnor 9y ago
  From Europe, the dieselgate has had a lot of ripple effects. Diesel is king in Europe and that crisis shook the public trust in the technology. So the various other numerous complain about the diesel suddenly became more visible. Diesel-bashing became fashionable and it has had a visible effect on diesel car sales. This drop in popularity lead to various city banning diesel (in the future). The timing of it all makes me think that Germany saw the Dieselgate as the last drop marking the end of the golden age and rather than wait for the industry to figure it out, they decided to force them forward.

by gutnor 9y ago

ams6110 9y ago

This is close to my view. I think electric vehicles would have started to get popular at some point anyway, because the battery technology is finally able to support a car that has practical power and range. But Musk had a vision, and the money, and the motivation to show the world what an electric car could be, at a time when most people's concept of an electric car was something closer to a golf cart than a real automobile. Speeding things up by a decade sounds about right to me. I disagree about dieselgate though. Much ado about nothing. There just aren't enough diesel cars in the USA for it to really make a difference. GM destroyed the US consumer interest in diesel cars in the 1970s with their abysmal offerings.

gutnor 9y ago
From Europe, the dieselgate has had a lot of ripple effects. Diesel is king in Europe and that crisis shook the public trust in the technology. So the various other numerous complain about the diesel suddenly became more visible. Diesel-bashing became fashionable and it has had a visible effect on diesel car sales. This drop in popularity lead to various city banning diesel (in the future). The timing of it all makes me think that Germany saw the Dieselgate as the last drop marking the end of the golden age and rather than wait for the industry to figure it out, they decided to force them forward.