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I don't understand why Tesla bet on Autopilot. They're a small car company that's just getting started, why not concentrate on selling electric cars? That in it

I don't understand why Tesla bet on Autopilot. They're a small car company that's just getting started, why not concentrate on selling electric cars? That in itself is unique enough, the Autopilot feature is mostly a gimmick which adds complexity and liability. Even if they think self driving cars are the future they could wait until it can be bought from suppliers, or at least develop it in house without releasing it to the public until it's done. To a lesser extent I think the same about Falcon wing doors on the model X, although that isn't a safety issue and they seem to work ok now. But the car would have been done sooner and cheaper if they had released it with regular doors, and I doubt the customers would have minded.

forapurpose 9y ago
> the car would have been done sooner and cheaper if they had released it with regular doors, and I doubt the customers would have minded IME, and speaking very generally, when businesses take the approach that 'customers won't mind', their products revert to the mean, to commodities. If you want to have a special brand, to charge a premium, you need to thrill customers, not do things in a way that the customers 'won't mind'. Consider Apple and their 'obsessive' focus on small details. Consider the Beatles - they didn't say, 'lets just do it the easy way; our listeners won't mind'. Also, I think customers do notice these things, even if unconsciously. It applies to any craftsmanship. Most people can distinguish a cheap men's suit from an expensive one, even if they can't consciously name many reasons. The cheap suit is made to the standard of customers 'not minding'; it's a commodity and nobody cares about the brand.
- sorenjan 9y ago
  I get that special features can be important to stand out from the crowd, but my point is that Tesla is the only available well designed electric car at the moment, have been for years, and will be for a while longer. That's why people buy them, not because of new kinds of doors or overhyped Autopilot. You could call the interior screen a bit of a gimmick too, but I think it's mainly a way to save on interior design cost, and then made out to be a futuristic feature. I think it's more of an ego thing, they want to show that they're more high tech than the old "dinosaurs" that still use fossil fuel and requires you to drive your own car. Focusing on the car part and less on gizmos in the start might have been better.
seanp2k2 9y ago
I agree that the doors are idiotic, but they serve to make normal people who don’t care about cars want to spend >$100k on a vehicle. “It opens like a lambo!” Silicon Valley had a bit about this too: https://youtu.be/_ih1ptOguaM https://youtu.be/_ih1ptOguaM (warning: they swear during this) The “autopilot” is obviously oversold and mislabeled, but again, it’s a way to get non-car people with too much disposable income to want one. “Can your car do that???!” Free charging some places, HOV stickers, tax credits on >$100k vehicles (the Porsche 918 was also eligible)...and smug owners believing that they’re really helping to save the planet vs riding a bicycle / walking / using public transit / carpooling / not living an hour away from work.

forapurpose 9y ago

> the car would have been done sooner and cheaper if they had released it with regular doors, and I doubt the customers would have minded IME, and speaking very generally, when businesses take the approach that 'customers won't mind', their products revert to the mean, to commodities. If you want to have a special brand, to charge a premium, you need to thrill customers, not do things in a way that the customers 'won't mind'. Consider Apple and their 'obsessive' focus on small details. Consider the Beatles - they didn't say, 'lets just do it the easy way; our listeners won't mind'. Also, I think customers do notice these things, even if unconsciously. It applies to any craftsmanship. Most people can distinguish a cheap men's suit from an expensive one, even if they can't consciously name many reasons. The cheap suit is made to the standard of customers 'not minding'; it's a commodity and nobody cares about the brand.

sorenjan 9y ago
I get that special features can be important to stand out from the crowd, but my point is that Tesla is the only available well designed electric car at the moment, have been for years, and will be for a while longer. That's why people buy them, not because of new kinds of doors or overhyped Autopilot. You could call the interior screen a bit of a gimmick too, but I think it's mainly a way to save on interior design cost, and then made out to be a futuristic feature. I think it's more of an ego thing, they want to show that they're more high tech than the old "dinosaurs" that still use fossil fuel and requires you to drive your own car. Focusing on the car part and less on gizmos in the start might have been better.

seanp2k2 9y ago

I agree that the doors are idiotic, but they serve to make normal people who don’t care about cars want to spend >$100k on a vehicle. “It opens like a lambo!” Silicon Valley had a bit about this too: https://youtu.be/_ih1ptOguaM https://youtu.be/_ih1ptOguaM (warning: they swear during this) The “autopilot” is obviously oversold and mislabeled, but again, it’s a way to get non-car people with too much disposable income to want one. “Can your car do that???!” Free charging some places, HOV stickers, tax credits on >$100k vehicles (the Porsche 918 was also eligible)...and smug owners believing that they’re really helping to save the planet vs riding a bicycle / walking / using public transit / carpooling / not living an hour away from work.