Tesla would crush it if they had an offering outside the luxury market segment. They have 2.5% of US sales and operate completely in the luxury segment which is

Tesla would crush it if they had an offering outside the luxury market segment. They have 2.5% of US sales and operate completely in the luxury segment which is 5% of US sales altogether. Model 3 starts at $46k, a BMW 3 series is cheaper. If they built a lower range, no frills, compact commuter car with lower margins (their margins are insane - like 20%+) and higher quantity produced they would end up so far ahead of anyone else because they could be in that market segment now-ish. The traditional car companies are probably 1-3 years away from mass producing EVs, maybe longer. How many households have a primary "family car" and a secondary commuter/small trip car? That 2nd car could easily be an EV with a smaller range (200mi). Its a much larger market segment than luxury. If Tesla just sticks to luxury segment, their story could be similar to Netflix or maybe close to the betamax vs VHS story (betamax was better technically but lost).