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"EVs are now the centerpiece of every manufacturer's plans for the coming decades, and that is because of Tesla." 100% because of tesla? I remember in college

"EVs are now the centerpiece of every manufacturer's plans for the coming decades, and that is because of Tesla." 100% because of tesla? I remember in college before any EV being asked to sign a petition to car manufacturers, "please build EVs so I van buy one" I agree Tesla has shifted the perspective on EVs. The absolutism that there was nothing else going on before in the absence of Tesla and nothing else since - seems perhaps myopic

SoftTalker 4y ago
I think it is. GM had their EV1 experiment, but they weren't serious about it and destroyed all the cars after the experiment was over. Tesla was the first serious effort at an EV that wasn't a shed-built project car, that had something approaching usable range, and looked like a normal car not a cartoon. I don't think any other major auto manufacturer had EVs on the radar in a serious way before Tesla. I'll add that I think the self-driving, glass panel display, and all of that was unnecessary. They would have had as much success with normal manual controls and simple conventional cruise control with maybe lane assist and auto-braking like other luxury cars had. But that's mostly based on what I like in a car, I could be wrong from the perspective of the market.
- seadan83 4y ago
  Would the Chevy volt be a counter example,or the wildly popular prius? Arguably range is still a problem for any EV on a long distance road trip - lack of charging stations (even for a Tesla, some routes are ok, but nothing guaranteed about any route). So if long distance trips are generally out, the previously mentioned cars did have enough range for around town and then some - similar to Tesla My opinion, I feel like Tesla ownership is overrepresented in specific metro areas, creating a bit of a bubble perception effect (if a person looks at SF or Seattle alone, one would think Tesla is crushing everything else, yet overall they still sell a fraction of what the other automakers are selling)
MBCook 4y ago
I think you’re right, we would have ended up at EVs no matter what. There are just too many advantages. That said, I think tesla sped up that timeline quite a bit. Maybe a decade, maybe two. I don’t know how I would ever guess the correct number. but I think there’s no question EVs would not be what/where they are without Tesla.

SoftTalker 4y ago

I think it is. GM had their EV1 experiment, but they weren't serious about it and destroyed all the cars after the experiment was over. Tesla was the first serious effort at an EV that wasn't a shed-built project car, that had something approaching usable range, and looked like a normal car not a cartoon. I don't think any other major auto manufacturer had EVs on the radar in a serious way before Tesla. I'll add that I think the self-driving, glass panel display, and all of that was unnecessary. They would have had as much success with normal manual controls and simple conventional cruise control with maybe lane assist and auto-braking like other luxury cars had. But that's mostly based on what I like in a car, I could be wrong from the perspective of the market.

seadan83 4y ago
Would the Chevy volt be a counter example,or the wildly popular prius? Arguably range is still a problem for any EV on a long distance road trip - lack of charging stations (even for a Tesla, some routes are ok, but nothing guaranteed about any route). So if long distance trips are generally out, the previously mentioned cars did have enough range for around town and then some - similar to Tesla My opinion, I feel like Tesla ownership is overrepresented in specific metro areas, creating a bit of a bubble perception effect (if a person looks at SF or Seattle alone, one would think Tesla is crushing everything else, yet overall they still sell a fraction of what the other automakers are selling)

MBCook 4y ago

I think you’re right, we would have ended up at EVs no matter what. There are just too many advantages. That said, I think tesla sped up that timeline quite a bit. Maybe a decade, maybe two. I don’t know how I would ever guess the correct number. but I think there’s no question EVs would not be what/where they are without Tesla.