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Pretty sure Tesla's moat is that people think they are cool and other EVs aren't.
by johndhi 3y ago
Pretty sure Tesla's moat is that people think they are cool and other EVs aren't.
- 93po 3y agoOr that they have, by far, the best products at given prices.
- jameshart 3y agoJD Power has Rivian, MINI and Kia scoring higher than any Tesla model.[1] Polestar, Ford VW, Audi and Hyundai are in the same ballpark for ratings. Several of those manufacturers have cars in the 30K range, well below the prices Tesla is starting at. That moat seems pretty small these days. [1] https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-us-electric-vehicle-experience-evx-ownership-study https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-us-elec...
- andruby 3y agoDo they have electric cars in the 30K range? What’s the battery range for their entry level cars? (I only know Rivian’s pricing by heart, which starts at 75K)
- jameshart 3y agoMost people don’t need Tesla range. The MINI Cooper does 114 miles for under $30K, and Hyundai, Kia and Ford all offer 240 mile + ranges for under $40K. Tesla Model 3 has 270 miles on the base model but you’re paying over $40k for that.
- 93po 3y agoI believe these studies to be problematic for many reasons. The first is because they measure owner satisfaction, but they make zero effort to measure owner expectations. Are the expectations for people buying Teslas much higher than people who buy from other manufacturers? Are they more sophisticated of a buyer and think more deeply about their car? The second issue is they also do things like compare the Rivian R1T to the Model 3, which is half the retail price and less than a quarter of the manufacturing cost (Rivian takes huge losses on their sales). The final issue I'll mention is that JD Power makes almost all of its money from traditional car manufacturers. This is a huge conflict of interest and there is zero legal accountability.
- Delphiki 3y agoFor me, it's hard to find anyone else that matches Tesla on price, range, and performance. It seems like with the other EVs you get to pick two of those.
- travisporter 3y agoI agree. I think Hyundai/Kia got close until Tesla dropped their prices.
- jandrese 3y agoJD Power is also a marketing arm for the auto industry. Their numbers have been a joke since at least the 80s. "#1 in initial quality" is such a laughable claim yet car companies pay JD Power to award it every year.
- crazygringo 3y agoJust to clarify, in business terminology, that's not a moat. A moat is something difficult/impossible for other competitors to cross, something strategically defensive. Being cool isn't a moat because anyone else can become cool. In contrast, network effects are a classic example of a moat, because no matter how much cooler/better your product is, people won't switch until the majority of the rest of their network switches. So nobody moves, hence a defensive moat.
- cjblomqvist 3y agoThat's not strictly correct. It's (very!) hard for someone to replicate the brand of Apple or Coca-Cola. Moats are all on a scale, and branding is one of the generally harder ones to compete with.