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the time to fight 'Chinese EV's was a decade ago, but legacy manufacturers preferred to fiddle emission data rather than face a future which was clear even then
by hunglee2 3y ago
the time to fight 'Chinese EV's was a decade ago, but legacy manufacturers preferred to fiddle emission data rather than face a future which was clear even then. Incumbents cannot innovate when doing so means destroying their current (successful) business model, seems to be an iron law of business.
- PaulHoule 3y agoIn "big tech" you see counters to that such as Microsoft's repeated experiments like Windows 8 (where they looked ready to throw it all away for the tablet form factor) or Facebook's knowing that it is very mortal so it has bought many possible competitors and is investing heavily in XR. (Zuck has shown some public contrition about this and he's learned his lessons on some things, he won't show pictures of his creepy avatar anymore, but the heavy investment continues) Pre-Tesla the assumption was that electric cars were going to start out as low capability vehicles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1 but Tesla realized a lithium-ion electric could make it as a luxury car. The trouble w/ western car manufacturers is that they are hung up on selling $80,000 XXXL SUVs and pickup trucks that not a lot of people can afford. Had GM come out with an electric Hummer in 2010 that might have been the right vehicle but today is too late, you have 50 electric car startups competing to sell 5000 XXXL SUVs, it is not worth GM's time. Tesla is meantime moving downmarket whereas Detroit's plan is to gang up with the UAW to double-team lawmakers to use the law as a weapon against competition.