Coming After Tesla
Rachel Konrad (pictured), Elon Musk’s original communications tsar, makes this comment on the traditional auto industry’s current attempts to dethrone Tesla:“If VW and Toyota “spend billions in a bid to catch up with Tesla,” AWESOME! That means they won’t spend that money on greenwashing bullshit, dumb-ass sponsorships and ads, lobbying, unethical software cheats, stupid acquisitions of defunct brands or other moves from the incumbent playbook.
Rather, it means VW and Toyota (and GM, Ford, Nissan and everyone else) will spend billions on R&D to make the world’s best cars (fastest, safest, most efficient, best UI, best ergonomics, best autonomous system, robust charging infrastructure, etc.) and make them zero-emission. If they do this, HUMANITY WINS. I’m skeptical that the incumbents will succeed, but I love the effort.
And FYI, forcing the laggard incumbents to follow suit was Elon’s highest goal all along. That’s precisely how you accelerate the shift to zero-emission energy and transport.”
It’s unclear why it took so long for this to happen. It’s been 13 years since Tesla’s first model was released, and the automakers have been talking about this ever since.
We all remember GM’s ex-co-chairman Bob Lutz, one of the noisiest of all auto execs, who taunted Musk, saying that no one from outside the industry, and certainly no one from Silicon Valley, could possibly have the expertise to succeed.
In any case, as Konrad says, “Humanity wins.” I’m more than OK with that.
