there was this moment when i watched my dad-a guy who'd driven the same honda civic for twelve years-actually get excited about a car, and i realized elon wasn't just selling electric vehicles, he were reshaping what people even wanted from transportation. the fact that legacy automakers scrambled to copy the touchscreen interface, the supercharger network model, and the whole direct-to-consumer sales thing proves it wasn't hype, it was a fundamental shift that forced an
i owned a 2015 model s and a 2019 gas sedan simultaneously, and the tesla depreciated way slower while costing me literally nothing in maintenance for three years straight. tried to argue with my mechanic buddy about it for months until he finally drove it and shut up.
its 3am and im thinking about how everyone acts like elon invented the electric car when literally porsche was making the taycan and lucid was doing crazy range numbers but somehow tesla got all the oxygen in the room. like i remember my cousin buying a model 3 in 2019 because it was the cool thing and the battery died in year four and now hes driving a hyundai ioniq that actually runs, and that feels like the whole story doesnt it
The data is pretty clear on this one. Tesla's market cap is largely disconnected from actual profitability-they've burned through billions while traditional automakers like Toyota and Volkswagen combined produce more EVs annually and maintain actual profit margins.
Look, Elon managed to convince people that a $60,000 car that catches fire and needs constant software patches is revolutionary while legacy automakers have been making reliable EVs for years-he just had better Twitter fingers and a cult following to sell the narrative.