Why Tesla is the car company of the future, today

As someone who’s been obsessed with gas powered cars my whole life and has been lucky enough to own some pretty special ones (Ariel Atom 245, Toyota Supra Twin Turbo Manual) I’ve followed Tesla since its inception. I took a factory tour of their Fremont plant in 2014 when they were beginning to scale Model S production and I’ve driven several Model S and Model 3s since, although as a cash strapped entrepreneur I’ve yet to own one. As a company founder, albeit at a completely different scale, I also have some empathy for the immense challenges Elon Musk has been up against and incredible achievement it is for Tesla to be where they are today.

From my perspective, Tesla is the company to beat. Of course, it’s stock price is beginning to reflect that but I believe there is a lot to be optimistic about in Telsa’s future. First, let’s get this out of the way:

If you have a decent amount to spend on a practical car, why wouldn’t you buy a Tesla?

• It’s out of your price range - with sales tax and even accounting for incentives, it’s still an expensive car that will be at least $40k out of the door and perhaps a little less after you collect your incentives.
• Owning a Tesla expresses that you’re an early(ish) adopter, tech-forward eco warrior but perhaps that’s not individual enough. You could opt for a wrap, decals or a body kit but Model 3’s are increasingly common, are only available in limited colors, and are driven by all types, young and old.
• You don’t have any easy way to charge the car at home or work, for example you have to park on the street.
• You like the sound and emotion of a gas powered car, you like historic cars and/or you want a manual transmission.

If you’re still with me, there are numerous reasons why you should buy a Tesla:

• The Model 3 is a great looking four door sedan (I’d love it if they bought back the silver color in the photo above).
• The performance of the Model 3 both in terms of acceleration and handling comfortably beats most of its rivals and at the higher end beats many supercars which is frankly mind-blowing!
• The Model 3 is the safest car ever tested by the NHTSA in a crash test - when considered in combination with the performance superiority this really is a winning combination.
• It is much cheaper to run costing just 3.5 cents per mile in “fuel” (based on electricity at $0.15/kW) vs 16 cents per mile (based on gas at $4.0 per gallon and 25MPG).
• The range of the Model 3 sits between 220 and 310 miles which comfortably handles most commutes. The supercharger network is now quite built out, especially in California, with new V3 Superchargers capable of over 1000miles/hr charging capability - allowing you to fully charge in under half an hour.
• Servicing costs are minimal with no oil to change (or dispose of, when you change it yourself you realize just how nasty it is), no drivetrain to service and only tires and perhaps very occasionally brakes to replace.
• The ability to recharge the car overnight on your driveway or garage is likely to be much more convenient than having to periodically find a gas station.
• The interior is a breath of fresh air as is the control and entertainment system.
• Autopilot although still with many limitations is very good. I’ll make my mind up on the v1 of Full-Self Driving when it arrives but that will be yet another game changer if it’s as good and as safe as they make it out to be.
• With the Model S, 3, X, Y and Roadster they’ll soon have almost every base covered in terms of practicality and performance.
• As the software improves the car has the potential to actually improve over time!
• You get to avoid the often sleazy car dealership experience although you do have to put up with their very frequent price adjustments and autopilot changes.

The competition is very far behind

There’s a lot of talk but very little action from the competition. Most of the new concepts or models leading manufacturers have announced that, on paper, come close to Tesla’s range and performance are still years away from delivery. The current day competition which includes slow and low range Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt, BMW i3, Kia Soul EV and Volkswagen e-Golf. Probably the most credible competitor is the Chevrolet Bolt with 238 miles of range, a practical but compact layout and a 0-60 of 6.5s however the styling is very pedestrian and it lacks the modern interior, interface and autopilot features.

The scale of data Tesla can collect from the fleet makes their ability to execute on full self-driving unrivalled

During the Autonomy Day talks, Elon Musk said that the data advantage they’re building with cars on the road collecting video streams and driving inputs is akin to people programing Google with their search queries. I totally buy it and think this will create a massive and possibly unsurmountable advantage for Tesla in the future as they deploy and continue to optimize for safety with full self-driving. Having nearly driven in to a flying hand saw, a stationary sofa in the center of the freeway and come across many other nutty situations - yes, the real world is very messy and access to real-world data is critical, just as it is in my own field of healthcare!

Telsa is to cars what the Apple iPhone was to mobile phones

Few companies get to truly redefine an industry like Apple did with phones and Amazon did with AWS. Tesla is in my opinion, one of those companies and I’m not even talking about the solar/energy storage side of their business here. While the Model 3 hasn’t yet democratized EVs to the masses, I’m sure they will continue to bring down costs and with “Robotaxis” and Gen Z moving away from car ownership it may not even be necessary to.

Attracting talent: Tesla is one of the most compelling mission driven companies out there

One of the most important things in running a company, at least from my experience, is attracting and retaining amazing people who can help you grow and tackle hard problems. I think Tesla’s reputation for execution, the ability to solve hard problems and to do it well while working toward a mission of reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, in spite of their notorious hard working culture puts them near the top of the list for many talented people.

All founders have their quirks including Elon Musk

As an entrepreneur I’ve met many company founders and almost all have their quirks. Company founders usually see the world differently, are willing to embrace calculated risks and do not always conform to the normal rules because after all if they did they would be working for <name your company>. Elon Musk certainly has his quirks and repeated and outsized success is likely to have amplified them. Everyone has their weaknesses and some are there to be managed, but ultimately I think he should be embraced for who he is, he’s very highly respected and it’s clearly a winning formula!