Why Is Tesla the Car of the Future?
The future is electric, as Tesla continues to develop transportation changing the way we drive today and providing added safety to drivers. Although the company is not a pioneer in electric vehicles, it has certainly been able to leave a mark in the auto industry. As a result, 17 years after it was founded (formerly Tesla Motors), the conglomerate is now a billion-dollar enterprise.
From burning cash rapidly to produce the Model 3 and prompting questions about its survival to a meteoric rise in Tesla’s stock, several lessons can be learned from Tesla. Represented by the charismatic presence of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his vision to produce high-quality and affordable electric vehicles, the company’s unique business model integrates an automaker, a hardware supplier, and a tech company. Even though many automobile manufacturers are competing to take over the electric giant, there are some reasons why Tesla is truly the car of the future.
1. Autonomous Machines
Big automotive companies compete to bring autonomous, self-driving vehicles to the customers, and the motor giant may have come very close. Even though it may take a long time for self-driving vehicles to be released to the general public, Elon Musk said the automobile manufacturer is very close to achieving level 5 autonomous driving technology. He recently tweeted the findings of a report conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The tweet read, “The data show that the Tesla vehicles crash rate dropped by almost 40 percent after Autosteer installation.”
The motors currently carry features such as Autopilot that steers the vehicle on highways and effectively changes lanes. Autonomous motors thrive on self-learning, and the conglomerate has made solid progress in machine learning. As of April 2020, it logged 3 billion miles on Autopilot. Its closest rival, Waymo, logged 20 million miles.
2. Powerful Battery-Powered Vehicles
By designing battery-powered vehicles and using software to make the batteries more efficient, the Model S can be successfully driven for over 370 miles without stopping for a charge. As such, the Model S achieved the highest safety ratings in history and was the most-awarded car of 2013. The Model S was also the first luxury E.V. sedan that accelerated faster than many sports vehicles.
The Model 3, a four-door sedan, delivers up to 325 miles between charges. In 2019, the Model 3 became the all-time best-selling plug-in electric car in the U.S. and worldwide. The Model X, a mid-size crossover SUV, was dubbed the top-selling plug-in electric car in Norway in 2016. The Model Y, based on the Model 3 platform, started key handovers on March 13, 2020. The Tesla Roadster was unveiled on November 16, 2017, with a 200 kWh battery pack that achieves 60 mph in 1.9 seconds. One of the most stunning reveals in automotive history, the Cybertruck, with its stainless-steel body and triangular shape, was introduced to the market in November 2019.
One of the key strategies in their design is accommodating different battery cell chemistries such that the battery pack allows for multiple suppliers. The business has also acquired several battery manufacturing companies, such as Hibar Systems, a Canadian company specializing in manufacturing automated batteries for E.V.s, and Maxwell, an American company specializing in next-gen lithium-ion electrodes. The motor giant aims to incorporate newer battery-related technologies in the future. This could further reduce the cost of owning an E.V.
Another advantage for owners is the access to the Supercharger network, which effectively restores a vehicle’s battery to full capacity in an hour.
3. Development
The automaker is a product architect and develops a vehicle design, much like Apple builds the iPhone, by integrating software into unique hardware. As such, the automaker can improve its vehicles’ software functionality every few months. With the over-the-air updates, customers can wake up to a significantly updated car. As the software is enhanced, the vehicle keeps getting better, and the performance is enhanced. Other traditional automotive companies fail to adopt this strategy, and the vehicle remains the same.
Owning an E.V. is significantly lower than buying one with an internal combustion engine. The electric vehicles manufactured by this automobile manufacturer feature fewer parts and do not demand frequent oil changes or replacement of parts such as mufflers.
4. Data-Powered Technology
The traditional auto business highlighted features such as styling, engine displacement, accessories, and performance. However, the auto manufacturer has changed the paradigm of automotive motors by introducing a data-driven auto industry. Along with the foundational AI and autonomous features, these are learning machines that depend on the data pool to garner customer algorithms. In 2019, over 900,000 motors were sold, and they have been gathering loads of data, such as driver behaviors and performance reports. In turn, these data are being used to accelerate the vehicles’ growth, building strategies to make them smarter.
5. Giving back to the environment
From a marketing perspective, the automaker gives environmentally aware citizens a vehicle that creates no pollution, effectively stops the use of gas, and has a green approach. Although several other automakers have joined the wagon and are offering E.V.s to their customers, the key difference lies in the fact that those are traditional machines fitted with electric motors while the latter are software cars. Predictably, there are many risk factors associated with software motors, but the makers have been able to avert such security risks by managing their functionality.
Tesla has incorporated some risky strategies, such as closing all its showrooms and moving sales completely to the Internet, which has been working in its favor so far. It has focused solely on batteries and has a strong commitment to building Giga factories, attracting loyal customers and generating a talent pool to build the company’s future. By designing futuristic machines, bringing significant improvements to self-driving technology, and garnering customer data to accelerate their software, it is now evident that the automotive manufacturer is focused solely on the future. Its mission to change the world has brought a shift in driving vehicles and brings the future closer to the consumers.
