| So you've provided your perspective on why you think the iPhone wasn't that disruptive at the time (though, given that, a year after its launch, numerous phone manufacturers announced their own smartphones, I think you're rewriting history a bit, but whatever, that's not actually the point of the conversation). At the same time you've claimed Tesla will be the iPhone of the car world. You claimed "In this way [Tesla] is similar to the iPhone coming in and basically killing Nokia, Motorola and Blackberry." I'm asking why you believe that. Can you expand on that? I've heard claims of vertical integration, but that hasn't proven to be a major differentiator, and in fact is turning out to be a liability (see: reliance on China). I've heard claims of manufacturing automation, but that's turned out to largely be a failure. I've heard claims about the synergy with Solar City and their battery development, but that's proven to be a very small moat, at best. I've heard claims about the value of OTA updates for software, but that too hasn't been that disruptive, and now other manufacturers are doing the same. I've heard claims about their abandonment of the dealership model, but that doesn't seem to have been much of a differentiator, and given their service reputation, seems to have become a liability. Elon is selling the idea that FSD is the critical factor, but FSD is increasingly looking like an unattainable dream, at least with the hardware platform Tesla currently has in the market. So what's your take? Why do you still think Tesla will be like "the iPhone coming in and basically killing Nokia, Motorola and Blackberry"? What am I missing? You've also explained why you think Tesla, at 20 years, hasn't yet had the disruptive effect on the market that you seem you be predicting, laying it at the feet of market structure and so forth. But you haven't explained why you believe that will change, either. |