Without Musk, they wouldn't have squandered their market advantage with high-profile failure after high-profile failure. They would have released a good enough pickup truck in 2017. They wouldn't have spent a whole decade gaslighting everyone about self-driving cars.
The real reason Tesla was remarkable, and why Musk bought into it, was that they released a mass-market electric car that didn't look and perform like a vacuum cleaner and that got an okay range for commuting. That was the value proposition. China can now exceed those design parameters at a wholesale price of about $8k USD.
The real reason Tesla was remarkable, and why Musk bought into it, was that they released a mass-market electric car that didn't look and perform like a vacuum cleaner and that got an okay range for commuting. That was the value proposition. China can now exceed those design parameters at a wholesale price of about $8k USD.