Firstly let me say I'm not a finance expert, nor do I hold any qualifications in economics - so what I'm about to talk about is just my own hypothesis... Is Tesla really going to be a key player in the future?
Recently there has been a lot of talk about Elon Musk's plan to take Tesla back into some kind of private ownership. Now whether or not this is possible, let alone legal in the way it was announced, the reasons behind it seem pretty logical from Musk's and Tesla's perspective. To take the company's financials, targets and quarterly progress out of the public domain would allow it spend more time working on moving the company forward with it's long term goals, rather than answering to investors publicly and the short sellers trying to taint the companies image in the hope of a financial gain.
So if Tesla can be left to get on with things, would it stand a real chance of shaking up the motor industry in the way that it's founder hopes? Musk tweeted that Tesla had reached the target of 7,000 cars produced in 7 days. This led to Steven Armstrong (Chairman & CEO, Ford of Europe) tweeting Ford's production speed of 7,000 cars every 4 hours. And they've just announced building their 10,000,000th Mustang. Obviously they are one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world with over 60 factories globally. You can't really compare the two, but Musk wants to play with the big boys and become a "real car company".
Another statistic touted in the past week has been Tesla selling more small to midsize luxury cars in the US than any other manufacturer. Although this is just an estimate it does bode well for Tesla in being able to increase market share and be a real competitor. But can they maintain that?
Isn't it simply a matter of time once the big boys at Ford, GM, VAG etc get their act together and start producing EVs that the general public want to buy? Let's face it the Leaf isn't exactly winning many beauty contests and the i3 looks more like a prototype or concept car. In fact BMW are reportedly considering dropping the 'i' range of branding as people don't think they can actually walk into a showroom and buy one. And why do EVs have to have separate branding? Can't you just walk into a dealer and say I want a 3 series and I'd like it to be powered by a battered powered motor.
My concern for Tesla is that they have really helped kick-start the EV/ alternative fuel market, the internal combustion market leaders have certainly taken note. The charging infrastructure in the UK has grown in the past 3 years and has made owning an EV more of a possibility for more people. Even Shell are installing charging points alongside their typical petroleum delivery. So while Tesla (and others) have been doing the hard job of convincing people that EVs are a practical option, even to the point of installing an ever growing super charging network in the US - will the large manufacturers just swoop in, taking the cream at the optimum market growth point?
Have Tesla got enough of a head start to ensure they are there when things really get serious? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
