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One of our readers asked: Why do people say Tesla changed the world instead of BYD even though they are both making electric cars? What is the difference between Tesla and BYD?
The truth is, there is a big difference between them.
BYD entered the game world manufactured by the auto giants, and the worldview, scenes, and rules of this game have long been defined. If you want to produce cars, you need to obey the rules of this game.
If you are BYD, what will you do?
Learn and reference.
Follow the traditional path of making cars, choose a segmented market, define the user group, analyze the competitors in the market, and plan sales and profits accurately. What kind of appearance, configuration, and interior the car should have, you learn and imitate.
So, the cars they made used to look like this.
They only replaced gasoline with batteries.
Like most car manufacturers, electric cars are just one of the projects in their companies, and the company did not devote all their efforts to developing electric cars.
As early as in 2011, BYD’s employees said in an interview with a media that most of the company’s resources were still on traditional cars and had not yet been tilted toward electric cars.
They chose to imitate, experiment, and explore slowly in China, which is a conventional business model that is so ordinary that it is hard to be admired.
The context of a statement is different.
Elon Musk’s biggest contribution is his firm belief that electric power is the future alternative energy, and he has the courage and ability to prove the rationality of electric cars at the cost of billions of dollars, in order to drive the change of the whole society’s thinking.
So he makes rockets, invests in solar energy, and produces electric cars.
He said he likes to lever resources at the root of things with physics thinking and trace back to the origin, and not be limited by the design of the existing system.
He chooses to influence those influential people and make them to influence more people.
Tesla’s research found that many wealthy people in the United States usually have two cars. One is a Ferrari sports car, and the other is a hybrid Prius. The purpose of buying a Prius is to express their attitude toward the environment and their concern for society, in addition to the low energy consumption and low emission.
Tesla has combined environmentalism and sports cars to attract high-income individuals and social elites who have a strong sense of environmental awareness.
When introducing the Model S, Musk said, “Our goal is to be comparable to one of the fastest cars in history: the McLaren F1.” As a result, the previously unknown and expensive electric car was made popular by Hollywood and Silicon Valley, two places that are known for creating entertainment and business stars. Tesla’s high-end, fashionable, and energy-saving positioning perfectly meets their needs.
Elon Musk displayed Tesla’s latest car in a black velvet jacket under the spotlight, resembling a rock star. The flashing lights were accompanied by the blogger who transcribed his jokes on-site while his image was projected onto a large video screen. Whether these ambitious goals can be achieved or not is not important, but Musk’s talent, endless creative imagination, and unparalleled ambition have made him the embodiment of human future concepts.
Elon Musk is the person you want to invest in.
Unlike traditional car manufacturers, Tesla has invested all of its resources in electric cars, battery management research, autonomous driving technology research, and open patents. In addition to energy, environmental protection, and fashion, he has also played a card called technology.
For example, the new version of Tesla’s Autopilot system has a lane-change function, and among all the available models, only the Model S supports this function. The Model S relied solely on the combination of millimeter-wave radar and binocular camera to solve this complex problem that was still being solved in the laboratory and achieved a product-level solution.
In addition, Tesla’s software system can constantly be updated. For example, AutoPilot 7.1 can be updated for any model manufactured after October 2014 that has installed the autonomous driving kit to use the latest version launched in 2016. It is worth noting that when we purchase a traditional car, its software system’s “intelligence level” remains the same as the day it left the factory.A buyer mentioned on a website that he had a crash with his Tesla. Within about one minute, he received a call from Tesla headquarters, informing him that their system had detected a problem with his car and had already alerted the authorities, asking if he needed assistance.
Cars really need not only speed and convenience, but also intelligence.
The focused research on the autonomous driving systems by Tesla and other tech companies has also accelerated cooperation between traditional automakers and tech companies.
Automakers are increasingly appearing in technology news.
Recently, Ford established a subsidiary in Silicon Valley. Ford CEO Mark Fields said that we are currently in a special period of automotive development history, and Ford needs to make changes, so old-fashioned thinking cannot affect the development of automotive intelligence. Establishing Ford’s technology mobility company in Silicon Valley rather than elsewhere is to create a brand new driving technology for humans, alter the existing mode of transportation.
This is truly heartening.
Tesla is a catfish that swept into the automotive industry.
Fast, brave, decisive.
Without the burden of financial expectations like traditional automakers, Tesla used a rigorous strategy, steady development, and a charming corporate image to win fans and employees, stimulate industry thinking, and gradually gain government support. It slowly won resources and a stage.
It is full of ambition, but also grounded.
Believing in its persistence and betting on this belief.
The world is being changed bit by bit.
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This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.