> If I can see it then how is it that every car company hasn’t been preparing low cost EV offerings of their own?
Because they didn't believe that EVs or small cars were something that could be profitable, at least not compared to the high margin, cash cow SUVs. Instead, they did what they did the last few decades - invest into lobbying to keep emission standards relaxed. Only when Volkswagen and a fair few others got caught cheating, that business model went down the drain and suddenly they had to change.
> A few are but most seem in denial. Ford is the only US one I’ve heard rumors about having something in the works.
BMW is investing almost two billion dollars into its Spartanburg plant to produce electric versions of the X series SUVs [1].
> Tesla meanwhile spent tons of capital and time on ridiculous microniche products like the cybertruck.
Indeed. The thing is a joke on wheels... it shows that unlike SpaceX with Gwynne Shotwell, Tesla (and Twitter) don't have an "Elon handler" responsible for pushing back.
Tangent but: the ultimate "Elon handler" at SpaceX is not just Shotwell but NASA, the DOD, and their satellite customers.
Space launch is not like cars or really most other products. Your customer is highly technical and highly informed and they absolutely will not launch on a rocket that doesn't meet certain design criteria and in many cases they will require the ability to review the rocket's actual design blueprints and software (with NDA in place). NASA and the DOD will demand this, full stop.
If SpaceX didn't have someone like Shotwell pretty much running the show there's no chance they'd ever get a customer beyond the low end of the satellite launch market. They'd also have trouble getting the FAA to allow them to fly, and with good reason. A rocket is basically a bomb that explodes in one direction, and many of its failure modes involve it exploding in all directions.
Elon's been great (at least in the past) at assembling teams, getting funding, and motivating people to do really hard shit. (Not sure how he'd fare today with his baggage... his brand has taken a hit.) He also knows enough about engineering to hire competent engineers. Beyond that I see little sign that he's actually good at managing or day to day operation and certainly seems no good at product design. This differs from Jobs who at least had killer intuition there. Jobs would have laughed the cybertruck out of the room.
> Space launch is not like cars or really most other products. Your customer is highly technical and highly informed and they absolutely will not launch on a rocket that doesn't meet certain design criteria and in many cases they will require the ability to review the rocket's actual design blueprints and software (with NDA in place). NASA and the DOD will demand this, full stop.
You should read Isaacson’s biography of Musk - there are sections about SpaceX where Musk questions assumptions and goes against the status quo in assembly, operations, and pricing so deeply embedded in the NASA/Boeing/Northrup dynamics.
Because they didn't believe that EVs or small cars were something that could be profitable, at least not compared to the high margin, cash cow SUVs. Instead, they did what they did the last few decades - invest into lobbying to keep emission standards relaxed. Only when Volkswagen and a fair few others got caught cheating, that business model went down the drain and suddenly they had to change.
> A few are but most seem in denial. Ford is the only US one I’ve heard rumors about having something in the works.
BMW is investing almost two billion dollars into its Spartanburg plant to produce electric versions of the X series SUVs [1].
> Tesla meanwhile spent tons of capital and time on ridiculous microniche products like the cybertruck.
Indeed. The thing is a joke on wheels... it shows that unlike SpaceX with Gwynne Shotwell, Tesla (and Twitter) don't have an "Elon handler" responsible for pushing back.
[1] https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T042217...