A👏 461-word👏 sub👏 2.5-minute👏 read.
Tesla has always been a media darling, but with Elon Musk playing the Grinch who stole Washington, coverage of the company has reached new heights.
Much of the news isn’t good. Sales are heavily down in Europe and China, and its stock has lost almost half its value this year. Yet, that pales in comparison to today’s news.
Chinese automaker BYD announced a new fast-charging technology that reportedly can add 249 miles of range in five-minutes.
Be❤️still❤️my❤️heart.❤️
This is the holy grail of EV charging – charging an EV in about the time it takes to fill a gas tank.
Any announcement from China should be viewed with a healthy skepticism. Nonetheless, it would be hard to believe that BYD would make such a bodacious claim if it weren’t generally true.
BYD says its “Super e-Platform” technology has a peak-charging speed of 1,000 kW – double that of Tesla’s fastest V4 supercharger. We’ll know shortly as two new models with the technology are expected next month.
The supped-up EVs reportedly will sell for $37,330. That might be a silver lining for Tesla given Elon’s $30K Tesla is right around the corner.
No, seriously, Elon said so. It’s coming out within months, and Musk would never lie. He promised a sub-$30K Tesla in 2008 and by golly he’s going to deliver it.
I have long said that Tesla would not survive as a car company. Tesla as company may survive because it sells battery storage, and if Elon can pull himself away from playing a Trump mini-me, Tesla may have a robotaxi and AI technology. Someday.
And of course, how could I forget that Tesla owns the Cybertruck market. That alone is good for what – at least 0.5% of the total U.S. pickup market.
But seriously, Tesla has flourished in no small part because its hasn’t faced any serious competition, and has – up to this point – had superior technology.
Today, the competitive landscape has dramatically shifted, not only because of BYD, but because every luxury car maker has become a player. As for Tesla’s technology lead, it has always been assumed that it would maintain it. Except that in all the decades I’ve been involved in technology, I’ve never seen a company accomplish that feat.
If BYD’s fast-charging announcement is credible, it will shatter the myth of Tesla’s technology invincibility, and seal Tesla’s fate in China. Tesla is already tanking in Europe, and BYD is making inroads in every other country not engaged in a trade war. That leaves Tesla with the domestic market. And at this point, that consists mostly of Republican buyers of EVs. That has to be good for what – hundreds of cars every year.
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