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https://thedriven.io/2025/04/01/why-the-tesla-backlash-could-help-electric-cars-finally-go-mainstream/>
"Elon Musk’s controversial political views and actions have sparked an exodus
from X (formerly Twitter), his social media platform, and mass protests against
his car company, Tesla. Dealerships in the US and beyond have experienced
peaceful protests and occasional vandalism, while sales are down almost
everywhere and the company has lost almost half its value in two months.
Ironically, these political controversies may broaden the mass market appeal of
electric vehicles. This is an industry that needs to go beyond the
early-adopter tech bros – and now might be the moment.
In 2010, when Tesla became the first American carmaker to go public since Ford
in 1956, fully electric cars were still a niche technology. The Nissan Leaf was
launched that same year, but it was still limited to shorter trips in cities.
Other big carmakers weren’t yet taking electric seriously, and the Chinese
electric vehicle (EV) industry was just starting to gear up.
In 2013, when the International Energy Agency (IEA) produced its first Global
EV Outlook report, there were less than 60,000 on the road worldwide. A decade
later, almost the same number of EVs are sold every day.
So, there is plenty of evidence that Tesla had a leading role in making EVs a
“winning technology” – something the traditional major carmakers felt compelled
to compete with. Governments around the world also got on board."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
