RJ Scaringe: Companies Are Copying Tesla Too Much

The editor-in-chief at The Verge recently interviewed Rivian’s CEO and founder RJ Scaringe. The big takeaway? That other EV manufacturers are copying Tesla too much. In this article, I’m going to briefly cover what Scaringe said and opine on whether it’s really true.

The rest of the interview is definitely worth listening to or reading the transcript for. It covers a lot about what’s going on with Rivian’s partnerships, especially with Volkswagen. So, if you’re a fan or an investor (or maybe both), be sure to check it out. A ways into the interview, the topic of slowing growth in EV sales (not to be confused with slowing EV sales) came up.

Scaringe says that the problem gets interpreted as lack of demand for EVs generally, but that this mostly comes from companies that sell EVs that haven’t been doing well. He goes on to discuss the general lack of choice in the market, and that EVs at the more affordable end of the market just aren’t that great outside of a few models. Worse, the ones that do reasonably well are often near-copies of the Tesla Model Y, with some measurements of the vehicles landing within mere millimeters of that vehicle!

People coming from the combustion market don’t appreciate that, as they’re used to being able to buy all sorts of vehicles that vary greatly from each other. Instead of getting what they want, they either settle for a Tesla Model Y or simply sit the EV transition out waiting for something that better fits their tastes. He says that this is why the R2 has gained so much attention, as it caters more to the general SUV market and doesn’t try to ape the Model Y.

“I think that’s not to say Model Y isn’t a great car. I think it’s an awesome car. I’ve owned one before. It’s just to say that I think the world needs more variety,” Scaringe said. “Our view is that there is — and to use your word, which I love the word — there is massive latent demand that’s sitting on the sidelines waiting for the vehicle that has the form factor, the packaging, the branding, the look, that will cause them to switch from a combustion-powered vehicle.”

This Goes Beyond Measurements and Cosmetics

Not only do I think RJ Scaringe to be right about this, but I think it goes beyond the things that get mentioned in the interview.

Let’s start with interiors. Before Tesla, very few vehicles had a simple dash with a big center touchscreen. Buttons were everywhere, and some vehicles started resembling a Space Shuttle. After Tesla started eating at the auto industry, EVs quickly toed the Tesla line. Interiors got simple, sometimes as simple as a Tesla. Center touchscreens got big. This layout that apes the Model 3 and Y ended up leaking back into the ICE side some, too.

While exteriors have varied a lot from Tesla’s (even if overall dimensions are similar), nearly all EVs follow the Tesla powertrain formula almost perfectly. Transverse drive units (motor is sideways to the car, like a front-drive ICE), single-speed gear reducers (no multi-speed transmissions or GASP! manuals), and lots of soundproofing to keep the natural sound of an electric motor away — these things are common all over the EV industry.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t good reasons for much or even all of this. Transverse drive units are both cost and energy efficient, especially for vehicles meant for pavement duty. Transmissions add mechanical complexity, which means less efficiency and more failure points. Manuals add complexity that a driver has to deal with on a daily basis. And quiet operation? Luxury cars have valued that for a long time and the whine of an electric motor is unpleasurable to some ears.

Why the Lack of Diversity Sucks

Good reasons, numbers, and spec sheets can only carry you so far in the automotive world. Why? Because there are so many differing needs and tastes out there, and many car buyers make irrational decisions.

When it comes to needs and tastes, people are used to the ICE market, as Scaringe said. Even slight differences can lead a person to buy a car over another, even if the vehicles are almost identical. For this reason, many manufacturers have different brands that make slight alterations to a car’s grille to make it a different car. For example, look at a GMC truck and a Chevrolet. There are also many different needs a buyer might have, including what they’re carrying along, what their body is like (short, tall, overweight, skinny, etc.), and where they’re going.

Because we tend to wrap the vehicles we drive into things like our identity and even attempts to seek a mate, people do all sorts of ridiculous things with their vehicles. Trucks with extreme lifts that would be a liability off-road, cars that get terrible fuel mileage, dorky crossovers that look like a pickup but lack the capabilities, and increasingly tiny tire sidewalls that leave the vehicle vulnerable to potholes all come to mind. Simply saying “The Model Y is the best, safest, and best specc’ed car out there!” doesn’t sell cars. Making people get an emotional connection with the vehicle does.

When it comes to interiors, many people prefer a “legacy” look, but if you really think about it, is the average car interior really “legacy”? Not really. In computing, “legacy” refers to older things that are going out of common use. EVs still only represent a small fraction of the overall market, so “normie” cars can’t really be “legacy” yet, even if we hope they become such ASAP.

Hopefully as more manufacturers enter the EV space, they bring their own ideas along for the ride instead of trying to play it too safe and copy Tesla. For example, the Jeep Wrangler 4xe (yes, it’s a plugin hybrid) has a transmission that shifts when driving it in EV mode, and the company has shown off several EV prototypes with manual transmissions.

If more manufacturers can risk trying new things to see what ends up being a hit with buyers currently sitting the EV transition out, it could only accelerate things.

Featured image by Rivian.