As time goes on, some things become clear, and some urban legends grow in scope and popularity. I’ve found it pretty interesting to go back in time and compare Tesla critics’ forecasts and predictions to what actually happened. But I realized I’ve never done a really short and simple summary of that history. There’s surely more that could be added, but here’s my summary of Tesla critics’ claims over the years:
The electric vehicle (EV) industry was booming in 2018. It was the most booming year of a booming decade for EVs. Below is a long, long rundown of notables changes in the industry in 2018.
The myth of the modern “city car” originates from the makers of Swatch watches. They thought there should be a market for stylish, functional, small cars for city dwellers — the same kind of people who bought their watches. This “SwatchMobile” became the Daimler Smart car. It was very popular, mainly among journalists who found it was something quirky to write about it. As far as sales goes, it turned out to be a product for a very small niche.
“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.”
— Nils Bohr, Nobel laureate in Physics
It has been a while since I wrote a “What Changed In The EV Industry … ?” article, so I’m now rolling through three months of news as we approach the end of November.
Below is a roundup of notable September and October electric vehicle news.
This week we broke a record — the smallest number of articles about Tesla. While there is merit to the argument that bad press is still press, Tesla doesn’t need it.
Over the past few years, it has become known and acknowledged that Dyson is planning to enter the electric car arena with what it describes as innovative, forward-thinking products that will rethink and refashion ground transportation both technologically and in terms of aesthetics.
In the electric car category, there is one that stands out, if anyone can actually ever get it. The low VIN, original Tesla Roadster that was shot into space. If anyone ever snags that and brings it back, only billionaires need show up at the auction.
The most popular CleanTechnica stories of the past week centered around some of the most popular electric cars in the world — the Tesla Model 3, Kia Niro EV, and … Tesla Model 3. There were also some surprises — a solar tech advancement, an electric pickup truck concept, Elon smokin’ weed (or not), Formula E, and more. Check out the full list of the 20 most popular CleanTechnica stories of the past week:
10 years ago, now-rabid CNBC didn’t know Tesla from your mother. Fox News was busy complaining that Obama encouraged people to keep their tires well inflated. Seeking Alpha? Well, I couldn’t find a single Tesla story on Seeking Alpha published in the month of August 2008. But some geniuses on a website called “The Truth About Cars” were onto something. They published episode #17 of their “Tesla Death Watch.”
