I am one of those people who have made the "Model S is the iPhone" of cars argument on TMC, simply because I believe the disruptive nature of both products is very similar, a massively disruptive entry into an established industry. Model S is to cars (on so many levels), what iPhone was to phones in late last decade. Note: I'm not saying iPhone is that today, today's disruption may come from someone else, but iPhone was that in 2007-2009...
But let's not kid ourselves: A lot, a lot of people buy products because they are trendy and popular - and for that reason alone - and any rational economist will concur and go trade some Apple shares. Apple got to a certain point on merit, but beyond that being the hip and happening thing has allowed them to grow and remain popular (especially when it has allowed them to command an ecosystem, the chicken and egg situation) even when they have relatively stagnated and other's have created even more critically acclaimed products. Now it is Apple's turn to be a very popular established player. The it thing. And no doubt, they are.
I'm not sure this is true for Tesla yet, to any significant degree. Maybe in California in certain circles it could be that people buy a Tesla because it is the it thing, but it is still a bit too niche and too expensive to be a global trend. I think at best Tesla is a global curiosity at the moment.
Now, given some time and especially lack of
Vorsprung from the competition, maybe Tesla could be the next Apple. But not quite yet. All this said, I find the sidetrack on iPads and Apple to be highly subjective and a disruption to the meat of the discussion. I think AustinPowers raises some nice points, but the iPad thing was an unnecessary detour and probably more of a nuisance in the mind than the real beef of his arguments. I would chalk it up to personal bad experiences with Apple that are, in actual fact, quite unrelated to the Tesla conversation. Just a subjective annoyance that probably would have been better left unsaid.
Anyway, some interesting points raised on all sides on the differences (or lack thereof) of Tesla purchase - and interesting debate on the diesel. Certainly one's perspective is grealy dependant on their region. Buying a car in Europe is different than it is in the U.S., to an extent that includes buying a Tesla (although differences there are relatively less), so opinions are bound to be different too.
Maybe the real takeaway here is, check that box on the left and if you find yourself on the opposite side of the pond (let alone the globe), add an extra layer of effort to mend differences and understand differences - after all, as they say of the past, it is a different country and people do things differently there... the same definitely applies to actual different countries.
Not to mention the language barrier giving different meanings to words.
Buying an Audi in the U.S. is not the same as buying one in Germany. Hence comparisons to Tesla purchase won't apply either.
