You’ve probably heard me say, “Pioneers get slaughtered so settlers can get rich.” No area illustrates this maxim better today than the world of electric cars.
The Tesla Roadster and the Tesla S are some of the most creative cars ever made. Auto reviewers write about the Tesla S like it’s the greatest car they’ve ever driven. It’s all electric, amazingly fast, and undeniably expensive, starting at $57,000.
Tesla is run by Elon Musk, one of our most creative capitalists. He’s the same entrepreneur responsible for launching the first-ever private spacecraft to dock at the International Space Station.
What Musk’s company has done in the world of electric cars is absolutely amazing. To illustrate that point, my all electric Nissan Leaf goes about 85 miles before I’m by the side of the road in need of a tow. By comparison, the Tesla S can go 250-300 miles on a single charge!
Musk comes from the tech world and believes in Moore’s Law, which states that technological capability doubles every 18 months and gets cheaper in the process. Musk looks at electric cars as an electronics project that just happens to be transportation.
He believes next decade we’ll be in a position where half of all cars will be full electric. Of course, most of those in the automotive mainstream pooh-pooh his idea.
But think about how amazing it is that Toyota now has 4 million Priuses on the road. Next up for Toyota is a hybrid Avalon that will average 40 miles per gallon.
As a pioneer in the Leaf, there’s no doubt that I overpaid for my car. Thankfully, it is fun to drive.
Pioneers like me who are willing to spend our money on new technology today creates opportunities for others to go electric in several years and tell OPEC to take a hike.
