If I were Musk, I’d hire an experienced auto exec and hand the keys over. Someone who will build out a service network and focus on growing an aftermarket and third-party support. The company has existed without marketing and advertisement, but that’s not going to fly in a more saturated market. Someone smart enough to cancel Cybertruck, which has a potential market already threatened by Hummer. Nobody carrying a lunchbox and thermos to work wants a truck that can’t carry enough stuff, especially when Ford has an F-150 for half the price.
The larger EV issue of charging infrastructure and connectors will likely end up being handled by standards bodies like SAE. Panasonic is behind the battery cell tech, and you can expect they’ll want to get their investment back via every car company who will bite.
Tesla’s big issue is that they are primarily a software company, and not necessarily a good one. It seems like they did a good job in engineering the bodies for safety, but turning the car into a nightmare of surveillance, DRM, and buggy decision-making has me running the other way.
