This is the state of the smartphone\/tablet market: Investors were overjoyed when Apple delivered 4.6 revenue growth\u00a0 in the spring quarter. And the hottest product of the year in the mobile device industry is going to be iPhone 6 because it finally is an iPhone with a screen size larger than 4 inches. <\/span><\/p>\n The car industry,is now in the same spot the phone sector was in 2007.<\/p>\n The original iPhone changed what a phone was. The role of the display morphed from vehicle of passive viewing to actual control mechanism, far more intuitive than a keypad could ever be. That sort of fundamental shift of how a product can be used can only happen once in a decade or two. Now Tesla is changing the car in an equally fundamental manner: this new vehicle is totally silent, free refueling stations enable you to drive from California to New York without paying a cent in fuel costs, etc. The phone sector will be playing with\u00a0 thinness, display size and camera quality for at least five years.<\/p>\n Tesla is getting ready to gut GM and Ford with its car range that is about to expand radically. Just as with Apple, the narrow early distribution of a\u00a0groundbreaking new product is giving the established players a deceptive period of grace. It will take a couple of years for the real impact to become clear.<\/p>\n But we clearly are now entering an interesting period as Tesla prepares to roll out an SUV called Model X in 2015 and a budget car Model 3 in 2017.<\/p>\n An ecstatic new Morgan Stanley research note claims that\u00a0\u201cwe\u2019d be disappointed if the Model X did not sweep every major Car of the Year award on offer by the automotive media.\u201d\u00a0 A\u00a0 palpable sense of frenzy is building in the automotive press and financial media. The design of the Model X is unusually bold and exotic for an SUV and a gutsy move.<\/p>\n The Model X is small potatoes compared to Model 3, though. This car is expected to retail at $30,000, less than half of the price of the current Model S. It will represent a direct attack on the smaller German quality cars of BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz. If Model X production ramps up aggressively and starts making real inroads in the luxury SUV market, the Model 3 could form the second prong of a dangerous pincer movement aimed at the most lucrative parts of the car industry: high-end SUV models and compact luxury sedans.<\/p>\n As Tesla\u2019s charging station network expands and buzz around the structural innovation of the new models builds, rival car vendors seem to be wading through molasses.<\/p>\n Who would have thought in 2007 that all the excitement around the iPhone would migrate to car business\u00a0so rapidly?<\/p>\n \n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Is Tesla the new Apple? This is the state of the smartphone\/tablet market: Investors were overjoyed when Apple delivered 4.6 revenue growth\u00a0 in the spring quarter. And the hottest product of the year in the mobile device industry is going … Continue reading