Tesla has a cash reserve of Ex - US$ 20 billion, and for almost the whole of the last decade, it enjoyed its dominance in the EV space globally. For its next wave, this big pot of hard cash in its banks will intensify its position to invest heavily in AI and self-driving vehicle technology. At the same time, it will have enough ammo to continue to reduce prices on its current E.V. models to save its market share dominance. When all other manufacturers are thinking about EVs, Tesla will be ahead and thinking of future tech and polishing its self-driving tech. I have wondered how, with only four models, Tesla reached the top 50 of the Fortune 500 faster than any other company on this year's list with US$ 81.5 Billion in revenues and US$ 12.5 Billion in profits. Being laser-focused, despite being well placed to foray into many other areas, especially the juicy electric motorcycle and scooter segment, must have passed their minds million times over. A Tesla motorcycle could be a firecracker, and Tesla is yet to enter the 4th largest automobile market in the world - India. Should you invest in its stock price, then? Use your own analysis, please, because it's going to take a lot of work when every other legacy auto giant is dropping their EV salvos.
Historically, first-mover advantage gets you quick market dominance, but it's usually the second runners-up who go long. Just look at Nokia, Blackberry, Xerox, Kodak etc, for example. But all of them did not have the most differentiating factor - Mr Elon Musk - the maverick man whose thinking starts where a genius's thinking stops. Twitter could be an oddball or an ego trip or maybe a sixer that time will only tell, but he is someone who is working on taking humans to the moon and colonising it.
Coming back to the planet we call our home, we had an industrious month with some of the most power-packed launches, including Honda Elevate, 2023 Kia Seltos facelift, Maruti Suzuki Invicto, Audi Q8 e-tron and the smallest of them all - the Hyundai Exter. The two-wheeler industry was absolutely buzzing with two back-to-back launches from two heavyweights: The Triumph Speed 400 and the Harley-Davidson X440, both products of marriage between iconic global brands and Indian giants. They were launched within a few days difference and at prices which will make these aspirational brands a lot more accessible. They're absolutely disruptive products aimed at changing the course of how the industry functions. Surely, they have ruffled some feathers in the Royal Enfield camp, and now, we have to wait and see how RE retaliates.
It's an exciting era for the bikers and the entrylevel SUV space, which had Tata Punch all this while but now has Hyundai Exter for some great company. But the big question remains: Will the Honda Elevate really elevate Honda back to its glorious days? Only time will tell, but until that happens, keep your seatbelts fastened and your helmets strapped because these are happening times, and we should make the most out of it! Enjoy the issue!
