I think most people miss what really sets Tesla apart and what is the defining thing that will hand them the win when everyone is trying to "de-throne" Tesla. It's not that they are cool (even though they are currently considered somewhat cool), it's not that they are better (even though they are measurably and obviously better in the most common metrics). Those two things helped them get to where they are today without failing. But that's not what's important going forward because Tesla is reinventing the car industry. What's important is how much value they can offer the consumer. And most car buyers don't care about "cool". They do care about "better" but "good enough" wins if the price is right enough to make sense.
What's going to ensure Tesla's future success is not how much better they will be, it will be how much value they will offer. It will be Tesla's ability to offer a good quality car for far less money than any competitor while still bringing home the best margins in the industry. You can only do this if your cost to produce and deliver the car is far lower than the rest of the industry. I think the Chinese makers will be the closest to being able to offer the kind of value Tesla does, but close is no cigar and they will have other headwinds. The rest won't even come close for a bunch of reasons I'm not going to mention now.
People need to stop thinking this is a popularity contest. When every car brand offers nearly the same amount of value, as has often been the case over many decades, then, yes, what's more stylish or has more cachet can determine the winners. That's been true for much of the auto industries existence, you have to go back to Ford and their Model T to find an analogy of what I'm talking about. Or maybe the VW Beetle but let's look at the Model T. It was not the most popular car in the world because it was so cool, it was because it offered so much value. Ford could make it in high volumes for far less than any competitor. There were bigger cars, there were more luxurious cars, there were more powerful cars, some of them you could even order in the color of your choice. The Model T only came in black; it was not cool (everyone had one), it was the opposite of powerful and luxurious, and yet it rose to 60% market share. That's because it could be produced and sold at a low cost. It was practical and reliable. Henry Ford was making money hand over fist while other carmakers struggled to break even.
This is the path Tesla is on. Yes, there is only one Tesla, but it's not because they are "cool", it's because they know how to make practical cars in high volume and at ever declining prices. The current situation of rising prices is a temporary condition caused by a shortage of cars and commodity inflation. As an investor I like that Tesla's ace in the hole is not "cool" factor, it's that they will be able to offer the best value in the industry (they already can as recent earnings have proven). I know it's possible to make a lot of money by investing in fashion or in fads, but both are too fickle for me to consider as good investments. There is no certainty in it. What Tesla is doing has more certainty and more staying power, two things I value highly in an investment.
