FSD Impacts on Organic Market Growth
I've been wanting to get something out here on this thread.
@KarenRei @ReflexFunds and others post so much good information I thought I would try to help a bit, not sure how much this moves things in the next 2 Qs but longer term..I think it could.
Simply: FSD will enable the elderly to drive again. The possibility that self driving taxis will deliver kids (drunks, hip folk, etc) and reduce the need for car ownership has been mulled for some time. I actually see, in the intermediate time frame, a possibility that it will enable a very wealthy population bracket to gain increased mobility. In the USA many elderly are prohibited from driving due to poor eyesight and minor handicaps. Even more greatly limit driving to full daylight at somewhat reduced speeds. In my experience elderly love to socialize, the hallways of a senior citizens home are much more active than the hallways of a typical apartment. Yet, elderly can't really drive as much as they want, they constantly make compromises (and maybe should make more).
The second relevant point here is that this is an age bracket with enourrmass wealth. Not really much else to say. Older people have money and few spending needs.
Precedent: Wii U: The game was introduced for kids but became a hit with older people.
Why is this so important for tesla investors: older consumers have very few spending needs other than healthcare. They have deteriorating quality of life due to our highly motorized society (speaking to the USA but to some extent other countries). We accept this terrible circumstance almost without comment but what if...what if we could do so much better. What if our grandparents could arrange their own visit to a doctor without a taxi, neighbor, or relative. What if they could still go to bingo, or the dance, or to a night movie. What if they could see their old friend at the hospital. What if they could go see the grandkids and take care of them at night while mom&dad had dinner out (coming back at 10 or 11 or midnight) and the car could take them home safely. I could see hundreds of thousands or even millions of orders for cars, a whole class of new consumers. In the longer terms they would make perfect owners of tesla taxi's. They rarely need to be driving during rush hours for instance. They have the capital to invest and a committed interest in success.
So that's it. I think FSD will create a much better life experience for many people between the ages of 75-90, people who are still cogent & mobile but have particular constraints that prevent full participation in society. It would not just be great for the environment but be great as a force for equality and greater humanity. I'm not the best writer, this could be stated so much more elegantly and thus more powerfully. Our society would be far richer if this observation becomes a realization. Of course, FSD has to work.... (ducks)