Daily Archives: April 8, 2016

Electrically Engineering a T into a 3

gallery-1459487318-model-3-unveil

(Tesla Model 3)

Tesla Motors is the conservative argument for positively responding to climate change/global warming/global cooling/environmental issues.

Tesla announced Thursday that it has received 325,000 preorders for its recently unveiled Model 3. If it sells every car that’s been reserved, the company says it will earn enough revenue to make this the “biggest one-week launch of any product ever.”
–Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge

One single car using gas or one single power plant is not the problem, but it’s the cumulative effect of millions of drivers or hundreds of power plants that has a meaningful impact on the release of carbon emissions into the air. Therefore, with cars, the goal is to present the marketplace with affordable, high-quality options.

Enter Elon Musk and his burgeoning company, Tesla Motors, that’s appropriately named after famed inventor Nikola Tesla.

This tech-driven company (see what I did there) is clearly being rewarded by anxiously excited followers for its ingenuity, hard-work, determination and recognition of a demand that’s marketed to a large portion of the American people to consider and even reserve for purchase next year.

Innovation is and has always been the right path towards a bright future that empowers the individual and then, as a result, empowers the collective. One electric car will not make a difference, but millions of electric cars on the road will change the carbon emissions equation. The power of individualism, innovation and opportunity must be taught and encouraged to this generation and future generations because of the incentives and the how inventiveness has benefited societies throughout history.

The iPhone was not dreamed up because of a tech regulation. Neither was the transportation revolution known as Henry Ford’s Model T, which was the first affordable automobile designed, built and produced for the American people roughly 100 years ago.

The close rhyming between 3 and T was a nice touch, Mr. Musk.

Conversely, what sense does it make to penalize consumers/the public with environmentally strangling regulations (especially without a Kung Fu grip on Mother Nature) and policies that punish people and companies? Photo-ops at these high-profile gatherings, where the focus is to cast blame and then reward a relatively select few participants with control and influence over the many, doesn’t project a hopeful future, especially when the measures taken amount to a gesture instead of a silver bullet.

Fiscal pain and high-minded barriers will not solve substantial problems. By high-minded, that refers to opponents of industries some deem unacceptable (like coal), but who have no better or ready alternatives for those workers who need to feed and provide for themselves and/or their families. Nobody likes pollution and some regulations are good and necessary, but, like government, figuring out policies to keep the regulatory code as small as possible is best.

There’s a paramount difference between idealism rooted in reality (conservatism) and idealism floating around in fantasy (liberalism).

Regardless of the extent that people across the political spectrum believe in global warming or global cooling (100%, 50%, 25%, 7.4%), the most important issues going forward are agreeing on a common goal and determining the most intelligent and economical approach.

We should strive for a carbon emissions-free future, achieved through empowering the engine of innovation.

In many cases,

  • Innovation = Revolutions by and for the people
  • Regulation = Power, control and influence over the people by and for a select few

$27,500 for the Tesla Model 3 (with $7,500 tax credit).

This inviting price point will attract car buyers in the 5-Star safety rated, 5-seat sedan in the $25K-$35K market, which will directly challenge car models from household names Toyota and Honda and even Lexus, Mercedes and Audi. If the Model 3 is successful and proves to have a reliable re-charging infrastructure and if (the recommended) nightly charging pattern for the 215-mile battery range like your smartphone results in a future worth the investment, then the conversation to join the names Elon Musk and Henry Ford in the same sentence in history books will begin.

People, once again, have an opportunity to change the world by buying a car.

Tesla Motors is a prime example of dreaming big, showcasing the power of the individual, American ingenuity and supplying a demand that could very well revolutionize cars, the transportation grid and solving a problem with carbon emissions in the environment with a positive, captivating solution that’s generating a magnetic appeal to its products and brand.

The Model 3’s engine may be nearly silent, but it still sounds like a revolution…

Advertisement