Originally Posted by
Jer
Now that consumers are receptive to EVs the competition is fierce to be the "next" EV manufacturer people look to in order to claim those sales and that segment. This is why (finally) you see commercials.
Don't forget that most car manufacturers sell new cars at nearly no profit. They know they'll get that back on service & parts and EVs won't bring that revenue they've come to expect and plan for.
Advantage: consumer.
This also plays a large role in why all other manufacturers shunned Tesla's offer to allow them use their established network for free other than the cost of the electricity and maintenance costs. Tesla didn't build the Supercharger network to be a revenue generator. They created it to speed up the migration to more sustainable energy sources. With that in mind and knowing it was a major hurdle for those just entering the segment, they offered to let them hop onboard. The problem is that the legacy manufacturers see it as an opportunity to have their own proprietary ports/system and become the "gas stations" of the future to make residual income on their cars to support their (rapidly shrinking) business model.
If you liked the endless charger circus for cell phones in the late 90's and early 2000's, just wait until you see them 6ft tall and sprinkled all over the nation.
