I'll probably take some flak for pointing this out, but to me, these are interesting developments on the path to transitioning to sustainable transportation.
Firstly, relating to charging, I note that both Ford (see: https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2023/05/25/ford-ev-customers-to-gain-access-to-12-000-tesla-superchargers--.html) and GM (see:https://news.gm.com/newsroom.detail.html/Pages/news/us/en/2023/jun/0608-gm.html) now are moving to Tesla type chargers. This could see Tesla chargers emerge as the industry standard in North America.
Though China still has a different charger design, as does Europe:
(see: - see https://blinkcharging.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/7-Blink_InternationalPlugTypes.pdf)
Hopefully, there will be convergence of charger standards in the near futures this would serve to accelerate the transition to EVs.
The other thing is the less well reported move by Tesla to switch their 12V batteries to 48V (not to be confused with the other battery, that is used for propulsion). This was disclosed in the last Investor Briefing by Tesla and has massive implications for its competitors. Tesla basically noted the ever increasing demand on power from the 12V battery and just like the switch from 6V to 12V battereis in the 1960's, the time has come to move to a 48V battery to keep up with this escalating demand, as illustrated in this slide:
To understand the significance of this shift, the following video starting at the 14:40 mark is useful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wD4HiCPAn8
Keep in mind that only Tesla is vertically integrated, so it can make this change more easily than its competitors.
Now, all of these things come from a company that was probably the first to do regular software updates over the air to its now - millions of vehicles.
To understand the implication of this on traditional ICE car manufacturers, the following Fully Charged interview with Ford CEO Jim Farley is quite revealing. The implications of a "loose confederation of software providers" are devastating. The relevant section of the interview starts at 25:10min:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IhSWsQlaG8&t=1589s
... and while the ICE car manufacturers are trying to catch up with Tesla, Tesla is about to build a new Gigafactory in Mexico, where it will implement a completely new manufacturing process that will cut the cost of its next EV model by 50% - again (i.e. the Model 3 & Y were already 50% cheaper than the Models S & X). This is explained from 46:30min mark here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl1zEzVUV7w&t=3873sTo me - even putting aside the usual Tesla presenter hyperbole - this sounds profound.
...and keep in mind that Tesla is already the most profitable EV manufacturers in the world (see:
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/charted-teslas-unrivaled-profit-margins/).
Now, while I disclose a shareholding in Tesla, I am not writing this to feel good or ramp the Tesla share price (unlikely given its size) - plus, Tesla's share price has already more than doubled since the beginning of the year, but remains trading on a ridiculously high TTM PE of ~70x. Also, if Tesla were to move to world domination, I might still not come out a winner, given that other parts of my portfolio would most likely see a share price decline, as they supply or aim to supply some of Tesla's competitors.
So none of this is investment advice, just some observations from someone standing on the sideline and wondering what is going to happen next.
Oh... and then there is autonomous driving.
