The electric vehicle business is, at this time, fundamentally a platform business. Buyers of EVs need a robust network of rapid charging stations (superchargers); and station operators need plenty of EV owners in order to build and operate stations. Beyond this quantitative aspect, there is a vital need for a coordinating entity so that actions on both sides are consistent and reflect these network effects. Oddly, managers and leaders of the big automakers (except for Tesla) have failed to realize these properties, resulting in incorrect decisions and poor outcomes. We have written extensively about these issues and the consequences they raise.
Blogs and Opinion Pieces
Tesla Fires its Supercharger Team. Crazy? But Why? LinkedIn post, May 2024
Electric vehicles as a platform business: Tesla got this, when will the rest? LinkedIn post, May 2023
Research in Action - Tesla's Big Advantage in Business of Electric Vehicles: A Platform Perspective, UC Davis video, Feb 2021
Electric Vehicles Are a Platform Business: What Firms Need to Know, 2-minute video based on our CMR article
Are we ready for driverless cars?, Medium blog, May 2019
Don’t Blame the (Tesla) AutoPilot ! Medium blog, Aug 2016
Research Articles
Electric Vehicles Are a Platform Business: What Firms Need to Know California Management Review, Aug 2022
The Business of Electric Vehicles: A Platform Perspective , book, December 2020
How Tesla’s Charging Stations Left Other Manufacturers in the Dust HBR, Jan 2021
Media Mentions
Are Tesla's supercharger layoffs bad news for California and its electric car push?, San Fransisco Chronicle, May 2024
Study: EVs cannot succeed without developing parallel supercharging networks, Green Car Congress, Feb 2021
Tesla’s Advantage: EVs Cannot Succeed Without Developing Parallel Supercharging Networks, UC Davis, Feb 2021
What’s Tesla’s Secret? It’s Not Just The Superchargers, Clean Technica, March 2021
What’s Missing in the Electric-Vehicle Revolution: Enough Places to Plug In, Wall Street Journal, Feb 2021
Studies Don't Support Elon Musk's Autopilot Safety Claims, The Information, May 2019
Is California, North Bay clean energy industry ready for electric vehicles?, North Bay Business Journal