No Real Tesla Model 3 Competition Until At 2020? Why Did The Industry Fall So Far Behind?

It doesn't seem like the industry fell behind. Rather, major automakers needed to make changes in their existing lineups (most have more than 3-4 vehicles) to accommodate new consumer demand & to prepare or plan for the future - in multiple regional markets.

And, as a GM/Toyota/VW, they've been "watching" all Tesla business. Tesla is a huge buyout/takeover risk - even with inflated stock pricing. They're waiting for a misstep to send the value of Tesla tumbling so they can swoop in to over up some sort of financial partnership to save the EV-only maker.

You really believe this?

You really think the industry fell behind?

I still do not see the tidal wave of EV buyers everyone was predicting. I do not see the country ramping up infrastructure improvements and more electric generation capacity either.

Frankly - it is nice that Tesla produced a usable EV - but the general market is clearly uninterested. I Still think it will be 20 years before we see any real change from ICE engine cars in most markets.

Wow, more proof TomM is an idiot!

EV infrastructure goes up fast, it only takes a week to put up a new charging station in most public places. I'm seeing constant additions in the Bay Area. Demand is very high for EVs in CA, the rest of the country will catch up sooner than you think.

money, the other manufacturers were still making money and TSLA hasn't yet.
now that the appetizer has been served, they are jumping in to cash in.

99+% of cars are non electric... thats where the money still is.

I don't know about making money - Ford is now junk bond status and struggling to meet profitability.

Tesla and his relatives are making money by using the govt subsides to sell expensive cars that still do not make money. In markets where the subsidies have stopped the sales disappear. For the real transition price of the 3, I can buy a MB 300C and have enough left over to invest in clean energy to alleviate my guilt.

Others were sleeping on EV until the model 3 preorders rolled in, once awake, it takes 5 years to get a new vehicle to market.

"Why Did The Industry Fall So Far Behind?" - Because the industry didn't invest serious fund into developing actual EV's until after Tesla had 400,000+ reservations with deposits in April 2016. It takes 4-5 years to develop a brand new car platform.

There is a leader and then there are followers.

The industry has not fallen behind. Check unit sales and you'll see that Tesla is a leader only in American mind-share. Step outside of America and Tesla is not the legend that some of the American media makes it out to be.

Within 10 years, I expect Tesla will be a footnote in automotive history, and likely bought out at pennied on the dollar.

Tesla is doing really well in Europe and China, despite only selling the S/X there. Wait until the 3 starts shipping internationally.

Tesla won't even be building their base Model 3 in quantity before 2020, so whether or not competitors appear before then is irrelevant. The Model 3 cars they can build currently are highly optioned, highly priced cars that Tesla is having trouble finding customers for.
Actually, the most significant actions with respect to Tesla's "technological lead" are those of Tesla's competitors, who have not only matched Tesla in practically every aspect of EV technology : speed of battery recharge (cars using CCS , like Porsche's Taycan can recharge twice as fast), driving range - Chevy's Bolt has a greater driving range than Tesla's twice as expensive Model S. Practically every automaker in the world except Tesla and Nissan will use the CCS protocol in public fast chargers, which means they will be ubiquitous in a way that Tesla's Superchargers can never possibly be. Tesla fans point to the fast acceleration of Tesla vehicles, but any EV automaker can easily create a faster car - the engineering is simple. Jaguar engineers are proposing a performance edition of their I Pace that will out-accelerate every Tesla vehicle, including their ultra high performance $250,000 sports car. Tesla simply has no technological advantages at this point - those advantages were
not based on any patents or anything that any other EV automaker couldn't replicate or surpass. It was Chevy and Nissan that came to market with a bona fide sub $36,000 electric car before Tesla has been able to produce - years before.

What are you smoking to think Tesla is having trouble finding customers for the highly optioned Model 3s? They are fully sold out through at least the end of the year on the $49k++ models between just the US and Canada. They haven't even started international shipments yet and demand for the Model 3 is growing much like the S/X.

Telsa would have to redesign the interior of the 3 in order to legally sell it in the EU, since there is no speedo in the direct line of sight of the driver. We'll see if that happens.

The Toyota Yaris doesn't have an instrument cluster in direct line of sight, yet it sells very well in Europe. So does the Mini Cooper.

When was the last time anyone saw a new Bendix washing machine, DuMont television, Commodore or Tandy PC,etc.etc. All were first to market with a new technology for consumers, and all over taken by others,often those who served those consumers with products in the same general arena. It's too early to declare victory for Tesla. Get profitability, work down a 3 year backlog of Model 3s and sell at an annual rate of 100k S/Xs and still sell 300K Model 3s per year and then they would have something. They would still no be in the auto major leagues.
nd

250k Model 3s should be a given for 2019. We'll see about 300k.