I am tempted to just update the opportunity for disruption around the profit pool and business model for the automotive industry, around electric vehicles. Before we start we need to understand “Why the electric car never left the golf course from the 1950s!”
Golf cart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_cart
History of the electric vehicle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicle
The PCO telephone booth business model that drove the telecom revolution in India in the 90s may be the answer to the entire industry as an appstore with apps!
Why Better Place failed with swappable batteries—and your cars might just use them one day
http://qz.com/88871/better-place-shai-agassi-swappable-electric-car-batteries/
Learning on what Sam Pitroda did for the telecom revolution in India is business model innovation of micro-entrepreneurs serving the First Mile!
http://portal.bsnl.in/bsnl/asp/content%20mgmt/html%20content/knowledgebase/knowledgebase34343.html
STD PCO and Indian Telecom: Taking Telecom to the masses, –Dr. Madhu Mehta, Consultant C-DoT and MD, NirmaLabs, Anjaleem
Sept 15, 2009
http://nipun.charityfocus.org/docs/stdpco.html
NYC’s Phone Booths To Die; Could Sites Charge Electric Cars Instead?
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1086329_nycs-phone-booths-to-die-could-sites-charge-electric-cars-instead
http://news.msn.com/science-technology/will-new-york-use-old-phone-booths-to-charge-electric-cars
The key will be the business model and the creation of fundamentals around;
1. Cash Conversion Cycle
2. Inventory Stock Turns
3. Gross Margin per Stock Turns
“The companies that win will be downstream. leveraging analytics that connect the dots of the Upstream, Midstream and Downstream. So will companies like TESLA and others really become analytical engines connecting where the power is, when is the next recharge, at what price, which street, what insurance and what finance, all into a marketplace around a social phonebook? A combination of Google + FB + OnStar + Apple Appstore? Look at the Profit Pool, the answer is staring you right in the face!”
Reading Aswath Damodaran’s post, Tesla’s Fair Market Value: $67.12, NYU Prof Says
http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/09/05/teslas-fair-market-value-67-12-nyu-prof-says/
Tesla Bulls Are Furious About An NYU Finance Professor’s Blog Post
http://www.businessinsider.com/aswath-damodaran-on-tesla-bulls-2013-9
This is the real opportunity, disrupting the business models. Will the ROI come from the battery change or electricity charge via intermediaries like the PCO telecom revolution in India or like HP in the printing business? This is where the real investor value, innovation and ROI will come from.
We all hope that the electric leaves the golf course and it’s not about Tesla, but about you and me as consumers. Will the oil companies now generate electricity and create distribution points for the electric vehicle or the utility companies have a new business model like the PCO booth that revolutionized telecommunication in India?
Google is on the way to quietly becoming an electric utility http://qz.com/125407/google-is-on-the-way-to-quietly-becoming-an-electric-utility/
Watch this space. Bottomline. The business model will drive the innovation and capture value for all stakeholders.
Categories: Uncategorized
I see an interesting article that I thought is a good addition to this
Is Tesla Working on a Cheap, 300-Mile “Metal Air” Battery?
Could this be the route the company intends to take to produce affordable cars with a range similar to gas-powered cars
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/519501/is-tesla-working-on-a-cheap-300-mile-metal-air-battery/