How Elon Musk and Tesla Are Changing the Future of Auto Industry

Tesla is a name that is synonymous with innovation today, thanks to its CEO Elon Musk who is known for his aggressive, out-of-the-box ideas and visionary thinking. He is the one who doesn’t follow the herd.

With Tesla’s vision of making cars that are autonomous and run on clean, renewable energy, Musk has put the whole auto industry on a game-changing crossroad and ecological sustainability to the fore.

Tesla’s goal in the words of its CEO Elon Musk ever since its creation has been one and it has been its focus too - “to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport by bringing compelling mass market electric cars to market as soon as possible.”

Although Musk was not the first one to think of electrification of cars, one cannot deny his enthusiasm for embracing electric cars and bring them to the masses has created a sense of urgency in the auto industry.

The way Tesla’s model X and S have been successful, the other big names in the auto industry – right from the mass producer of cars like General Motors to luxury car makers like Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, are also putting their money on electrification. This despite the fact that today electric vehicles just make only 1% of the total global market.

Tesla has anticipated a huge opportunity for auto business in electric cars not too far in the future and other car makers have not been able to deny the merit in the idea. According to Bloomberg's research on Electric Vehicle Outlook 2018, by 2040 more than 50% of the cars sold will be electric. If this happens, Tesla will have a big role in it.

Tesla has made a huge influence on the automakers to make cars with driverless features. Tesla first offered its semi-autonomous technology called autopilot in its car in October 2015 and other car makers have also announced launching similar features since then.

Tesla’s autopilot came with the feature of autosteer that lets the car keep driving on its current lane at the right speed while keeping a safe distance from the vehicles ahead. Semi-autonomous cars will soon be on the road in numbers, and here too, Tesla is responsible for fast-tracking the change.

One thing that sets the Tesla electric cars apart from the rest in the market is the look. With its sleek design, Tesla has made electric cars look desirable. The centre instrument cluster in its latest model is replaced with a 15-inch touch screen interface. Today, such feature is not seen in many cars, but if you soon do, you have to thank Tesla for it.

This is where Tesla turns geeky and anyone old school will find it a bit unnerving. The software of Tesla vehicles can be updated over-the-air. So, Tesla cars are capable of learning and improving their driving experience.

Another thing that sets Tesla apart is its use of AI rather than Lidar and HD maps for making its vehicles autonomous. Of course, a lot of trial and error is still in store for it, but no one can argue it has been a pioneer.

Tesla has anticipated the demand for sleek, intelligent, autonomous electric cars and has set the ball rolling for the auto industry. Of course, electric cars are still in their infancy and for the next coming years, we are definitely going to see a lot happening in this sector.

Tesla’s struggle to meet its production goals for Model 3 has been on the news too, and its CEO Elon Musk has been on the receiving end for being over-ambitious. Even amidst all the obstacles, one thing is certain, Tesla is leaving no stone unturned to deliver on its promises.