2014 BMW i3 and 2014 Tesla Model S [photo: Tom Moloughney]It has become an article of faith among some Tesla fans and owners that the company will inevitably rise to compete with and ultimately defeat the titans of the global auto industry.
This belief is especially prevalent for the luxury sector, where three German carmakers dominate the global market for pricey and admired vehicles of all sorts.
About Tesla’s chances, reasonable minds may differ.
The Silicon Valley electric carmaker has done remarkable things in its 13 years of existence, and rattled those German luxury makers to their cores.
While BMW was far ahead of Audi and Mercedes-Benz in offering a real-world battery-powered car (its i3 hatchback in 2013), that car was conceived as fundamentally an urban vehicle rather than a long-range electric car. The arrival and subsequent sales success of the Tesla Model S set all three on their ear, and Porsche too.
Tesla Motors, Palo Alto, California
Tesla’s big and pricey long-range electric car is now in its sixth model year, while the Audi e-tron quattro?the first competing German luxury vehicle that will attempt to match it on range?won’t be out for another year
It will appear at roughly the same time as the Jaguar I-Pace, but British luxury maker Jaguar Land Rover is far smaller in volume than any of the three German companies.
An all-electric BMW X3 crossover will follow, as will the Mercedes-Benz EQC, its own electric crossover.
But being late to th...