In the content I share on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and in the Keyfini Sür podcast, I often express the following: When it comes to electric vehicles, Tesla is miles ahead of the entire industry, and it's very difficult for its competitors to catch up in the near future. Let's delve into the reasons together:

1. The early bird catches the worm

Tesla's first electric model, the Roadster, hit the market in 2008. Meanwhile, Mercedes, one of the leading companies in the traditional automotive sector, introduced its first EV, the EQC, in 2018. Tesla is ahead of the sector simply because they started producing EVs approximately 10 years before others. They made significant investments not only in the vehicles themselves but also in battery technology; each of their massive Gigafactories, where cars and batteries are manufactured, costs nearly $10 billion, and the company owns six of them. Unlike other brands that order batteries from suppliers, they develop and produce batteries simultaneously with cars, in partnership with Panasonic.

2. Supercharger network

Tesla's own charging stations, called 'Superchargers,' are more widespread in most countries around the world (with over 50,000 stations in total). They have a higher number of charging outlets per station (at least 12, usually 20+), operate more smoothly and quickly (no need to download different apps or enter separate credit card details; they all provide DC and offer power between 72–250kW), and are cheaper (in the UK, the fee is 79p/kWh at public DC stations, while it's 67p/kWh at Superchargers).

3. Efficiency

Typically, manufacturers use larger batteries to increase the range of EV models, but the range doesn't increase proportionally with battery capacity. So, when you buy an EV with a battery twice as large, the range might only increase by 50% (because the vehicle becomes heavier), but you end up paying twice as much money for each full charge. This is where the concept of efficiency comes in.

Efficiency is measured in mi/kWh, meaning how much distance you can cover per unit of charge. In this regard, Tesla vehicles are far superior to their competitors:

According to this chart based on What Car's test, for example, if you own a Tesla 3, you pay 26% less for electricity to travel 100 miles compared to an owner of a BYD Seal.

4. Lightweight

Tesla engineers are committed to reducing weight similar to supercar manufacturers. Here, Tesla's much greater flexibility and agility, compared to established brands that have been producing with certain patterns for decades, play a significant role: On one hand, they rethink and design each component from scratch, manufacturing them independently and vertically integrating; on the other hand, there's the practice of buying parts externally and assembling them, maintaining traditions.

For example: Tesla vehicles don't have an external heater; they provide the necessary heat from the motor. A single circuit is used to heat and cool the cabin instead of using two separate circuits. Thanks to such solutions, while a Model 3 weighs 1835kg, competitors like Polestar 2 weigh 1940kg, BMW i4 weighs 2125kg, VW ID.7 weighs 2175kg, and BYD Seal weighs 2260kg.

5. Software

The most common issues with modern cars include the slow operation and distractingly difficult usability of cabin interfaces, followed by active safety systems like lane-keeping assistance not working properly. These are all software-related issues, and from this perspective, Tesla, fundamentally being a technology company rather than just an automotive one, makes a significant difference. Their menus operate at smartphone speed, all basic functions are easily accessible, and thanks to smarter processing of data from cameras, sensors, and radars, the driving assistance systems work much more intelligently.

Tesla vehicles don't even have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto; they handle connectivity with phones through their own software because they don't want external intervention in their ecosystem.

6. Vertical integration

The main factor that elevated Tesla to the valuation level of companies like Apple, Google, and Amazon in the stock market is vertical integration; meaning, they have taken over and owned almost every step in the supply chain. The 4680 battery cells of Cybertruck store more energy, produce more power, generate less heat, and are cheaper than the 2170 cells jointly developed with Panasonic for Model 3. Except for the battery, they own everything: motor, software, hardware, dealer, service network, charging stations... This not only improves the compatibility of components but also reduces costs.

7. Autonomous driving

Recently, the 12th version of Tesla's autonomous driving software, Autopilot, was released, and users say it's much more successful than previous versions, which were already ahead of all competitors. So why is that?

Dhaval Shroff, a Tesla AI engineer, suggested a proposal last December to improve the brand's FSD (full self-driving) system. Traditionally, FSD in Tesla, like in other brands, operates based on a predetermined fixed rule set. Shroff proposes transitioning to a kind of 'neural network plan.' This system, like ChatGPT, continuously adapts and improves by collecting real-time driving data and analyzing millions of driver reactions and behaviors through video recordings. By analyzing proven examples of safety, such as 5-star Uber drivers, the system learns to handle complex situations like humans, even if it sometimes needs to break the rules, which could lead to accidents.

Elon Musk accepted this proposal, and Autopilot currently operates in this manner.

8. Price

Tesla is the market maker of EVs. Other manufacturers determine their prices based on Teslas, and while Elon Musk can apply consecutive discounts to his models due to their low costs, competitors struggle with this because their costs don't allow it. If a perfect EV like Model 3 is sold for $40,000, it's impossible to price a model inferior to it in many aspects at a higher price.

For example, Lucid, founded by former Tesla employee and chief engineer of Model S, Peter Rawlinson, successfully surpasses Model S in almost every aspect with its Air Sapphire model. However, to achieve this, it's sold for almost twice the price.