To my eyes, the SL7 has wonderful proportions and an overall beauty that will endure over time. The SL 8 is fugly to me and a step in the wrong direction. There must have been huge pressure on Tesla to introduce new model ranges but much like VW has done with the Golf, they have done the opposite by iterating the 3 and the Y and removing the S and X. On the other hand, BYD are introducing new models at a pace the world has never seen before. The question I ask myself is "Just because you can, does that mean you should"? Tesla are betting that if they can keep their model line-up relevant, their profit per unit times the volume they do will be industry leading. At the end of may, Tesla was near 8% down YOY in China. After a ripper June, they are up close to 4% YOY. Who'd want to be an automaker CEO? The problem domestically in China is that the pace of change is hypersonic so it's a bit like going to a casino and betting it all on red. The domestic drop off in numbers in Chinese SL7 numbers would be scary if you were betting the house on it. Sure, they could have continued to develop it by introducing 800 Volt architecture and megawatt charging while improving the dynamics by trying to reduce weight. I thought that's what they would do but their spreadsheets are telling them otherwise. A masterclass of strategy over the last 20 year is when KIA recruited Peter Schreyer from Audi in 2006 and he created a winning and enduring design language that helped to transform the brand. Hyundai/KIA are about number 3 automaker in the world now. Who woulda thought? Now they have Karim Habib from BMW and Infiniti who has shaped their EV design language. Xpeng with far fewer resources than BYD have recruited Juanma Lopez, formally of Ferrari to design the MONA series. I suspect they will be going the KIA/VW/Tesla route creating a unified design language across a family of vehicles they will iterate over time while defining themselves (much like Tesla) by leading edge tech. Am I right and will they succeed if I am? Who knows? But it's fascinating to watch it play out in real time. It's a bit sad to think the SL 7 might not get a V 2.0 but the market is anything but linear right now.
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