The industry website Electrek is reporting that the Tesla (TSLA) Model 3 is now starting to hit showrooms, and it is drawing large crowds.
The article notes a similarity to the crowds Apple (AAPL) would attract on iPhone launch days.
If you are a Tesla shareholder, like I am, you could only dream of the Model 3 having half the success of the iPhone.
iPhone Parallels
I made this same observation in a post many months ago. Tesla’s Model 3 and the franchise Apple iPhone brand have a lot in common.
The Model 3 sedan brings the Tesla brand to the ordinary consumer for the most part, and not just the well-to-do.
The model also introduces a driver to the Tesla ecosystem, with a network of cars communicating with one another and artificial intelligence gathering real-time data to make autonomous driving safer.
Apple Ecosystem
In my opinion, this is all similar to the iPhone and iOS ecosystem, where a person stores photos, or music, in the iCloud or on iTunes.
Consumers stay in touch with iMessages and Facetime.
When someone buys an iPhone they buy an experience; when someone buys a Model 3, it may come to experience as well.
Takeaway
Or will it come down to brand, just like when you go to get a new phone vs. getting the new iPhone.
Will you be getting just a new car or the new Tesla?
In time, we will all learn whether the Tesla brand is a success or failure.
Photo Credit: Phil Denton via Flickr Creative Commons
