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Chinese Conglomerate LeEco Wants To Give Away Its 'Tesla Killer' Electric Supercar For Free (ndtv.com)
Rishi Alwani, reporting for Gadgets 360 (edited and condensed for clarity): At an event in Beijing this week, Chinese technology conglomerate LeEco showed off its LeSEE self-driving electric supercar. A slide noted that LeEco's car can reach 130mph which is a fair bit behind of the Tesla Model S' top speed range of 140 to 155 mph. Nonetheless, the company said the final product should beat Tesla in "all aspects of performance." The car sports a rounded design with a giant LED screen plastered on the front of the vehicle. If the car is being used for cab services, for instance, the screen can show if it's available for hire or not. There's an arched transparent roof and what seems to be generous cabin space. The interior sported a futuristic-looking steering wheel with a lit-up centre that quite possibly would replace the traditional dashboard and was complemented by a monitor next to it. It also had ridged backseats that may look uncomfortable but is actually memory foam - a polyurethane material used in mattresses that can mould to the shape of a passenger's body for maximum comfort.
Perhaps the most interesting component of its LeSEE concept has nothing to do with the technology, but rather the business models involved. For one, the company believes it has a huge role to play in LeShare - a time-sharing electric vehicle platform that's present in Beijing and Shanghai with plans to expand to five more cities in China. Electric vehicles and charging resources will be shared between LeShare and LeEco-backed Uber competitor Yidao. In addition to this, LeEco believes that the car will eventually be free, in line with the same business model it has for some of its other hardware, charging users for content, subscriptions or memberships.For a refresh, LeEco (LeTV) was founded in 2004, and has since become a major name in many technology-centric markets. It offers live-streaming, e-commerce, cloud, smartphones, TV set-top boxes, and smart TVs among many other products and services. The company has a market capitalisation of at least $12 billion.
Perhaps the most interesting component of its LeSEE concept has nothing to do with the technology, but rather the business models involved. For one, the company believes it has a huge role to play in LeShare - a time-sharing electric vehicle platform that's present in Beijing and Shanghai with plans to expand to five more cities in China. Electric vehicles and charging resources will be shared between LeShare and LeEco-backed Uber competitor Yidao. In addition to this, LeEco believes that the car will eventually be free, in line with the same business model it has for some of its other hardware, charging users for content, subscriptions or memberships.For a refresh, LeEco (LeTV) was founded in 2004, and has since become a major name in many technology-centric markets. It offers live-streaming, e-commerce, cloud, smartphones, TV set-top boxes, and smart TVs among many other products and services. The company has a market capitalisation of at least $12 billion.
"...charging users for content, subscriptions or memberships."
That's not free at all... in fact, that's how you make something cost infinitely more than it would if you just bought it outright. I'm sick of my wallet being tapped and I hope to hell the rest of the world doesn't start pulling this shit on cars.
Tesla has made all of its patents free for anyone to use so I don't think they would have any problem with the Chinese copying the car.
Tesla does not view other electric car companies as competitors. It wants lots of people making electric cars. It views ICE cars as the competition.
Hopefully they will do a good job and make lots of cars.
(My personal view is the same as Edison...Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration... they have a lot of work to do.)
I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
What are they saying that in 10 years people will need satelite navigation, and will not now how to drive from point A to point B without computer telling them directions.
Included will be
* compulsory service fee (includes air pressure monitoring, electrolyte level check and top-up, anti-rust protection, seat protection from dirt)
* satellite navigation
* free calls
* hardware insurance
* Compulsory automatic emergency/911 service ( already a law in EU from 2018)
* Streaming music service
* all for a package of $399 per month (that is with the $4000 documentation and setup fees)
Just like current teenagers cannot imagine life without iphones, in ten years there will be a number of people who will never open the hood, will not check the air pressure themselves.
I almost forgot. You will be convinced to replace the car to a better model every two years.
They probably copied part of their design from Tesla, after all, Tesla opened all their patents, it would be silly not to use them.
But what make you say that they just made a Tesla copycat.
In fact, the thing about Tesla is not revolutionary technology but how they made something people want to buy. Before Tesla, EV were all about fuel economy, ecology, urban areas and mid-range smaller cars, cars for responsible adults. Tesla said "fuck that" and made a big, expensive toy that can also be used as a vehicle. Talk to anyone who has tried the model S and they will tell you they felt like kids playing.
They leveraged the advantages of electric engines such as low maintenance and high torque, the auto-pilot is just a straightforward extension of existing line and distance keeping systems. They addressed the range problem by using more expensive batteries (their position on the high-end allowed it) and building high power charging stations. In the end, they just took existing technologies and made them into a nice, fun package, a bit like Apple.
LeEco borrowed the concept but it says nothing about the details. For example, from the article, its autopilot looks more like what GeoHot is doing rather than Tesla.
The communist Chinese government will love such a system, the "system" owns the cars and the individual pays for each use of them, so that the people have zero chance of protecting their privacy while using the vehicles. It is a public transport system and therefore does not actually compare with or compete against with Telsa in many markets. That makes it less of a business model and more of a political model.