Revenge of the Electric Car Page #3

UNDERNEATH IT.

I'D DRIVEN A LOT OF THINGS DURING MY LONG CAREER,

AND TO DRIVE A FULLY ELECTRIC CAR

LAP AFTER LAP AFTER LAP AROUND THE GROUNDS HERE,

I REALLY HAD THE FEELING OF IT BEING A HISTORIC MOMENT.

CERTAINLY WAS IN MY CAREER.

- IF A TECHNOLOGY CAN WIN OVER A DOUBTER LIKE BOB LUTZ,

IT CAN WIN OVER A LOT OF PEOPLE, A LOT OF CONSUMERS.

- I THINK WHAT WE'RE WITNESSING NOW

IS PROBABLY THE MOST SIGNIFICANT REVOLUTION

OF OUR LIFETIME IN AUTOS.

- THESE ARE NOT HOBBYISTS.

THESE ARE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE TO SHAREHOLDERS.

THEY CAN'T AFFORD A HOBBY.

THEY NEED TO MAKE THIS A WINNER.

THIS IS REAL SCALE INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION AND DEPLOYMENT.

- THE GOAL OF TESLA IS REALLY TO GO

TO MASS MARKET AS SOON AS WE CAN.

WE WANT TO MAKE THIS TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRIC CARS

AFFORDABLE TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.

- WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GE THE LITHIUM ION TECHNOLOGY TOGETHER.

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO WORK THE INTEGRATION

BETWEEN THE GAS ENGINE

AND THE LITHIUM ION BATTERY PACK.

WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO ALL OF THA BECAUSE WE WANT TO LAUNCH IN THE FALL OF 2010.

- SOMEONE JUST HAS TO GET A CAR OUT THERE AND START SELLING IT,

AND THEN OTHER COMPANIES WILL HAVE TO FILL THE VOID,

BUT SOMEBODY'S GOT TO BE THE FIRST ONE OUT THERE.

- WELL, WE HAVE COPPER WIRES COMING FROM FINLAND.

THE ELECTRIC MOTOR IS MADE OUT OF OUR FACILITIES IN TAIWAN.

SO MY JOB IS MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN PRODUCE

TO OUR PRODUCTION SCHEDULE.

- I HAVE PLANS AND BACKUP PLANS

AND SOMETIMES BACKUP PLANS TO THOSE BACKUP PLANS,

AND I'M ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT WHAT I'M MISSING.

WHAT HAVE I NOT THOUGHT OF?

WHAT HAS THE TEAM NOT THOUGHT OF

THAT'S GONNA TRIP US UP IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS?

- I TRY AND KEEP AS MUCH OF THE ENTIRE CAR

AND AS MUCH OF THE ENTIRE POWER TRAIN AS I CAN

IN MY HEAD SO THAT I CAN COMMUNICATE

WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT GROUPS AND TEAMS

AND DIRECT OUR WORK AND WHERE PEOPLE ARE HEADED.

- FROM AN AUTOMOTIVE PERSPECTIVE,

TESLA HAS AN ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT IDEA,

WHICH IS CREATING A FAST ELECTRIC CAR.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE REALITY IS,

IS THAT IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK TO BUILD A VEHICLE.

- YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T GIVE TESLA A PASS JUST BECAUSE

THEIR PRODUCT HAPPENS TO BE CUTE ELECTRIC CARS.

- I DON'T KNOW IF GENERAL MOTORS

CAN MAKE A DESIRABLE PLUG-IN HYBRID CAR.

THE COMPANY HAS BEEN DAMAGED IN SO MANY WAYS

IN TERMS OF THE BRAND

AND IN TERMS OF THEIR HUMAN CAPITAL.

YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE VOLT'S GONNA BE LIKE.

- IT'S A RACE.

IT'S A TOTAL RACE,

AND WE KNOW WHERE GM IS IN THE RACE.

LOOKS LIKE IT COULD BE THE WINNER IN IT,

BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT EVERYBODY ELSE IS UP TO.

EVERY REVOLUTION NEEDS ITS NAPOLEON,

ITS MASTER STRATEGIST.

THE WORLD'S MOST FORMIDABLE CAR MOGUL

WAS ABOUT TO ENTER THE E.V. RACE.

IT WAS TIME TO MEET THE EMPEROR.

- THERE IS NO GIVE IN THAT MAN.

THERE IS NO DREAM IN THAT MAN.

HE'S NOT A VISIONARY.

HE IS A CAPITALIST,

AN ENORMOUSLY CONTROLLED, DRIVEN, DESPERATELY SMART MAN

WHO MEASURES SUCCESS, INDEED LIFE,

BY DOLLARS AND EUROS.

CARLOS GHOSN DOESN'T GET UP IN THE MORNING

UNLESS THERE'S MONEY IN IT.

I RECOMMEND YOU GO MEET CARLOS GHOSN

AND ADMINISTER SODIUM PENTOTHAL.

I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THIS GUY KNOWS.

I WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY CHASSIS

THEY'RE GOING TO PUT THIS ELECTRIC ARCHITECTURE INTO.

HOW FLEXIBLE IS IT?

HOW MUCH DOES IT WEIGH?

HOW SCALABLE IS IT?

I WANT TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW THEY PLAN TO MAKE MONEY.

- OKAY, SO WHO LEADING-- WHO'S LEADING THE MEETING?

- I AM, SIR. - YEAH.

- JUST A QUICK RECAP ON THE PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE

GETTING THE CONVERSATION STARTED IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE

FOR NISSAN ON ZERO EMISSIONS AND ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

- WHEN PEOPLE EXPRESS DOUBTS ABOUT ELECTRIC CAR,

I THINK WE SHOULD NOT GO VERY HEAVY ON THIS.

WE SHOULD SAY, "YEAH, MAYBE THERE ARE SOME CONCERNS.

WE ARE WORKING ON THEM," AND SAY--

I DON'T WANT TO WAKE UP COMPETITION.

I DON'T WANT TO WAKE UP COMPETITION.

BECAUSE THE MORE WE ARE PROGRESSING--

WE ARE INVESTING IN BATTERIES.

WE ARE INVESTING IN CARS.

THIS TAKES A LOT OF TIME, A LOT OF MONEY.

THEY DIDN'T START.

SO EVERY DAY THEY DON'T START IS A GOOD DAY FOR US.

OUR BIG DIFFERENCE IS, IT'S AFFORDABLE.

- YES. - AND IT'S MASS MARKETED.

THAT MEANS YOU'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO FIND I IN EVERY COUNTRY AT EVERY DEALERSHIP YOU WANT.

- YOU KNOW, THE JAPANESE ARE FAMOUSLY AVERSE

TO SAYING "NO" DIRECTLY.

THAT IS NOT GHOSN'S PROBLEM.

LOOK AT HOW HE MADE HIS REPUTATION.

HE WAS THE AXMAN AT NISSAN.

- WHEN CARLOS GHOSN TOOK OVER NISSAN,

NISSAN WAS ON ITS KNEES.

IT WAS ALMOST OUT OF BUSINESS.

- HE MADE A REPUTATION AS BEING THIS SORT OF TERRIBLY,

TERRIBLY DELIBERATE, DRIVEN, UNSENTIMENTAL GUY.

YOU KNOW, FIVE YEARS AGO,

GHOSN WASN'T TALKING ABOUT ELECTRIC CARS.

IT'S REMARKABLE THE TRANSITION THAT HAS HAPPENED

IN THE PAST FIVE OR SIX YEARS WHEN NOT ONLY HAVE THEY DECIDED

TO GO INTO THE E.V. MARKET;

THEY HAVE BASED THEIR WHOLE COMPANY STRATEGY ON IT.

- WELL, WE KNEW NISSAN

WAS WORKING ON LITHIUM ION BATTERIES,

AND THEY HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THEM FOR MANY YEARS,

BUT I THINK IT CAME AS QUITE A SURPRISE

WHEN MR. GHOSN ANNOUNCED THEIR VERY AGGRESSIVE STRATEGY

IN ELECTRIC CARS.

WE DIDN'T HAVE TRUTH SERUM,

BUT WE DID HAVE ACCESS AND INSIDE INTELLIGENCE.

CARLOS WAS GOING TO OUTFLANK HIS RIVALS WITH THE LEAF,

A PURE ELECTRIC CAR WITH A 100-MILE RANGE

PRICED FOR THE WIDEST POSSIBLE MARKET.

- WE ARE THE ONLY ONE ON THE OFFENSIVE

WITH ELECTRIC CARS,

AND EVERYTHING WE'VE SEEN IS MORE DEFENSIVE MOVES.

- 4.6 MILLION YEN.

- IT'S GONNA BE A MASSACRE.

JUST AS ELECTRIC CARS ARE STARTING TO CATCH ON,

THE ECONOMY COLLAPSES.

ALMOST HALF OF THE WORLD'S FINANCIAL WEALTH DISAPPEARS

ALONG WITH MILLIONS OF JOBS.

- AT THAT POINT, LEHMAN BROTHERS HAD COLLAPSED.

CREDIT HAD TOTALLY DRIED UP.

THAT SHUT OFF THE VALVE OF CAR SALES.

WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW MANY CAR COMPANIES

WOULD EXIST, AND INCLUDING,

WOULD THERE BE ANY AMERICANS AMONG THEM?

GM IS ON THE BRINK OF BANKRUPTCY.

WILL THE ELECTRIC CAR BE ANOTHER CASUALTY OF THE RECESSION?

NO ONE, IT SEEMS, CAN ESCAPE THE TURN OF FATE.

- CAN YOU SHOW US INSIDE?

- YEAH, COME ON.

THIS WAS OUR 100-PLUS-MILE-RANGE ELECTRIC CAR.

- I WOKE UP AROUND 5:00 AT THE SMELL OF BURNING PLASTIC,

AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, "I THINK THERE'S A FIRE."

- I CAME OUT.

SMOKE WAS SO THICK AND HEAVY,

I WASN'T SURE HOW BIG THE FIRE WAS.

- HE CAME RUNNING BACK IN AND SAID,

"WE'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE."

- CALLED 911.

THEY WERE HERE WITHIN FIVE MINUTES.

BY THEN, IT WAS--

FLAMES WERE COMING OUT THE WINDOWS

AND OUT THE ROOF.

INVESTIGATORS SAY THE FIRE WAS ARSON

AND STARTED BY VANDALS.

- $250,000 OF TOOLS

WITH NO INSURANCE.

SO HERE'S WHAT'S LEFT OF THE CAMARO.

THAT'S GONNA BREAK A LOT OF HEARTS.

THERE'S MY OTHER TWO ELECTRIC CARS,

MY GT6,

MY SPITFIRE.

MY PIANO.

THIS WAS A CHARGER

AT ONE TIME.

COUPLE CONTROLLERS THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE REPAIRABLE, MAYBE.

SO THIS ONE MAY NOT HAVE HAD THAT MUCH HEAT.

THAT COULD BE THE ONE SAVING GRACE.

THROUGH ALL THIS, THE LIGHT'S STILL ON.

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