, Columnist
Elon Musk Is the Henry Ford of His Age. That's Bad.
For decades Detroit built faulty cars and fixed them later. Then Toyota came along.
Does anybody else hear a pinging noise?
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The idea that Silicon Valley could reinvent the auto sector the way Apple reinvented mobile phones is an appealing one, and by some metrics Tesla has done just that. The Silicon Valley automaker's distinctive product features -- blistering performance, long-range batteries and slick touchscreen interfaces --have beguiled legions of fans and investors, giving the impression that the future of the auto industry had suddenly arrived.
But recent reports call that glowing future into question. After 15 years, it's increasingly clear that Tesla has nothing to offer in the area that, as the tech analyst Horace Dediu puts it, is where "almost all meaningful innovation occurs": the production system.