Jason Badeaux

Our multi-year research effort into Tesla’s manufacturing capabilities andsupply chain integrations suggest that Tesla is more than 6 years ahead of anycompetitor. This lead is expanding.

ARK believes that the companies owning the autonomous technology stack and successful electric vehicle platforms will capitalize disproportionately on the economic benefits.

So, policy, philanthropy, and individual behavior do have roles to play, but the real solutions to the carbon nightmare will win because they’re cheaper, better, faster, stronger, simpler, and just plain cooler than what’s available today.

A system is a public utility if it is permissionless, rent-free, and does something useful.

This is a very new technology. It could be decades before it is developed enough to be put into a car. The high levels of cobalt could also be a huge issue. Not only is cobalt more than twice as expensive as any other battery metal, but its mining is environmentally and humanely dubious. Many companies, including Tesla, want to have cobalt-free... See more

Tesla has an in-house construction unit building out its factories. This enables a radically new and optimized manufacturing process. Historical analogy: Amazon built its own distribution centers to reinvent e -commerce logistics.

Technology leadership is not defined by patents, which history has repeatedly shown to be small protection indeed against a determined competitor, but rather by the ability of a company to attract and motivate the world’s most talented engineers.