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If you talk to anyone who has been a die-hard Apple user since the inception of the iPhone, you will come to learn something about them. Apple is the end-all of smartphone technology. Android users disagree entirely with that, claiming that Android-based phones are far superior, giving them more customization and features.
While that debate will rage on eternally, another fight is happening in a different technological realm, automotive. It is the battle over the electric car and the technology surrounding it, particularly battery technology.
If you have ever met a Tesla fan, you will know they are like Apple users, and many of them probably are. They admire the hard work and thought put into the Tesla vehicles by co-founder Elon Musk. They look at him as some form of tech leader that has graced their every waking moment with the hope of a better future.
The thing with Tesla owners is they are very rooted in everything about the company. They are the early adopters and will be Tesla owners for the rest of their lives, just like Apple users.
So what happens when something else comes out to challenge the status quo? What happens when another car company comes out with something that is ultimately better? We are entering a time in history where we see this happen right before our eyes. Most just do not understand it, though.
Toyota And Tesla the Apple/Android Of The Car World
Toyota motor has been around for decades longer than Tesla. Hailed often as a premium car company, Toyota is a brand that people know and trust. In my opinion, they are more like Apple, while Tesla is more like Android.
Update: After today's decision by the Japanese government Toyota has no choice but to follow Tesla or chart its own EV path.
Some of you may say this is total heresy, but hear me out. Toyota started the real EV revolution back before GM killed the EV-1. Hybrids are synonymous with Prius, just as electric cars are with Tesla. Apple gave us the first real smartphone. No, your lame Blackberry does not count. Toyota gave us the first real hybrid, which is part EV.
When Tesla entered the scene, electric cars were a neat idea, but most people thought it would fail, based on what GM had done. To me, it was like Android first starting out. Competing in a new and mostly uncharted space with competition from more prominent car companies that overlooked it.
Android, now like Tesla, has become a significant player in the market with many different Android OS brands. Apple, on the other hand, is still playing the iPhone game and sticking to it. Like Toyota, with the hybridization of their fleet, they rely on hybrids to rule the empire. All the time, watching what Tesla is doing and waiting for the opportune moment to strike, and strike hard.
Toyota And The Solid State Battery Revolution
Tesla battery day, in my eyes, was a huge success. Gaining a 56% increase in overall vehicle efficiency is absolutely astounding. Better batteries that cost less to produce and are less harmful to the environment are significant steps in complete EV adoption in the next 10 years.
As neat as battery day was for Tesla and all the fanboys (and girls), it is nothing compared to Toyota's announcement. The solid-state battery that Toyota promises to bring out next year will wipe the floor with Tesla battery tech.
Think about it. A battery that can fully charge in 10 minutes go farther is safer and better for the environment is a total no-brainer. It will destroy everything about lithium tech, no question. If there was ever a time in history where an EV revolution would take over on a massive scale, the time is now.
Tesla currently cannot produce more than 3% of what Toyota does, which also means once Toyota is at its production level, Tesla better hope they have a prayer and a fan base that will stay with them.
Why Toyota Will Succeed
I have been around many different Tesla models. I have been around many different Toyota models. Here is what I can tell you from not only my experience but that of others.
Toyota builds a better vehicle. Is Toyota a perfect car company? No, that does not exist. There are many things about Toyota that I wish were different. However, when it comes to longevity, Toyota builds a vehicle that lasts. The attention to detail with Tesla over the paint, weatherstripping, and car construction is somewhat lacking, a lot.
It is not to say that Tesla cannot build a vehicle; they simply need more time to refine their process and dial the cars in. Toyota will succeed because they have been in the game for longer than Tesla. Toyota knows the market better and has more established manufacturing facilities.
Toyota has loyal engineers and decades of research and development. Tesla does not have the resources that Toyota does and may not for quite a few more years.
Toyota will succeed because they are incredibly strategic. No move is ever made in the Toyota realm without serious time spent researching and doing a cost-benefit analysis. They are the Sensei to the Tesla apprentice.
Conclusion
When it comes to building a vehicle, I will buy a Toyota over a Tesla for the quality factor. If I plan on spending $40,000 or more on a new car, I want it to last. I think Tesla is going in the right direction but is not there yet. No one even knows why their company value is so high when they cannot even turn profits regularly.
Toyota is a company that does not do anything until they know for sure it will work. Toyota went longer than every other manufacturer before putting Lithium-Ion batteries in their hybrids. Why? Toyota believed it was not developed enough yet.
Thinking on that idea, Toyota is now rolling out a solid-state battery. This bit of knowledge tells me that Toyota has been researching this for years and kept it under wraps. They are ready to present the world with the next big thing in transportation.
Tesla may be the first car to be synonymous with EV, but Toyota is the wise Sensei who keeps showing the apprentice new things.
Until next time! Have a pleasant holiday and stay safe out there. Check out what is happening to Honda Element Owners
Check out this wild new battery tech that Tesla has and why it will forever change the auto industry.
Peter Neilson is an automotive consultant specializing in electric cars and hybrid battery technologies. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Service Technology from Weber State University. Peter can be reached on Linkedin and you can tweet him at The_hybrid_guy on Twitter. Find his page on Facebook at Certified Auto Consulting. Read more of Peter's stories at Toyota news coverage on Torque News. Search Toyota Prius Torque News for more in depth Prius coverage from our reporters.
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Comments
If not for Tesla, Toyota
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If not for Tesla, Toyota wouldn't even have interested in pure EVs. I would prefer a new tech company than an outdated company like Toyota. Look at Mach-E, looks more like a traditional car than anything modern.
Toyota won't have significant
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Toyota won't have significant production before 2025. That may be optimistic since we have not seen a prototype yet Tesla is not going to be standing still for five years.
Toyota will succeed because
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Toyota will succeed because they've been at it for longer than Tesla? Because they are a larger company that has more experience building cars? That's your argument?! I have one word for you, that's in line with your phone analogies:
Nokia.
We will see everyone and
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We will see everyone and their brother are claiming to have the tesla killer and if they do thats great for the environment but untill it is being mass produced its all just talk from dinosaurs who are scared they missed the boat and are throwing cash at the problem hoping it will go away solid state tech is not there yet if it was sandy manroe would be sell over it it will come one day but at what cost will it be charge time , miles driven per charge or $ per battery next year i dont think so but time will tell. The competition is coming lol since 2012.
Now if Toyota actually cared
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Now if Toyota actually cared about customer satisfaction and not only sales numbers they would be ahead of a company like Tesla I own a 2020 Corolla and having said that I will never buy another Corolla again I am very dissatisfied and Toyota does not care they only care about sales numbers and by the way this is my 4th Corolla
This Corolla is the worst built car I have ever owned
About Toyota cars I have.a
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About Toyota cars I have.a problem. When the Supra was reintroduced from the Celica-Supra to an ALL new Supra it was a disaster in 1986 at least for the Turbo version. They simply threw a turbo onto the excellent six cylinder they already had without thoroughly testing the combination of the higher pressures. This caused possibly 1000s of blown head gaskets due to improperly torqued head bolts in and out of Warranty sometimes multiple times throughout 1986 to 1992 Turbo models. When the head gasket blew most likely you'd be doing a high speed run and immediately coolant and oil mixed for a destroyed engine. In the entire run of this horrible car Not 1 service bulliten was issued for dealers to try to rectify the problem which would've saved every owner huge amounts of grief.
I don't see any real foresight or integrity in Toyota of that period, only the fear of losing money. It cost half the price of the New car to rebuild the engine and that's at 50k miles. Add to that dozens of other seriously flawed problems and I'd call this one a lemon. And trust me it happened to ALL the Supra Turbos at one point or another since I know people in the business now. This was prior to the Lexus attitude so it could've been a different company maybe.
Nonsense. Anybody who thinks
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Nonsense. Anybody who thinks it is just about the battery tech is seriously out of touch. Yes of course there is battery research ongoing, but that isn't a silver bullet that will rescue the wannabe car makers who have already seriously missed the boat. Of course Elon can update the battery tech too, and he already has. But there is so much more that gives Tesla a commanding lead. Do your research. And check out the share price whilst you are at it. There is a new breed of young informed investors who know how to evaluate technology and it has nothing to do with brand loyalty. For one thing Tesla doesn't just make things, they have mastered the art of making machines that make machines. That makes them independent of supply chains. The traditional assemblers aren't even in the same league.
Toyota is not a cutting edge
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Toyota is not a cutting edge innovator but they are good manufacturer of vechicles. Toyota won't think out of box which is essential for innovation. They are best known for hybrids but it was invented by Honda first.
Why does everyone think that
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Why does everyone think that whenever Solid state batteries become commercially viable Tesla wouldn't be in the mix? You think Elon will just sit around watching? Come on, wake up. Tesla is at least 2 steps ahead of everyone when it comes to batteries. Don't count them out just yet. They just need to learn to build a quality car. Don't doubt them on their battery tech. I'm sure there's lots in the background we don't hear about. Elon ain't dumb.
Blah blah blah. Toyota cars
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Blah blah blah. Toyota cars last because the drivers drive them like sissies. Push the cars and a Toyota won't last either. Plus people have been talking about solid state batteries for a long time. Maybe it can power a watch. Maybe. No freaking way can you make one to power a car. Keep dreaming
Nothing add Tyota the best
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Nothing add Tyota the best car on the world
No, Tesla owners are not
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No, Tesla owners are not necessarily Apple owners. In fact that's insulting to the. I bought my Tesla in 2012 because it was a superior automobile. Apple just wants to suck you into their universe by saying it is is better. Not by making it better.
A lot has been said about car
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A lot has been said about car makers building better ev's than Tesla and how easy it will be to do this. Once loved cars and now car testers can't wait for Tesla to be dethroned.
Well, that won't happen, sorry. My P90D is the best car I and anyone else I know have ever had, me being totally Tesla sceptic at first and whilst driving around in my Merc S class.. Ask any owner, these cars are more than 'just cars', they have an attachment no other car maker will ever achieve.
Toyota needs to retrofit
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Toyota needs to retrofit existing plants. That's messy. It has to manage logistics for old & new alike. It needs legacy systems in place for old & new alike. It is messy work.
Tesla has the cheapest cost of capital, the ability to build afresh, headhunt people from existing makers, who will be rationalizing to achieve economies of scale. This is before we even speak of innovations by Tesla and others.
Talking about technology they
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Talking about technology they don't have, no process or production plant. No idea of the cost...some how only though this miracle will they get a foot hold... they've had forever to set this up yet still nothing to show.
Toyota blew it. They Do not
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Toyota blew it. They Do not have a solid state battery.
The University of California,
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In reply to Toyota blew it. They Do not by stan kinaz (not verified)
The University of California, Irvine did a massive study where they built various neighborhoods in which professors were housed - each neighborhood used various “clean” cars, solar panel/non-panel equipped homes and various home/neighborhood energy storage. The study was backed by Southern California Edison, Toyota, Shell and others. They had Prius Hybrids, I think early Leafs and a couple hydrogen vehicles. Edison’s grid is way passed its life cycle and needed to figure out real data and how to relieve the taxed electrical grid, as blackouts where high at the time of the study. Shell had already helped kill the EV in CA and where trying to push Hydro with a he study. The study showed that each electrical car consumed the same energy, or more, as what the typical family consumed in a day. In essence, each hybrid/elec car was another house on the grid. That is sustainable, especially on a grid that was suppose to be in service as designed for less than 60 years. UCI pushed the hydrogen car, but purely for biased reasons. At the time the cost of the hydrogen hydrogen as about $1mil per car. The County of Orange Had a sanitation plant that was producing, believe it still does, hydrogen for thepurpose of filling cars. It is viable, but not at a mass scale. Everyone has an interest. Toyota could have been a front runner in Electric Cars but they bought in to Hydrogen - can watch various documentaries to learn about how shady Shell has been. Also interesting how much of the UCI studies that had been sitting on the research page for years has been scrubbed, with the most important data no longer available. People años talk about all the charging stations being built everywhere but don’t talk about how that electricity is being produced. None of this is truly viable without Nuclear power. Edison had to close its San Onofre plant and So Cal residents are filling the effects. Before the issue Edison had plans on another Nuclear facility - now it’s taboo. It’s Taboo for non- scientific reasons when you consider current Nuclear Power technology and American companies who can build them. Not a huge fan of Bill MGates but he has talked about clean energy/cars/etc not even being a topic of comvo without talking about Nuclear Energy. Until, as other mentioned, electrical car battery technology gets to the point where it consumes the energy of a typical household appliance (or hydro fuel can be mass produced + inexpensive car production) , fossil fuel car engines should continue to be used. There are techniques and ways to make fossil fuel cars super expensive efficient (can watch the many documentaries), but unfortunately big corps don’t make money from it. Shell and other oil companies aren’t going to like a 100-200mi/ga car. That’s al by they freaked out about the EV1 and killed it.
Dear author! Like Tesla fans
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Dear author! Like Tesla fans believe in their brand it is fully obvious that you pray to Toyota God. That is fine. I have a long time friend, engineer and PHD. He was always sceptical about Toyota developing skills, telling that general asian mentality rates Toyota as a mainstream no surprise monster that benefits from implementation of inventions made by others. Their rate of failure in some cases is average. I had 3 Toyotas in the family out of which 2 died waaay before common expectations. The third one - 5gen 4runner while being OK mover is so far behind in every direction that it makes me laugh when reading articles about next and padt year models comparison since new plastic ornament or one inch larger display are not innovation but disrespect and spit into driver's face. Retarded transmission, dated interior and limited features, super old engine with horrible consumption. And you are trying to compare him to Tesla? I am mot a Mask fan at all, rather opposite, but stop eating psychodelic mushrooms every time before you look at Toyota and let them change consumer approach philosophy mind to tell you approach to innovation....
How? I still use such
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How? I still use such batteries so new tech, cars aside, this won't crush, it's a lot of batteries and production needed and even older ways of productuon are still used, it's not free either so do not even dream it's useless what tesla does.
They also bring real products and push boundaries, no happy dream tech with no real product yet...
The article fails to
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The article fails to acknowledge the common denominator of Tesla and Toyota.
PANASONIC,.......
What a load of BS. This
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What a load of BS. This author has no clue.
Total junk of an article. You
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Total junk of an article. You compare tesla to Apple and then decide to suddenly switch them to Android. Please compare the cars as they are and don't try to use "metaphors" and try to bring your fanboyism into it.
So you thought that not only
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So you thought that not only using different tech to insult iPhone users, you also treat tesla fans as mindless fanboys? You are a garbage human being. This type of bs is ruining the internet. I'm an Android user, and I'm pissed at your insults of iPhone users.
Talk is cheap. Toyota makes a
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Talk is cheap. Toyota makes a very good ice lineup but that’s where it ends. They have no interest in making EVs because they use dealerships who don’t support a car that doesn’t need maintenance. Tesla is so unique on so many levels most people don’t know how to copy them, like supercharger network, etc, OTA updates allow them to never get caught. I have two 3s and have never had an issue for several years. The car just keeps getting better and the FSD is remarkable. Hydrogen will never catch on due to production and storage issues. EV is the only current viable candidate and Tesla has 10 years of mistakes to learn from. Good luck to the others and I hope for their success but show me the car that Toyota can sell and then write an article, the rest is just click bait.
Most comments seem to miss
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Most comments seem to miss the big one, Telsa charging network. If you have to go home to charge that is going to be a negative. Solid state, capacitors, will probably enhance batteries before replacing them. Telsa beat everyone else with the charging network. Until any other manufacturer starts building an equivalent it is just white noise.
Once again someone making the
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Once again someone making the mistake thinking Tesla is a car company. Tesla is an alternative energy company that builds cars as part of that strategy. Toyota is just a car company.
I’m surprised by this article
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I’m surprised by this article. Toyota is loosing market share each day to Honda, Mazda and so on for it’s so called historical expertise in ice cars. I see more civic than Corolla, more Accords than Camry, more Mazda Cx-5 than rav4. Toyota’s design is terrible. And in current time, most cars are reliable unlink 1990s . Toyota should focus on regaining its old glamour first before becoming EV champion.
Tesla does pretty well at
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Tesla does pretty well at keeping it's research under wraps, when it wants/needs to. I wouldn't discount their own intensive research program just yet. Even so, unless Toyota is going to license this tech to all of it's ICE competitors, it won't be Tesla that feels the brunt of this paradigm shift, it will be the legacy automakers who are already so far behind Tesla, they don't have a prayer in the electric auto market if Toyota leapfrogs Tesla. The new "Big 3" may well be Toyota, Tesla and Apple. Though at the moment, I would only put money on a "Big 2" scenario unless one of the legacy behemoths pulls a rabbit out of a flying monkey's butt, or a third start-up emerges with stunning new tech. Both seem unlikely at this point.
All this hypotheses
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All this hypotheses conjecture and suppositions amazing whole entire article can be read and commented on about something that does not yet exist perhaps we should withhold our definitive opinions until the product actually arrives and can be scrutinized
I have had the good fortune
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I have had the good fortune to supply a large Japanese manufacturer for over ten years, and I cannot express sufficiently how much their engineers impressed me. They were so quality-control detail-oriented it seems to remind me of the Japanese mentality after WW2 ended. It is widely understood that their whole culture moved in the direction of being more responsible, more aware of their committment to excell in so many fields, and Japan has produced wonderful engineers. Toyota certainly has many of them in their employ.