A Single Billboard Heralds The Death Of Tesla
A Single Billboard Heralds The Death Of Tesla
Musk has never fought a foe like Renault before.
If you visit one of the many service stations around London, you might see a rather peculiar billboard. It seems to know what cars are in front of it. For most cars, it proclaims that the Renault Scenic E-Tech “embarrasses” the Tesla Model Y. But as soon as a Tesla drives in front of it, it switches to a snarky remark like “This Is Awkward…” At first glance, this might seem like a petty or clever ad campaign, depending on your viewpoint. But it is far more than that. This EV and its cutting marketing push signals the death of Tesla as we know it. Let me explain.
Let’s start with the EV. Americans reading this might not even know Renault exists, but they are a brilliant French vehicle manufacturer with a history of pioneering revolutionary designs. Their 5 Turbo was a game-changing performance car, they invented the MPV with the Espace, they rejuvenated the European city car sector with the Twingo and Clio, they have won F1 championships, and their Zoe was once the best-selling EV in the world.
Well, over the past few years, they have yet again started pushing pioneering designs with their E-Tech EVs.
One of the most remarkable of these is the Scenic E-Tech from the Billboard. For only £40,995 (in the UK), the Scenic E-Tech comes with a gargantuan 92 kWh battery! This gives it a monstrous range of 388 miles WLTP. This battery charges at a peak rate of 150 kW, meaning 320 miles of range are added for every hour of charging, and a 10% to 80% time of only 40 minutes. That might sound like a long time, but don’t forget how massive the battery is and how long the range is. Despite the massive battery, the car isn’t slow, with 215 horsepower and a 0–60 time of 7.9 seconds. Moreover, it has an utterly colossal cargo area, equal to that of the Model Y.
Speaking of the Model Y, how does it compare? The base Model Y costs £44,990 (in the UK), or four grand more than the Scenic. So what extra do you get for that money? The Y has a 60 kWh pack that is 35% smaller than the one in the Scenic. It does charge at a slightly faster peak rate of 170 kW and has a 10% to 80% charge time of 25 minutes. However, as the Tesla only has a WLTP range of 267 miles, or 31% lower than the Scenic, this time isn’t really comparable. The Y is rated for 360 miles of added range per hour of charging, which is a better comparison and only 12.5% better than the Scenic. The Y also only does 0–60 mph a second faster than the Scenic despite having 37% more power and a smaller, lighter battery.
With all of this in mind, it’s no wonder Autoexpress’s review of the Scenic E-Tech opening line was, “New Renault Scenic E-Tech embarrasses Tesla Model Y on price and range.” It is the best value-for-money EV on sale in the UK right now. No other EV gives you that much range and that fast of a charging speed at such an “affordable” price point.
This is where the Billboard comes in.
You see, Renault is very much in the same position as Apple was in the early 2000s. Their products are actually brilliant and arguably some of the best in the industry, yet they aren’t getting the attention and sales they deserve. Meanwhile, their competition (Tesla for Renault and, back in the day, Windows for Apple) are complacent and getting weaker by the day. This is a prime situation for a killer ad campaign.
When I say Tesla is stagnant, I mean it. Their cars have only improved marginally over the years, and many of Tesla’s big projects, like the 4680, Cybertruck and FSD, have utterly failed to materialise or have the impact promised. Moreover, the entire company is pivoting and abandoning any development of its leading manufacturing technology or EV technology to chase an unproven business model and unproven technology in self-driving robotaxis, seemingly to keep their stock value inflated. This is a deeply questionable move, as FSD is still lightyears away from full autonomy. So yeah, Tesla is the weakest it has been in years!
In 2006, Microsoft was in a similar position to Tesla, being a stagnant market dominator. So, Apple did their infamous “Get A Mac” adverts; if you don’t remember them, Google them; they were brilliant! They effectively took the piss out of any other computer and gently pointed out how the Mac doesn’t have these issues. Soon after, Apple’s sales started to soar, and they haven’t stopped since. This was arguably as important of an event for Apple as the iPhone was, as it changed the public’s perception of what Apple was, priming them to view the iPhone in good context and massively helping its meteoric sales.
Renault is doing the same thing here. All they have to do is point and laugh at Tesla, and it will highlight how stagnant and flawed Tesla’s products are, while reframing the public’s perception of their product as better and a hidden gem only the “in people” know about.
And oh boy, does this Billboard laugh at Tesla! One of the comments that comes up when it spots a Tesla driving near it is, “You’re probably good at other things.” Damn! Considering the nature of hardcore Tesla fans, that is cutting.
Okay, so why does this signal the death of Tesla?
It proves that the auto industry is recognising Tesla’s weakness and has the products and PR capability to go for the jugular. Renault isn’t pulling their punches and has the walk to back up the talk. What’s more, Tesla can’t really mitigate this damage. They have promised revolutionary features and products for years, and we have yet to see the vast majority of them, so no swanky launch event can drown out Renault’s fact-based attacks. Tesla also doesn’t have a PR department, with Musk’s X/Twitter account acting as the sole PR point for Tesla. I don’t suppose you have noticed, but X/Twitter is dying, particularly in the UK, where Musk recently stoked race riots by spreading misinformation. No one is listening to Elon’s Twitter any more, and as such, Tesla’s PR department is neutered.
I’m not saying Renault will demolish Tesla and become the next Apple. The Scenic E-Tech is not the perfect EV. What I am saying is that this EV and its ad campaign would only be possible if Tesla was weak, losing its advantage and circling the drain pipe.
Thanks for reading! Content like this doesn’t happen without your support. So, if you want to see more like this, don’t forget to Subscribe and help get the word out by hitting the share button below.
Sources: Motor1, Autoexpress, EV Database, EV Database, Renault, iMore