Quote:
Originally Posted by robg
Agree. Good point on Apple but the logistics involved in selling and repairing phones/accessories/computers seem less challenging than doing so with vehicles. One obvious difference is the amount of space required. The density of product in an Apple store is one of the keys to their success.
|
All true, but...
Another significant difference is that Apple was a mature business when they launched their retail operations. While they've had massive growth since then and the business itself has changed in major ways, they were not brand new at doing everything at the time.
Tesla is still new, trying to do a lot of things in non-standard ways, and facing stiff opposition to some of them in addition to other dealing with regular pressures and those brought on by a megalomaniac showrunner with multiple priorities.
I have no doubt that Tesla can do a fully owned and scaled up operation while skipping the franchise model altogether. A lot of things have to come together to make it happen.