Apple is one of the consumer technology brands that has most clearly defined its own course within a super competitive industry. Although he is no stranger to the future of the sector, Apple has succeeded in creating a comfortable narrative and ecosystem to attract consumers to and link them to it. It is not for nothing that Android users still envy iPhone users.
For this, he has developed several strategies that have achieved their goal, that users are so comfortable that they are their own prescribers, reach a large base of fans rather than customers and reach a point that was not expected decades ago. All this is no coincidence, it is the fruit of a specific idea, and some brands have been inspired by it.
To say that Tesla is the apple of cars may seem obvious, maybe because they have a very famous CEO, like Steve Jobs, or because they give their products an aura of perfection, without them being so, or because of their high prices. But there are plenty of reasons why Apple and Tesla are similar, more than we think, and that’s without appealing to the cost of cars and devices.
Design and branding
One thing Steve Jobs had been clear about since he founded Apple with Steve Wozniak was that design was key to everything they did. Certainly, if they had dedicated themselves to manufacturing other things, they would also have opted for a very particular design, which would differentiate them from their competitors. It is not for nothing that the company is interested in Japanese and German brands, leaders in this sector in the 70s, such as Bosh or Sony.
Tesla is also a company that uses design as a selling point and as a money-saver. The minimalism we saw in Macs is also found in Elon Musk’s cars, especially indoors. It’s not uncommon to hear someone say that a Tesla, especially with white seats, looks like a spaceship. That’s because the design language has focused on delivering a good experience with a very different aesthetic than other manufacturers.
Added to this is the effort of the two companies to have a brand image that is highly valued and more advanced than that of the competition. The management style is very different, it’s true, but both companies pride themselves on being leaders in their sectors and on bringing value to the world, beyond the products they sell.
Hardware and software
Apple has always been characterized by use home-developed software, both for their computers and for their tablets and mobile phones. This allowed him not only to mark the evolution of systems, but also to have absolute control over how they change and improve.
This also applies to Tesla, which is the benchmark for software for vehicles. Not just in electric vehicles, and we’re not talking about the autopilot system that gives the brand so many headaches. The quality of the interface, functions, the importance of software updates, all this is much better than in the software of other car manufacturers. Only Google has a comparable system, which means the rest of the brands come at the expense of what the Sundar Pichai-led company believes.
[El plan de Google para revolucionar tu próximo coche: el caballo de Troya que ya triunfó en los móviles]
Software creation allows you to have direct integration with hardware, which makes the user experience much better than in other alternatives. Apple doesn’t need to have as much RAM as its competitors to do things better, it doesn’t need to have the most advanced screens. Likewise, Tesla can enhance the experience of its cars through software, because the hardware was built and installed with that in mind.
the price is misleading
At the beginning of the article, it was mentioned that the high price the two brands put on their products was not the biggest uniting element, but there is one related to cost that is. Apple has always been considered an expensive brand. This is particularly striking in countries like Europe, with a much lower per capita income than other markets like Germany, Canada or the United States, where Apple has a much higher market share.
But, if we compare the prices of Apple with equivalent products (and this is the key) of other brands, we will see that the costs are not much higher. Buying a top-of-the-range mobile from Samsung or Xiaomi means paying more than 1,000 dollars and, sometimes, almost 1,500 dollars. This is also the case at Apple, with the difference that at Samsung or Xiaomi there are much cheaper options but not at Apple.
The same thing is happening at Tesla. Buying a Tesla Model Y because it’s the cheapest option isn’t crazy, but you have to be realistic and compare this car with others in the same category. The Tesla Model 3 is even cheaper than the direct competition, especially if we look at financing. But, like Apple, Tesla doesn’t have cheaper cars so users with less purchasing power can choose to have a product from that brand.
Always connected devices
Apple entered the mobile world when it was able to create a device that looked more like a computer than a phone.
This also applies to Tesla, which has always had an element of value in the connectivity of its cars. Thanks to this, you can watch series and movies in the vehicle, you can access the cameras using them as a car security system, you can update the software remotely…
There are other car brands that implement similar functions, but not to Tesla scale nor with the same depth. It’s worth noting that in Elon Musk’s business, it’s something that’s been there from the start, something that’s meant to be part of the original car experience. We are at a tipping point similar to the one we experienced in the first decade of this century with smartphones, but now with cars.
Environment
Since climate change is an almost daily news topic at all levels, social, economic and political, it is not uncommon for businesses want to position themselves as green with minimal change. However, brands like Apple or Tesla take this to another level, almost bragging that their mere existence improves the climate.
Both attach particular importance to respect for the environment, but they go even further by placing it as one of the pillars of your brand. Apple brags about recycled elements, how it improves designs to be more repairable…without addressing the zero possibility of repairing AirPods when the battery is degraded, for example.
In the case of Tesla, this is even more pronounced, because positions itself as the brand that will eliminate much of the world’s pollution, replacing thermal cars with electric cars. Again, sometimes the pollution of production is not taken into account or, directly, it is not possible to circulate a large number of passenger cars in the world.
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