Another Installment from Tech Maven Fritz Maffry

Long-time 2GreenEnergy contributor Fritz writes: 

Disruption is coming to a boil

We have been talking about the super-techs’ intentions for disruption, the best examples of which are are Amazon and Tesla, but virtually all the greats of tech are all piling in now: Berkshire Hathaway, Amazon, Softbank, Google, Apple, Tesla and a dozen others.  Though different language is used to describe it, the trend now is most definitely here, as these companies’ leaders are talking about it at every opportunity. Traditional business will be caught like deer in the headlights.

Here are a few pieces on:

The electric vehicle explosion in the next three years

SpaceX

Small e-planes

The electric ecosystem is coming faster than expected and is much bigger and more important than appreciated

How big are the Tsunami waves that are coming? Massive and fast. Freight train fast. Look at the numbers of electrics coming out, look at the pilots of autonomous.  You will be amazed at the growth of electric bikes and electric cars. Electric buses are proliferating at breakout rates. Here (in Kansas City, MO) they are barely mentioned while the Streetcar single focus bubble of the political class is so outside the path of innovation. We choose high cost and inflexible over the most incredible advancements of our time, led by the best and richest tech companies ever conceived.

Ford got the message

Ford is going electric in a huge way; every Ford model from Fiesta to Transit will be electrified by 2021 — making electric vehicles the new norm.

Here’s a piece on electrifying digging equipment.

Current vehicles are going to look like boring dogs compared to what is coming.  Need an example?  INFINITI has revealed the first image of the Qs Inspiration, a sports sedan concept for the electrified era; it will make its global debut at next week’s Auto Shanghai 2019.

The oil majors are starting to pile in on electric ecosystem dimensions, and they don’t like the utilities

Here’s a subject Craig about earlier this week, Shell’s foray into the electric utility business.

Articles on EV charging stations 

….are here and here

Amazon shows some moves

Amazon has invested heavily in autonomous warehouses and robotics; now they’re in autonomous software for transportation, performing research and development to the tune of $26 billion. In addition, Amazon is buying electric vehicle companies, so as to lay down a full house of end to end transformation.

Here’s what they’re doing in wind power.

Amazon’s “space network” will coincide with new features including voice and AI execution through smart assistants networked to smart cloud infrastructure to do things we can hardly imagine today.  Here’s a piece about the application to healthcare service.  What they’re doing with rockets is exceeded only by SpaceX.

Apple and Amazon don’t like to preview their strategies, yet it is clear they intend to turn things upside down. The average traditional player has little chance, if they are in the crosshairs, against a purposeful onslaught of the Super Techs with fusion disruption. There is going to be some roadkill on the information highway, which is now the information spaceway. Remember, Tesla has a space network coming too; there will be some sharp elbows coming to the playground.

Tesla 

Tesla is showing how a systems view is enabling innovations such as sentry functionality, summon functionality, on-air updates, pre-prepared autonomous ride sharing system ready sensor sets, vehicle-to-energy system coordination capabilities outside the monopoly grid, and over-the-air performance improvements via software tuning.

This is not your father’s Oldsmobile, as they say. On the transition to the Model 3, Tesla has some weakness of results. Don’t worry; it is a purposeful forced march while Tesla loads for bear on the next periods of the great game.  Here come autonomous  shuttles, electric pickup trucks, plans to rival Uber and Lyft.

In addition, the continuation of the EV tax credit has been good for them, of course, and they’re doing very well in Europe and Scandinavia.

Buffet getting into gear

With a huge footprint in automotive from BYD stakes, an empire of dealerships, funding of renewables, and operation of utilities. Berkshire is now warming up to stay with the grand disruptions coming from Tech.  Making this more interesting, the next leadership position in all this was thought to be a financial portfolio analytical type.

It looks like they will have to get a different kind of athlete to stay with Bezos and Musk in execution. Even if that happens, we still do not see them as being as effective, chasing rather than leading in design. Needless to say the gloves are coming off on the greatest game in business.