Thanks for answering Oliver. I understand the statistical point of view (as a member of the tech community). However, I think that argument is falling upon deaf ears across the general population. You still get a "yeah, but..." with an uneasy shrug.
People don't like the idea of losing agency when things go sideways. While people may agree with the premise of a computer being better in extraordinary situations, it's hard getting over an unknown unknown. They don't trust the system. They trust themselves.
Elon Musk fundamentally understands that you must "capture the imagination" of the general public to advance a field. [1] He's done it consistently through SpaceX and Tesla, and I witnessed it first-hand on two separate occasions with two very different people.
For years, I would tell my father -- an older American muscle-car loving guy -- about Tesla and their cars. All the logical arguments. But his heart was set upon the Dodge Hellcat: one of the fastest street-legal cars ever released. That was, until the day the Tesla Model S beat the Dodge Hellcat in a drag race. From then on, he started talking about Tesla, calling me when he saw one, and talking with the owners. Tesla captured his imagination with a visual, visceral experience.
And so it was with my girlfriend -- a young, 20-something, not really interested in cars. I'd point out Tesla cars while we were driving and tell her all about them. The logic behind electric cars didn't interest her. Until one day, she called me, screaming into the phone, "Babe! Babe! I just saw this car... it... the doors, I don't know, they like went up like a bird! But it was an SUV!" She was over the moon excited. To which I responded, "That's the Tesla Model X." From then on, her dream car is the Model X. Tesla captured her imagination with a visual, visceral experience.
My gut feeling is that the company to win will be the one with statistical significance and a way to capture the public's imagination.
P.S. This is all assuming that you're trying to win as a consumer company. If your mission is just to succeed as a supplier, then disregard.
But you didn't do your dad any favors with the Tesla vs Dodge Hellcat comparison. The speed of the Tesla is really a parlor trick. I'd bet on the Hellcat every time I needed to do more than a few laps on any decent race track.
Thing is, I didn't show my dad the comparison (I didn't even know it existed until he told me). He came across an article independently and watched the video for himself. He's also much more concerned with acceleration -- the feeling of being pinned back in your seat -- than distance. So the quarter mile was enough for him.
and if you wanted a little history to back up your thoughts, Henry Ford had the 999 racecar before the Ford Motor Company was founded, and Soichiro Honda was crazy about racing as well and almost bankrupted the company in pursuit of it (some dispute the closeness of it). Both felt that racing captured the hearts and minds of the public, and gave the newspapers something to write about.
People don't like the idea of losing agency when things go sideways. While people may agree with the premise of a computer being better in extraordinary situations, it's hard getting over an unknown unknown. They don't trust the system. They trust themselves.
Elon Musk fundamentally understands that you must "capture the imagination" of the general public to advance a field. [1] He's done it consistently through SpaceX and Tesla, and I witnessed it first-hand on two separate occasions with two very different people.
For years, I would tell my father -- an older American muscle-car loving guy -- about Tesla and their cars. All the logical arguments. But his heart was set upon the Dodge Hellcat: one of the fastest street-legal cars ever released. That was, until the day the Tesla Model S beat the Dodge Hellcat in a drag race. From then on, he started talking about Tesla, calling me when he saw one, and talking with the owners. Tesla captured his imagination with a visual, visceral experience.
And so it was with my girlfriend -- a young, 20-something, not really interested in cars. I'd point out Tesla cars while we were driving and tell her all about them. The logic behind electric cars didn't interest her. Until one day, she called me, screaming into the phone, "Babe! Babe! I just saw this car... it... the doors, I don't know, they like went up like a bird! But it was an SUV!" She was over the moon excited. To which I responded, "That's the Tesla Model X." From then on, her dream car is the Model X. Tesla captured her imagination with a visual, visceral experience.
My gut feeling is that the company to win will be the one with statistical significance and a way to capture the public's imagination.
P.S. This is all assuming that you're trying to win as a consumer company. If your mission is just to succeed as a supplier, then disregard.
[1]: https://youtu.be/xmOt5OZGvhw?t=3m24s