Quote:
Originally Posted by KSagal
Doesn't the question that begs to be asked seem to be; "If there is so much interest and clamor for green energy, which use these batteries for storage and power, then why do these companies have so much trouble staying afloat?"
I believe the answer is at least partially, that there is not so much interest and clamor for this technology as some would have you believe.
People who make the items that every one wants, do not typically have as much problem making their businesses work.
People who make the items that people are told to buy, are told they want, are told that will make their lives better, have less success because telling folks they want them is very different than convincing them.
Once people truly endorse and take these technologies to life, to THEIR lives, then the business prospects will be better. (Segway is not much different in this regard) Once people actually do want these things, and are not just being told they want them, then these businesses and technologies will thrive.
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Actually, I don't think there's any mystery here. The items are hot, but there's a lot of companies competing, and a lot of the competition is on price.
A lot of companies have put in a lot of capital, only to find that the margins were thinner and the market share narrower (both due to stiff competition), than they projected (and told their investors to expect).
To a large degree, this helps consumers. But it is also rather inefficient. For that inefficiency, though, we get the benefit of not over-committing to one path, one company, one business model, one technology.
Every company that fails and falls by the wayside, leaves more market share to their competitors, who get to make a few more sales, at least until some new upstart comes along.
It's not optimal -- but planned economies have a worse track record at finding efficient production strategies, than marketplace chaos -- and government-backed consortia, etc. don't have that great a track record either, though there can be benefits.
I think there is every bit as much clamor for these products and technology as people would have you believe -- and more. I just don't think the companies are as capable of meeting the needs of that market with as much profit and market share as they'd have their investors believe!