Why Jay Leno Sees Tesla As Current & Indefinite EV Leader
Originally published on EV Annex.
by Charles Morris
Jay Leno has been a fan of Tesla since the beginning. He has featured Tesla vehicles on his CNBC show Jay Leno’s Garage many times — highlights include an episode from 2012 in which Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen gives Jay a grand tour of the brand-new Model S, and one from 2020 in which Leno and Elon Musk take the Cybertruck for a trip through the Boring Company’s tunnel below Los Angeles.
 Jay Leno talks Tesla (Source: Jay Leno’s Garage) |
In a recent CNBC interview, Leno discussed the latest developments in the Tesla world, and explained why he expects the California carmaker to remain the EV industry leader.
One of Tesla’s competitive advantages is its gold-standard Supercharger network. “Even today, a lot of the major manufacturers build an electric car, but, oh, where do you charge it?” Leno told The News with Shepard Smith. “Elon was smart, when he started, he knew this idea would work so he built charging stations.”
| Jay Leno gives his thought on Tesla (YouTube: CNBC Television) |
Another category in which competing EVs come up short is range. “We seem to have this inferiority complex that somehow things in Europe are better than things built here,” says Leno, but notes that European EVs “don’t have the range of the Tesla.”
Leno’s also a keen follower of SpaceX. “The fact that Elon can send a rocket into space and land it back on Earth for, what, a tenth of the price of the US government?” he says. “Well, that’s what private industry is supposed to do — cheaper, faster, more efficient.”
Leno still loves the “rumble” of a gas car — he owns plenty of ‘em. But the Tesla is the ultimate in practicality. “If you’re in a quiet, electric vehicle, you’re not polluting and you’re saving,” he says. “When I want to have fun, I’ll take out my 1960 Triumph TR3 and bomb around, but in terms of everyday vehicles, you can’t beat [the Tesla].”
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