Tesla is (in)famously overvalued. Their market cap is higher than most other car manufacturers (pumping out many times more vehicles than Tesla is), most of whom have caught up on EVs (is Toyota the only big manufacturer still lagging on EVs? I think they are). It's purely the brand of their CEO which is of course floundering because he's incapable of keeping his mouth shut and first comer advantage, and both of those are disappearing fast.
Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google have real utility, true, and they're huge, all across the world.
> What a sore lack of innovation
That's the wrong way of looking at things IMO. Just because the biggest companies are old and in non-tech niches doesn't mean there's no innovation. You can't seriously claim that companies such as VW Group, Stellantis, Airbus don't innovate? Let alone the smaller star/scale-ups (just a few French examples: BackMarket, Doctolib, Ornikar). There's plenty of innovation, it just isn't what's best valued and highest earning. A French innovating startup first has to capture the French market, then expand to neighbouring countries (of course that means legal and translating challenges at the very least) to be able to become big enough for those huge valuations. An American one is starting with a much bigger market to be able to capture, so of course a French innovator will be lagging in terms of global market share and valuation; that doesn't make them any less innovative though.
As a small example, Doctolib have practically revolutionised doctor's appointments in France and are exporting the model to other countries. Innovating in the healthcare space is very difficult due to a variety of reasons (highly sensitive data, lots of incumbents, doctors don't necessarily want to have any tech involved any more than necessary) but they did it with great tech.
> Their market cap is higher than most other car manufacturers (pumping out many times more vehicles than Tesla is), most of whom have caught up on EVs (is Toyota the only big manufacturer still lagging on EVs? I think they are)
Tesla is a top 5 car manufacturer by earnings at $14B for 2022. Toyota is next up that list at earnings of $20B.
Tesla sell almost 0.5 million EVs a quarter and has a 60% EV market share in the US, it sells more than everybody else combined currently, and is growing very fast. Hard to know how it will all shake out but so far nobody has caught up. Doesn't mean they can't but they are chasing. EV share of the US market is only 7% but is clearly the future, and again, Tesla has 60% (!) share in that market segment.
Looking forward there is the Gigafactory in Mexico and the Cybertruck release. If that is a hit Tesla will maintain its market leader position in 2024 and surpass Toyota in earnings. And they keep dropping prices. With smaller earnings than Tesla, and no institutional knowledge of making EVs it is hard to come up with a reason how and why Toyota can end up with a larger share of the EV market - suddenly they will find themselves in the position of the scrappy startup and Tesla the incumbant. That is the reason for the market cap, not mean tweets or dank memes - investors don't care about that.
Probably the list of EV leaders will be mostly new companies like Tesla, not legacy brands. Maybe some Chinese companies. Whatever the case it will look very different than today.
What is wrong with these people? How can anyone, let alone an educated, well-traveled leader, be so obtuse about the implications (and for that matter, the realism) of any such scheme?
For example: https://www.youtube.com/@OxfordUnion/videos
Now, click around a few of the videos, and observe if the above description, an honest self-image of the best and the brightest, I'm sure, comports with the actual reality on display.Make special note of the attitudes displayed by these bright young minds and the questions put to the speakers. Heck, might even notice the ever increasing pop-culture nature of the proceedings. I guess hearing from PSY about Gangam style is one of the most of all time.
In short, a large chunk of these "elites" who go into politics are nepo babies governed by fashionable group think no different from their less monied peers. iPhones are the great equalizer. Everybody is equally cringy. It is a different caliber of person now from the heyday and naturally trends towards authoritarianism.
The exceptionalism is gone a long time ago already. It was perfectly lampooned half a century ago in shows like 'Yes Minister'. Lofty ideals, duty, intellectual curiosity, honesty, a sense of decency, long ago succumbed to mediocrity and farce. And that was the 80s. We are way past that stage where there was still a sense of shame, past the age of spin, hurling into cynical ambivalence now and soon complete forgetfulness.
In short, the West really is in decline and has been for a long time. People who have a clue about why this is a bad idea are nowhere near the halls of power. And I don't mean intricate technical knowledge, these subjects go back centuries, the relevant ideas and ideals are at the very core of what made these societies great in the first place. Poof.
You know why this is wrong instinctually, at your core, because you paid attention to the ship of state and still give a shit about something bigger than yourself. They don't.
There's nothing outright wrong with them, they are just basic ordinary consumers. And the lessons of the past will have to be re-learned if we don't accidentally find ourselves this time in an unescapable permanent dystopia.