????幾乎每天都會冒出一家新的電動汽車廠商。就把它們叫做“特斯拉對手”吧。或者再大膽些，稱之為“特斯拉殺手”。這些新創(chuàng)企業(yè)都雄心勃勃。它們無一例外地表明，人們對電動汽車領域越來越感興趣；但它們也揭示了一種集體失憶癥，那就是人們忘了初創(chuàng)汽車制造商真要白手起家會有多么困難。

????路透社的一篇報道提到了最新的“特斯拉對手”。報道中稱，這家新成立的初創(chuàng)企業(yè)名叫上海蔚來新能源汽車有限公司，它獲得了多家中國互聯(lián)網(wǎng)企業(yè)的支持。蔚來新能源稱，它將于2016年推出一款電動超級跑車。

????報道指出，蔚來新能源的投資方包括為Uber提供資金的高瓴資本和中國互聯(lián)網(wǎng)巨擘騰訊。同時，該公司看來還從福特、特斯拉以及寶馬挖來了高級管理人員。

????這就是打算在某些方面和特斯拉一較高下的最新電動車制造商。幾個月前，新“特斯拉對手”這個頭銜還屬于設在加州加迪納市的初創(chuàng)公司Faraday Future。據(jù)報道，這家公司去年成立，已有200名員工，其中一些來自特斯拉。它定于2017年推出首款電動汽車，還不清楚其資金來源。

????從事電池制造的初創(chuàng)企業(yè)Boston Power也曾被稱為“特斯拉對手”，主要原因是該公司計劃建立一家規(guī)模可觀的電池廠，并和中國汽車廠商合作生產(chǎn)低成本電動車。Boston Power最初設在美國，2011年遷至中國，原因是當時很難在美國為電池科技公司籌得資金。

????Boston Power的投資人是金沙江創(chuàng)業(yè)投資基金，后者專門為立足于中國的企業(yè)提供資金。Boston Power董事長伍伸俊（也是金沙江創(chuàng)投的董事總經(jīng)理）在該公司進行最后一輪融資時對《華爾街日報》表示，金沙江創(chuàng)投向Boston Power出資的原因是必須有人跟埃隆·穆斯克（特斯拉汽車公司CEO）一決高下。

????去年，設在舊金山灣區(qū)的高檔電動車廠商Renovo Motors在悄然開發(fā)四年后推出了真正的高檔電動超跑Renovo Coupe，使用鋰離子電池。Renovo Motors獲得了硅谷投資者支持，儼然是跑車版的特斯拉。

????此外，被中國汽車零部件龍頭萬向集團收購后，兩年前一敗涂地的電動車廠商Fisker Automotive（已更名為NewFisker）計劃東山再起。該公司打算在加州莫里諾市建立一座工廠，并聘用150名員工。它表示，設在加州科斯塔梅薩市的總部另有員工240人。

????這些新成立的初創(chuàng)公司都試圖追尋特斯拉的足跡，而且都冒險獨立推出電動汽車，這里有幾個原因。毫無疑問，特斯拉的成功鼓舞了其中多家企業(yè)。特斯拉的創(chuàng)立者和早期員工都成了富人，它的Model S轎車非常受歡迎，乃至于美國《消費者報告》雜志給出了歷史最高評級。

????但推出一款新車最起碼也要數(shù)億美元，高檔車所需資金更是達到十幾億美元。初創(chuàng)型科技公司的融資能力當然達不到這樣的水平。這正是特斯拉能挺過來的部分原因，也就是說，當特斯拉需要支持時，穆斯克手里已經(jīng)有了這樣一筆資金。

????短短幾年時間里，已經(jīng)折戟沉沙的汽車公司包括Aptera、Coda Automotive、Think Automotive、Wheego和FiskerAutomotive（不知是否有遺漏）。

????特斯拉的成功掩蓋了十多年來它戰(zhàn)勝的那些困難。該公司曾多次瀕臨絕境。兩年前，舉步維艱的特斯拉差一點兒就被谷歌收入囊中。準備生產(chǎn)首款電動車Roadster時，該公司也處于破產(chǎn)邊緣。

????今后特斯拉仍可能陷入困境。為了推出新車Model X和Model 3并讓大型電池廠Gigafactory投入運作，它仍在借款和集資。該公司的經(jīng)營狀態(tài)仍然如同一家初創(chuàng)企業(yè)，承擔的風險也和后者別無二致。特斯拉無疑還會遇到障礙，出現(xiàn)這種情況時，上述急不可耐的初創(chuàng)公司會不會望而卻步呢？

????同時，新的電動車初創(chuàng)企業(yè)出現(xiàn)在中國并不意外。中國對擁有自主電動車技術(shù)非常感興趣，因而為愿意在中國建廠的電池和汽車公司提供支持。此外，中國不鼓勵在某些地區(qū)使用燒汽油的汽車，而且正在設法讓人們少開車，以減少“名聲在外”的空氣污染。

????就像對待太陽能電池板行業(yè)一樣，中國愿意大力支持國產(chǎn)技術(shù)，并著力扶持自己希望進入的市場。這就產(chǎn)生了由盛到衰的往復循環(huán)。中國很可能出現(xiàn)一批電動汽車初創(chuàng)企業(yè)，他們會聲名鵲起，也有可能輸?shù)煤軕K。

????路透社報道稱，中國政府最近決定鼓勵其他行業(yè)向汽車行業(yè)投資。蔚來新能源的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)投資者只是支持新興電動車企業(yè)的團體之一。

????該報道指出，阿里巴巴和小米也在考慮向電動車廠商投資。專門鼓勵其他行業(yè)對這個行業(yè)投資可能只會給這個盛衰循環(huán)再添一把火。

????中國互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司有意支持電動車初創(chuàng)企業(yè)的另一部分原因是它們想借此與蘋果公司以及谷歌據(jù)傳正在開發(fā)的電動車技術(shù)一較高下。如果相關(guān)報道說得沒錯，蘋果正在大力開發(fā)一個名為Titan的電動車項目。

????但總的來說，新創(chuàng)業(yè)者和投資者對電動車技術(shù)興趣日濃的趨勢表明，電動車領域可能緩慢地出現(xiàn)怎樣的改變。電動轎車只占美國汽車銷量的很小一部分，但盡管如此，美國汽車市場的局勢也開始慢慢有了變化。在挪威等國，電動車已經(jīng)在新車銷量中占了很大比重。

????當市場上出現(xiàn)更好、更便宜的電動車時，購買者無疑會增多。實際上，特斯拉目前尚未遇到對手。這項技術(shù)還處在萌芽階段，而且正由特斯拉向前推進。

????電動車行業(yè)真正出現(xiàn)競爭最終會是一件非常好的事情。它意味著消費者和企業(yè)已經(jīng)把電動車視為一個欣欣向榮的重要市場。

????同時，另一個大概率事件是能真正跟特斯拉競爭的電動車將來自資金實力雄厚的大型汽車制造商。這些汽車行業(yè)龍頭需要做的只是足夠認真地對待這個市場。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：Charlie

????校對：詹妮

????Another day brings another new electric automaker. Call them “Tesla rivals.” Maybe, if you’re feeling especially bold, “Tesla killers.” All of these new ambitious ventures demonstrate the growing interest in electric transportation. But they also reveal a collective amnesia about just how difficult it really is to build a new automotive startup from scratch.

????The newest one comes courtesy of a Reuters report,which describes a brand-new, Shanghai-based startup called NextEV backed by a group of Chinese Internet entrepreneurs. The company says it will launch anelectric supercar in 2016.

????Investors in NextEV reportedly include Hillhouse Capital, which also backed Uber, and Chinese Internet giant Tencent. The company appears to have hired executives from Ford F , Tesla TSLA , and BMW BAMXY .

????And that’s just the latest company aiming to compete on some level with Tesla. A couple of months ago the new “Tesla rival” was Faraday Future, a startup based in Gardena, Calif. That company was reportedlyfounded last year, and already has 200 employees—including some from Tesla. The plan is to launch their first electric car in 2017. It’s unclear who’s funding the venture.

????At one point battery startup Boston Power was alsodubbed a Tesla rival, largely due to its plans to build a sizable battery factory and partner with Chinese automakers to build a low-cost electric car. Boston Power was originally founded in the U.S., but moved to China in 2011 when the funding for battery tech in the U.S. got difficult.

????Boston Power has been funded by GSR Ventures, a venture firm that funds businesses to grow in China. Boston Power chairman Sonny Wu (who’s also a managing partner with GSR Venures) told the Wall Street Journal at the time of the last funding round that the firm funded the company because “somebody” had to compete with Elon Musk.

????Last year Bay Area startup Renovo Motors emerged from stealth after four years in development with a really high-end electric supercar called the “Renovo Coupe.” With Silicon Valley backers, and the use of lithium-ion batteries, it’s like a racing-version of a budding Tesla.

????There’s also Fisker Automotive, which despite it’sspectacular crash and burn two years ago, still hasplans to re-launch under its new owner Chinese auto-parts giant Wanxiang. The company has plans to build a factory in Moreno Valley, Calif. that will employ 150 workers. Another 240 people work at the company’s headquarters in Costa Mesa, Fisker says.

????There are a variety of reasons why this group of new startups is attempting to follow in the footsteps of Tesla and tempt fate by launching an electric car out of an independent car company.

????Many of these startups have no doubt been encouraged by the successes of Tesla. The company has made its founder and early employees wealthy, and its Model S sedan has been so well-received that it aced its Consumer Reports rating.

????But launching a new car requires, on the very low end, hundreds of millions of dollars. On the higher end, it requires more than a billion dollars. The business is naturally at odds with the type of financing a tech startup can raise. That’s partly why Tesla made it through the hard times, because Musk already had money to support the company when it needed it.

????The list of car companies that haven’t worked in only the past few years include Aptera, Coda Automotive, Think Automotive, Wheego, and Fisker. (Am I forgetting anything?)

????Tesla’s success overshadows that the company spent over a decade beating all odds. The company almost died several times. It almost sold to Google GOOG during hard times two years ago. It almost went out of business as it was preparing to produce its first vehicle, the Roadster.

????Tesla will also likely go through some hard times ahead. It continues to borrow and raise money to get its next cars, the Model X and Model 3, out the door and its massive Gigafactory battery factory up and running. Tesla is still operating like a startup and taking on the risks of a startup. When Tesla hits some hurdles, which is no doubt will, will it scare off some of these eager startups?

????Meanwhile, it’s not surprising that new electric car startups would emerge out of China. China is very interested in building domestic electric car tech, offering support for battery and auto companies that are willing to build factories in China. The country also discourages vehicles that burn gasoline in certain regions, and is trying to cut down on car driving to reduce its infamously bad air pollutions.

????As the country did with solar panels, China is willing to heavily over-support domestic technology and markets that it wants to get into. This leads to a constant boom and bust cycle. There will likely be a bunch of Chinese electric car startups that will gain fame and potentially crash and burn.

????Reuters reports that the Chinese government has recently decided to encourage investment in the sector from non-automotive companies. The Chinese Internet investors in NextEV are just one group backing a new electric car startup, says Reuters.

????Alibaba and Xiaomi Technology are also considering investments in electric car companies, according to the report. Encouraging specifically non-automotive companies to invest in the sector will likely only heighten this boom and bust cycle.

????Chinese Internet companies could also partly be interested in backing electric car startups as a way to try to compete with electric car tech that Apple and Google are reportedly building. If you believe the reports, Apple is aggressively developing an electric car with the project name Titan.

????But overall, the trend of new entrepreneurs and investors becoming interested in electric car tech shows how the tide around electric transportation could slowly be turning. Electric cars make up only a fraction of cars sold in the U.S., but that’s ever so slowly starting to change. In certain countries, like Norway, electric cars make up an already large portionof new cars sold.

????When better and cheaper electric cars hit the market, more people will no doubt buy them. The reality is that there really are no Tesla competitors currently out there. The technology is at its very earliest stage, and is being pushed forward by Tesla.

????Real electric car competition will eventually be a very good thing. It will mean consumers and companies have embraced electric cars as a thriving and substantial market.

????But it could very well take a big auto maker with deep pockets to fund cars that could truly rival Tesla. The big auto companies just have to take the market seriously enough.