From Fastcompany · · 3m
What is a car for when machines drive?
Tesla, Porsche, and Alfa Romeo each answered differently at their October launches. Their choices reveal how every industry must rethink human purpose in an AI-driven world.
In brief
Tesla, Porsche, and Alfa Romeo each answered differently at their October launches. Their choices reveal how every industry must rethink human purpose in an AI-driven world. Three automakers unveiled concept cars in October that each answer the same question differently: what is a car for once software can drive it…
Three cars, one question
In October, Alfa Romeo showed the Cuorerosso at the Paris Motor Show. The same week, Porsche unveiled the Mission S in New York City and Tesla finally revealed the Roadster it had promised for years.
The central question
Each car was built for a world where driving can be handed over to software. Together they answer the same question: what is a car for once a machine can drive it?
A question for every industry
The automotive question mirrors one leaders in every industry face right now. Once machines can do the work, what are people for? The three cars show three different answers.
Tesla's answer: spectacle
The Tesla Roadster comes in four versions. The Rocket uses compressed-air thrusters to lift the car off the ground. Tesla estimates it reaches sixty mph in zero point fifty-nine seconds.
Extreme performance specs
The faster Tesla Roadster versions produce a megawatt of power. The company claims they can hit two hundred thirty mph, with downforce fans pulling them onto the road.
No mechanical link
Steering and braking on the Tesla are handled entirely by wire, through software, with no direct mechanical link between driver and machine.
The machine is the star
Top Gear described the Roadster's abilities as largely useless and yet utterly enthralling. Tesla is selling spectacle. The car performs and the human watches.
“largely useless and yet utterly enthralling”
Tesla's vision
In the world Tesla is building, the machine is the star and the human is simply the audience. This fits perfectly with the company's bigger bet on cars that drive themselves.
Porsche's answer: heritage
Porsche showed the Mission S, a mid-engined concept for a new supercar line above the nine eleven.
Alfa Romeo's answer: emotion
Alfa Romeo named its concept car Cuorerosso, Italian for red heart. The brand appeals to Alfisti, devoted fans who choose these beautiful, difficult, idiosyncratic cars for how they make them feel.
Why emotion matters
Nobody chooses to join the ranks of the Alfisti on the numbers alone. Alfisti love the brand for reasons that have little to do with logic.
Three visions of the future
Tesla makes the machine the star. Porsche puts heritage and driving skill back at the centre. Alfa Romeo emphasizes emotional connection and beauty over performance metrics.
The heart will matter more
As machines take over the work, what remains distinctly human becomes more valuable. The three cars show that spectacle, heritage, and emotion are three paths forward.
The key point
Three automakers unveiled concept cars in October that each answer the same question differently: what is a car for once software can drive it. The question mirrors what leaders across industries now face.
