And they could have "gotten by" with a diesel engine just like every other car company. that's a useless comment to make. We are tired with getting by. we need companies like Tesla/SpaceX that are willing to push the envelope with simingly stupid and useless ideas. After some time people will wander how past generations have gotten by without what they have just like now most of us can't go by without access to smart phones whereas 15 years ago everyone just went by fine.

This is just the wrong angle to look at this. The big screen was one of the features that was talked about the most. It was genius marketing, and also part of why the car felt like the future.

a lot of things can feel like the future when you don’t have to support them through their lifetime.