Many times companies pop up that are staffed by former employees of a common employer. When this happens there are many similarities to the former employer and the new one and the products that are produced. This is now happening with a Chinese funded startup company that is ready to build electric vehicles and be the next company to take aim at Tesla. This new company is called Atieva and it is staffed by many former Tesla executives that are ready to show their former employer how they made a mistake in letting them leave.
This new company is seriously in its infancy, but if its backed by Chinese money it soon will have everything it needs. Currently two of the heads are Bernard Tse and Peter Rawlinson, both of whom are former Tesla executives. They don’t have a factory as of yet, but that seems to be a minor concern at this point as the company does already have a concept for us to look at in the from an electric van called the Edna.
What they have so far is a Mercedes- Benz Vito van that has been fitted with an electric drive powertrain that makes 900 horsepower. This is an AWD van that will move the 5,000 pounds easily with this much power and the instant torque that an electric engine offers. Edna is claimed to be able to reach sixty mph in only 3.1 seconds to be the fastest van that isn’t made strictly for speed.
The plan for Atieva is to use the same powertrain and built a luxury sedan that will be the direct competitor to the Model S. The thought for this sedan is that it will be able to be even quicker and reach the sixty mph mark in only 2.7 seconds making it blindingly quick from the acceleration. If these two models work out well there will be a follow up of two luxury SUVs that will be added to the lineup, but first things first, they need a factory to build the sedan and Edna in.
The challenges that face Atieva is the same as the rest of the EV makers. Tesla is the most successful but still only fits into a niche area of the market, Faraday Future and NextEV both are still working to get off the ground and be noticed. One major difference for Atieva is the fact they are willing to offer a van that may be a fantastic work van for businesses to get into the EV movement.
Will Atieva become a household name the same way Tesla has? It’s possible, especially considering the heads of the company are both from Tesla and had front row seats to see how they can make a company that others will stand up and take notice of. This certainly gives them a lead over other companies, but it seems they still need to have a place to build their vision of what the next movement in the EV market should be.