Part 10/14:
Most traditional automakers still operate under rigid waterfall development models—planning years in advance without flexibility. Hans stresses that capturing modern software's potential demands an agile approach, akin to Silicon Valley practices. Tesla revolutionized the industry by applying agility not only to software but also to hardware manufacturing, allowing rapid swaps, updates, and continuous improvement.
Traditional OEMs, struggling to adapt, face significant challenges in building software ecosystems comparable to Tesla's. They often hire top-tier software engineers but shoehorn them into legacy processes, resulting in subpar results. Tesla's culture of iterative development, frequent updates, and integrated hardware/software design has set a new gold standard.