Day 10: Elon Musk

Day 10 of 25: Applications of the iCORE™ Framework 

Identify + Connect

Electric cars weren’t new when Tesla entered the picture. What was missing wasn’t the technology, it was the way people perceived the category. 

For years, electric vehicles were seen as a compromise. Practical, but not exciting. Efficient, but not something people truly wanted to drive. 

When Elon Musk became the driving force behind Tesla, the focus shifted toward changing that perception through experience. The goal wasn’t just to build an electric car, but to build a car people would want regardless of what powered it. 

That showed up in the details. Performance, design, and simplicity all worked together to make the product feel aspirational instead of restrictive. 

Once that experience changed, perception followed. Electric vehicles stopped being viewed as “less than” and started being seen as the future of driving. 

That shift didn’t just grow Tesla, instead it reshaped the entire market. 

When perception changes, markets move.