GM’s EVs have been on a roll recently. After promoting simply the Chevy Bolt for years, a wave of recent fashions — now as much as 17 totally electrified automobiles — has pushed the automaker into second place within the U.S. behind Tesla.
How did it get there? With a bit of assist from a Tesla veteran.
GM board member Jon McNeil was president of Tesla throughout the improvement and introduction of the Mannequin 3, an important interval of the corporate’s progress. One of many issues he credit for Tesla’s success is how Elon Musk ran product conferences.
“No slides was our first rule,” McNeil informed the viewers earlier this month at TC All Stage in Boston. “You must be reviewing actual product.”
Each week, senior management would sit down with product leaders to overview their progress. The apply was impressed by an encounter Musk had with Steve Jobs, McNeil stated.
“There was this perception that I feel is true: Steve Jobs didn’t have a ton of time or persistence for Elon within the early days. And early within the early days, Elon would attempt to chase Steve down at occasions and events in Silicon Valley for recommendation. And Steve didn’t like Elon, and so would typically flip his again to him when he approached him.
“However one evening, Elon acquired fortunate and stated, ‘Steve, when you had one piece of recommendation for me as a younger entrepreneur’ — he had simply simply accomplished PayPal and was becoming a member of the crew at Tesla — ‘what would that be?’ Steve stated, ‘Elon, you’re now within the {hardware} enterprise, however the {hardware} enterprise is quite a bit just like the software program enterprise. If you wish to achieve success in enterprise, you need to get one factor proper, and that’s, you need to have an ideal product. And if the product is gorgeous, it can promote itself.”
Techcrunch occasion
San Francisco
|
October 27-29, 2025
Musk took that to coronary heart, McNeil stated, and the idea of an ideal product grew to become central to product improvement at Tesla.
“The factor we have been on the lookout for initially was shock and delight. Like, are we doing one thing that’s going to simply make any individual go wow or giggle or have enjoyable?
“Loopy instance of that’s the fart button,” McNeil stated, referring to a software program button labeled “Emissions Testing Mode” that will simulate flatulence by the automobile’s audio system.
The corporate additionally prized minimalism, which on the software program facet meant conserving features accessible in fewer than two faucets on the display screen.
“It needs to be a form of a no brainer for the typical person. Then we’d double again the designer — the lead designer was all the time within the room — after which we’d say, OK, Franz, now make it lovely.”
Conferences like these, the place the precise product was reviewed, not a mockup, helped protect Tesla’s tradition because it grew, McNeil stated. “You possibly can think about the tradition that will get communicated when persons are bringing their A recreation to the CEO each week. Since you’re not going to deliver your B recreation to the CEO — particularly that CEO, as a result of he’s going to fireplace you,” he stated.
“That retains that firm on a one-week cadence of innovation. Each week they’re making progress due to the product opinions.”
McNeil left Tesla in early 2018. In 2022, he was added to the board at GM.
“One of many issues I’m most pleased with is Mary Barra, CEO, and Mark Reuss, president, [who oversee] a 275,000 particular person, $200 billion income firm, are operating product opinions each week the place there’s no slides. You’ve acquired to see the actual product [whether it’s] {hardware}, software program. If it’s {hardware}, it’s within the room. You’re touching it. You’re feeling it,” he stated.
“That stuff is so highly effective. And it’s led to GMs introduction of 17 EVs, now the second greatest promoting EVs within the nation. As a result of they’re simply on product, each week.”
