Electric shock of the new—How to be the next Tesla

A traffic jam of upstarts is vying to follow in Elon Musk’s tyre tracks. Does any stand a chance?

Upstart  n. /ˈʌpstɑːt/(disapproving) 自命不凡的新上任者；狂妄自大的新手

vie  v. /vaɪ/( vying vied vied /ˈvaɪɪŋ/  ) ~ (with sb) (for sth)  激烈竞争；争夺 • She was surrounded by men all vying for her attention. 她周围尽是竞相博得她青睐的男子。• Screaming fans vied to get closer to their idol. 尖声喊叫的崇拜者争先恐后地涌向他们的偶像。

CARMAKING IS LITTERED with defunct marques, from Diatto and Hupmobile to Mercer and Whitlock. America spawned around 250 firms by the 1910s. As the 20th century wound to a close it had three that mattered: Ford, General Motors (GM) and Chrysler. In the past few years an electric version of the early American automobile boom is unfolding on a global scale.

Be littered with:充满···；散落着···。使杂乱

defunct  adj. /dɪˈfʌŋkt/不再存在的；不再起作用的；不再使用的

marque  n. /mɑːk/ 知名品牌（尤指汽车） • the Porsche marque 保时捷的品牌

spawn  /spɔːn/  1.(鱼、蛙等)产卵；2. ( often disapproving ) 引发；引起；导致；造成 •The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。3.名词，（鱼、蛙等的）卵

unfold  v. /ʌnˈfəʊld/ 1.（使）展开；打开 •to unfold a map 展开地图2.（使）逐渐展现；展示；透露•The audience watched as the story unfolded before their eyes. 观众注视着剧情逐渐地展开。•She unfolded her tale to us. 她向我们倾吐了她的故事

Chinese startups like Aiways, Li Auto, Nio, WM Motor and Xpeng are already making electric vehicles (EVs) in their thousands. In Europe, Croatia’s Rimac and Spain’s Hispano Suiza are building hypercars, while Britain’s Arrival is manufacturing electric vans. American companies such as Canoo, Fisker, Lordstown, Lucid and Rivian hope to start full-scale production soon. Foxconn, a Taiwanese contract manufacturer better known for making apple’s iPhones, may soon also be assembling electric cars for others. As for apple, its next gadget could be an iCar.

Hypercar：指比超跑 supercar 更高级的跑车                         Gadget  n. /ˈɡædʒɪt/ 小器具；小装置

Most of the insurgents are loss-making. Some have yet to earn any revenue. But all see a chance to grab a slice of an industry that has turned decisively in the direction of battery power (see chart 1)). Everyone wants to be the next Tesla, which has successfully used batteries and clever software to take on the internal combustion engine. In the process Elon Musk's firm has become the world's most valuable car company, worth more than the next three biggest carmakers combined.

the internal combustion engine：内燃机           combustion n. /kəmˈbʌstʃən/ 1.燃烧；2.燃烧过程

Tesla's $6oobn valuation serves as a "torch at the front", says Engelbert Wimmer of e&Co, a consultancy. Now investors are looking for the next beacon. Nio listed in New York in 2018. Xpeng and Li followed suit last year. All are worth as much or more than many established carmakers. Arrival and several of the American firms have used mergers with special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, as a shortcut to public markets—and to valuations in the billions. Patrick von Herz of Lincoln International, an investment bank, calls it a "global feeding frenzy". He Xiaopeng, Xpeng's boss, has said he expects the market to swell to 300 or so firms before settling at around ten. How do the challengers avoid the fate of the forgotten?

beacon  n. /ˈbiːkən/ 1.（指引车船等的）灯标，灯塔；立标 •He was a beacon of hope for the younger generation. 他是年轻一代的希望之灯。2.（导航）无线电信标台；3.（昔日）烽火

established ：在这里做形容词，释义为—well known and respected in a job, etc. that they have been doing for a long time 著名的；成名的；公认的；资深的；老牌的 •an established actor 著名演员

SPAC：special-purpose acquisition company的缩写，直译为“特殊目的并购公司”，也称作“SPAC平台”，国内常说的借壳上市。是美国资本市场特有的一种上市公司形式。其目的是为了并购一家优质的企业（目标公司），使其快速成为美国主板上市公司。作为一个上市平台（壳公司），SPAC只有现金，而没有实际业务。目标公司与SPAC合并即可实现上市，并同时获得SPAC的资金。（参考：美国联合商业协会-AGBA；链接：https://www.zhihu.com/question/57079844/answer/1117838732）

feeding frenzy  n.  1.（鲨鱼等鱼群的）疯狂捕食；2.（对某物的）集体狂热追求；（人群的）疯抢

译文

A traffic jam of upstarts is vying to follow in Elon Musk’s tyre tracks. Does any stand a chance?

一群后起之秀正争相效仿埃隆•马斯克(Elon Musk)。有机会吗?

CARMAKING IS LITTERED with defunct marques, from Diatto and Hupmobile to Mercer and Whitlock. America spawned around 250 firms by the 1910s. As the 20th century wound to a close it had three that mattered: Ford, General Motors (GM) and Chrysler. In the past few years an electric version of the early American automobile boom is unfolding on a global scale.

汽车制造行业充满了不在存在的传说品牌。从Diatto，HUPmobile到Mercer、whitlock。1910年代，美国曾经孵化出250个车企。在20世纪，来来去去诞生了三家举足轻重的企业：福特，通用汽车和克莱斯勒。最近几年，全球电动汽车的发展如同美国早期汽车市场热一样展现在人们面前。

Chinese startups like Aiways, Li Auto, Nio, WM Motor and Xpeng are already making electric vehicles (EVs) in their thousands. In Europe, Croatia’s Rimac and Spain’s Hispano Suiza are building hypercars, while Britain’s Arrival is manufacturing electric vans. American companies such as Canoo, Fisker, Lordstown, Lucid and Rivian hope to start full-scale production soon. Foxconn, a Taiwanese contract manufacturer better known for making apple’s iPhones, may soon also be assembling electric cars for others. As for apple, its next gadget could be an iCar.

中国的初创企业像是爱驰汽车（Aiways），理想汽车（LiAuto），蔚来汽车（Nio）和威马汽车（WM Motor）和小鹏汽车（Xpeng）已经生产了数以千计的电动交通工具。在欧洲，克罗地亚的Rimac和西班牙的Hispano Suiza正在制造终极跑车，与此同时，英国的Arrival正在制造电动货车。美国企业像是卡诺（Canoo），菲斯克（Fisker），洛兹敦（Lordstown），Lucid 和Rivian希望可以马上展开全面生产。富士康，一家以为苹果代工出名的代工厂，可能马上为其他车企组装电动汽车。至于苹果，它的下一个产品可能是icar。（苹果计划推出的智能电动汽车）

Most of the insurgents are loss-making. Some have yet to earn any revenue. But all see a chance to grab a slice of an industry that has turned decisively in the direction of battery power (see chart 1)). Everyone wants to be the next Tesla, which has successfully used batteries and clever software to take on the internal combustion engine. In the process Elon Musk's firm has become the world's most valuable car company, worth more than the next three biggest carmakers combined.

绝大多数的电动汽车行业挑战者们都是亏损状态。有一些甚至没有产生任何收益。但是，大家都看到该行业已经明确向电力驱动转型，想要乘机分一杯羹（见表1）。大家都想成为下一位特斯拉，它成功使用蓄电池和巧妙的软件系统控制着内燃机。在这个过程中，马克斯的企业成为全世界最有价值的车企，价值超过后三家世界最大汽车制造公司的价值总和。

Tesla's $6oobn valuation serves as a "torch at the front", says Engelbert Wimmer of e&Co, a consultancy. Now investors are looking for the next beacon. Nio listed in New York in 2o18. Xpeng and Li followed suit last year. All are worth as much or more than many established carmakers. Arrival and several of the American firms have used mergers with special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, as a shortcut to public markets—and to valuations in the billions. Patrick von Herz of Lincoln International, an investment bank, calls it a "global feeding frenzy". He Xiaopeng, Xpeng's boss, has said he expects the market to swell to 3oo or so firms before settling at around ten. How do the challengers avoid the fate of the forgotten?

咨询企业e&Co的顾问Engelbert Wimmer 表示，特斯拉6千亿估值就像是“前线的火炬”。现在投资者正在寻找下一家灯塔。蔚来汽车2018年在美国上市，小鹏汽车和理想汽车紧随其后，去年（2020）上市。这几家的估值都和很多老牌汽车制造商不相上下，甚至更多。Arrival和几家美国企业通过并购SPACS（特殊目的并购公司）作为上市捷径，还有获得数以十亿计以上的估值。投行林肯国际的Patrick von Herz将此称为“全球范围内的疯狂厮杀”。小鹏汽车的老板何小鹏（音译）表示他预期市场将暴增至差不多300家车企之后，大概活下来10家左右可以稳定局面。挑战者们如何避免被遗忘？