A recent article by Thomas Bartman, a member of the Harvard Business School think tank Forum for Growth and Innovation, is also shedding light on the future of the global golf cart industry. The article, The Future of Electric Vehicles Is Golf Carts, Not Tesla, was published in May 2015 by the Harvard Business Review. The report maintains that golf carts are making a much larger impression on the market than Tesla Motors is.  This market domination is occurring, despite all of the media centered on the high-tech manufacturer.

According to Bartman’s essay, NEVs and LSVs are the future of electric transportation in the United States and around the world. The purpose of the essay was to show that golf carts are disrupting the traditional automotive industry more than Tesla is. One of the biggest reasons for this is the price point. A car from Tesla costs upwards of $100,000 to own, but it is possible to buy a brand new NEV for $8,000 or less.

While Tesla cars compete with traditional, gasoline-powered vehicles, they are not as purpose-oriented as golf carts are. NEVs and LSVs are made to provide consumers with affordable, personal transportation for neighborhoods and surrounding local areas.  And fleets of these cars operated by commercial enterprises to serve as public transportation may be in the immediate future of most major cities.

Tesla has offered no response to this essay despite being specifically asked by members of the press, which appears to be because they don’t quite know what to say. However, industry insiders believe that it is only a matter of time before the golf cart market skyrockets.