Christian von Koenigsegg on electric cars and what he owes Tesla

Koenigsegg is considered one of the bastions that do not rely on the pure electric car. In the Swedish “Framgångspodden” by Alexander Pärleros, Christian von Koenigsegg (CvK) talks about the perspective of electric cars for his brand. And about what he owes Tesla. “Framgångspodden” is a hit format in Sweden with an audience of 2,5 million people a month.

Koenigsegg Regera
Koenigsegg Regera

Koenigsegg and electric car

So far Koenigsegg has refused to rely on purely electric drives. The mix of a high-performance combustion engine and electric motors seems to be the better and more economical way. Koenigsegg celebrates this convincingly with the new Regera. It runs on renewable fuels (E85), which Christian von Koenigsegg sees as optimal for performance and fun, without losing sight of environmental considerations.

But that could change.

As Koenigsegg admits in “Framgångspodden”, in German “Success Podcast”, Koenigsegg could be forced to change its strategy in 5 or 6 years. By law, the light could be blown out of the combustion engine, which Koenigsegg would not accept without resistance.

Building an electric car would be easy for Koenigsegg. The Regera would already have 700 electric horsepower if the V8 combustion engine were removed. More electric motors and more batteries, and you would have 2000 hp. But the weight would be very high, which CvK is obviously reluctant to use as a solution for its hypercars. And it's the emotional component that would be missing. The original sound of the in-house V8 engine.

CvK and works test driver Sonny Person in front of the Regera
CvK and works test driver Sonny Person in front of the Regera

In 5 or 6 years, Koenigsegg might still have to go this way. Or also want when batteries have become much lighter and more powerful.

What Christian von Koenigsegg owes Tesla

Koenigsegg has accomplished the feat of building a profitable manufacturer out of nothing. Its products make dreams come true, and Koenigsegg earns money with them. But not nearly as much as Christian von Koenigsegg (CvK) has earned with Tesla so far.

Elon Musk, he says in “Framgångspodden”, is his great idol. When Musk sold the payment service PayPal, he became interested in his ideas. The day after the IPO, CvK took its savings from the bank and invested them in shares of Tesla. The price at that time was US $ 23 per share. The first shares, which CvK kept buying, are now worth around US $ 2.000 each, including the split. As CEO of Koenigsegg, he could never have paid off that much money.

The Podcast is over an hour long and unfortunately not available in German or English.

With images from Koenigsegg

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Kochje
Kochje
2 years earlier

Christian had a good nose when he decided, right at the beginning, to invest in Tesla.

Volvoab Driver
Volvoab Driver
2 years earlier

Farewell to the combustion engine

I comfort myself with the fact that the emotional and maybe even the market value of all combustion engines will probably rise as soon as you can't buy any more.

A whole species suffers the fate of Saab. And that at a breathtaking pace. At Daimler, the combustion engine is to be buried as early as 2025. That is almost the day after tomorrow and of all things with Benz, who have the combustion engine in their name ...

I'm really looking forward to the celebration.

I predict that all MB registered with combustion engines between 2010 & 2025 will at least have a high intrinsic value over many years - especially since in 2025 and far beyond, it will still be easier for the majority to organize gasoline or diesel than a load ...

Politicians will also run out of arguments with the prohibition and, in some cases, voluntary premature waiver by manufacturers, to further restrict the operation of combustion engines, to make it more difficult from a fiscal point of view, and the promotion of e-mobility will come up against financial and social limits.

It is completely different to influence the choice of drive for a new registration - which is socially immortal - with bonuses than to deprive socially weaker classes of their (auto) mobility.

Those who want to or cannot do otherwise financially will be able to drive combustion engines for a very, very long time. Perhaps it is precisely the hectic pace of saying goodbye to him that will ensure that the younger, current and the last of their kind will surprise us with an undreamt-of lifespan and intrinsic value.

Volvoab Driver
Volvoab Driver
2 years earlier
Reply to  Volvoab Driver

innocuous instead of "immortal"
Autocorrection