We used to have a term software company. That was unambiguous. At what point did the nebulous "tech company" take over?
It's a bit more nebulous with e.g. Uber though; they don't really sell software, they sell a service and act as a middle man via software instead.
I call my startup a software company because that is what it is. Tech is abbreviation from "high tech", which was the hardware and biotech equivalent.
And other car companies are not? The modern internal combustion engine is a technological marvel, and getting better every year.
Tesla has a bigger market cap than Ford, isn’t profitable and is always one deal alway from insolvency. The value is it’s tech and potential.
Ditto with cars. Telsa is not a tech company. It's a car manufacturer.
Intel is a chip company.
Microsoft is a software company... except there's Microsoft hardware out there, isn't there?
Do you think there might be a use for an over-arching term to talk about all of those companies at the same time, while leaving out, say, Unilever and Coca-Cola?
Numbers 2-4 are clearly tech companies, while Tesla, Coca-Cola, and Unilever clearly are not, no matter how much technology they use in delivering their cars, soda, and household goods.
I think you think 'technology' means 'computer'.
Detergents are also a technology.
Nearly everything sold involves technology. Tech companies sell the technology more directly, while non-tech companies sell the results of technological processes. Generally speaking, yes, this means that tech companies are mostly computer companies. Even companies that provide SAAS could theoretically also sell that software directly (and often do, to large enough enterprise customers), so they're still software companies.
If it weren't for companies muddying the waters while trying to raise large quantities of money, I don't think the distinction would be in any doubt whatsoever.