Also, the car companies have legacy issues handcuffing them. Unions, dealership agreements.
Not saying Tesla can replicate Apple, but Apple didn't have it easy.
Regarding your story with AAPL: Good for him but how many others will we never hear about? Betting everything on a single stock is the number one mistake that amateur investors make.
FCEVs are as much EVs as BEVs, but yes, Toyota's first production BEV is being sold in Japan in 2020 with plans for India close behind. It's very much not designed for the preferences of the US market so I suspect we won't see it.
https://www.motor1.com/news/376824/toyota-ultra-compact-bev-...
They are also imminently launching an all-electric vehicle under the Lexus brand, with plans to electrify across the brand by 2025:
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1125653_lexus-confirms-...
Yes, there is a bit of software to their stack which they do well. But Tesla is a CAR company (bordering on the lifestyle category).
There is a heck of a lot of software in that car and in all the infrastructure supporting that car. And unlike their competitors, Tesla doesn’t outsource it.
Stock market is not some friendly game where everyone wins.
As most stock market indexes have a general upward trend, more people make money then lose. Though I still wouldn't recommend investing what you can't afford to lose or can put aside for the long term as you'll stand a better chance to make money if you can hold onto it through the downswings. Obviously you can still lose by investing in the wrong company, but you can mitigate your risk by spreading out investments over multiple companies/markets. There's a much lower chance of losing money on shares in the long term if you're sufficiently diversified.