Many technologies have an Achilles’ heel that can either impede or doom their acceptance.

A long time ago, my startup had a project with 3M. During a visit to their offices, we had many discussions about technology. They mentioned that there were many improvements in internet speed, but the problem was “the last mile”--which in real terms was usually the last couple of feet of connectivity that was actually in the house. One might have a super-fast cable to the house, but if the internal wiring was not up to spec, then the user might get low speed connectivity anyway.

During our recent visit to the US, we experienced several technological wonders that seem to also have issues that may crimp their success. On this visit, we took a one-day drive with a Tesla Cybertruck. That which impresses me with Tesla in general is that Elon Musk and his engineers thought deeply about every aspect of their products. Rather than take last year’s model and move the radio further to the right and make the lights more square, Tesla would appear to have started with a blank piece of paper and asked the questions: “What does a car need to have and how can we best provide it?” The cars are technological marvels and a pleasure to drive. The Cybertruck was no different. It was huge, powerful, easy to drive and full of features that one would expect from premium brands. Yet, when it came time to charge the beast, we had challenges. Not knowing anything about charging electric vehicles and not having a charging unit in the Airbnb rental where we were staying, we were truly clueless. Our first stop was at a non-Tesla charging station. We did not have the proper adapters to use the chargers present, and I quickly realized that all of the cars around us were non-Tesla. Across the street from this location was a Tesla dealership. We went there and found........

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