A philosophical reflection: why are so many entrepreneurs obsessed with expansionism? Does it have to do with ego, with power, with greed and “always more”? What is wrong with the local market? Expansion at home, neighboring countries or - by extension - Europe. Surely that should be enough? Just making good money that you yourself and your group of workers can live a good life. Should that really be so much more? Or am I naive and still believe in fairy tales? Buy from Europe. Maybe we finaly are starting to understand the power of local businesses.
I think it’s a self-selecting issue. Entrepreneurs who are content to start a business that pays for a comfortable life dont reach out to endless investors. They’ll take loans, not stake in their company. They won’t constantly reach for attention to justify higher valuations, and therefore higher investments. They’re more likely to stay private and not go public for the same reason, which lessens awareness of them outside of direct customers.
Nobody would be talking about Tesla as much if it wasn’t an investment device (and its CEO would likely be a less loudly evil person too). It’d just be a car manufacturer, and the only relevant thing about it would be the quality of its cars and the happiness of its customers. No investors to wonder about “growth potential”.