The auto industry is facing a trio of disruptive technologies: electric batteries, autonomous vehicles, and the mobile phone. The first two have been long-standing threats, relatively speaking, and are embodied in one company, Tesla. Which is why the auto industry’s reaction to Tesla’s announcement on March 31 of its Model 3 is so strange. They feel a bit relieved, maybe even overjoyed. More than 325,000 people have made a $1,000 down payment to pre-order the Model 3, sight unseen, even though the excepted delivery date was two years away. CEOs of competing automakers are reassured to see a large group of consumers getting excited about purchasing cars again. Tesla may seem ahead in the electric car game, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that, this time around, they are playing a familiar game: find out what people want in a car and deliver it to them.