Did Forbes get its '2020 Transportation Awards' all wrong?

Year-end awards might be kinda cliché by now but with so much of the EV community up in arms over the questionable winners of the 2020 Transportation Awards, we thought it best for an EV site to talk EV awards. I’m sorry Forbes, the Lucid Air is a great car and all but you can’t give a ‘best product’ award to a not yet existing product.

Here's who we think should've gotten these coveted Forbes 2020 Transportation Awards (if we were judging). We haven't included all categories but here's a few stand-outs worth mentioning.

Best Product: Tesla Model Y

With Model 3 production hell long behind them, Tesla was able to learn from their mistakes and master the art of mass production for their far more important follow-up, the Model Y. At over 40% of U.S. market share, crossovers are the largest vehicle segment. It would only make sense in an EV world that electric crossovers sit on top. Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, even went so far as to speculate that the Model Y would outsell all other Teslas combined.

At 326 miles of range, 135 mph top speed, a 0-60 of 4.8 seconds, and a (recently reduced) base price of $41,990, the Model Y had no close competition in 2020. Look, we're enthusiastic about Forbes' pick for the category, the Lucid Air. It'll give the Model S some potential competition in the future. And Lucid has an excellent store strategy too. But, it's got no place on this Forbes list... yet.

Outstanding Firm: Tesla

Forbes, you can't award Hyundai this one. EVs are the future! C'mon... a fossil fuel powered internal combustion engine automaker? And, no. Hyundai is not officially confirmed to partner with Apple on an EV. After all, you can argue all day about Tesla, but no other automaker in 2020 has done more for advancing our vehicle landscape than Tesla has. 

Tesla absolutely rocked Wall Street in 2020 — winning Stock of the Year and minting 'Teslanaires' young and old. Through innovation and Elon Musk's unique knack (or lack) of Public Relations, just about everyone has learned about electric cars via some connection to Tesla.

Person of the Year in Transportation: Elon Musk

Okay Forbes, you got this one right. As you guys put it, "Love him or hate him, Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk dominated transportation in 2020." True. There's no doubt, Elon Musk deserves to take home this award.

Forbes, you're not alone here either. Elon was honored as an Automotive News All Star as the 2020 Industry Newsmaker of the Year. A German publisher honored him with the 2020 Axel Springer Award. And Fortune named him Businessperson of the Year.

Annus Horriblus: Trevor Milton

Okay, we agree with you, Forbes, on this one too. Trevor Milton was definitely on the wrong side of the industry with his epic fail (and fall) from Nikola. After hustling investors (and GM), Mr. Milton has ghosted the world. Journalists: Trevor Milton was not the next Elon Musk. What a surprise! And, ahem, Nikola is definitely not the next Tesla.

One last thing: The "Forecast"

One last thing. Forbes: your forecast is that it's high time that the "hydrogen age begins" — even though it's been "long derided by Elon Musk as an inefficient clean-energy choice." Guys, the forecast is clear. It's not just Tesla. Investors are pouring money into the electric vehicle market. So, step aside hydrogen, the electric age begins... starting now.

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An earlier version of this article appeared on EVBite. EVBite is an electric vehicle specific news site dedicated to keeping consumers up-to-date on any developments in the ever-expanding EV landscape. You can also listen to EVBIte's thoughts on the awards on their DriEV Podcast.