For the last few weeks, I have been deep in the trenches analyzing China's automotive industry. I wrote about how they compressed development cycles from 5 years to 24 months, which was unimaginable a few years ago. I analyzed how local deflation turned into a global export flood.

But while I was connecting the dots on the Xiaomi SU7, a car that seemed to grow out of nowhere to dominate the conversation in two years, I realized I was missing a variable.

I was looking at the hardware, the software, the regulations, and the consumer behavior. But I wasn't looking at the man at the top.

The reason Xiaomi makes headlines isn't just because the car is good. It is because Lei Jun, Xiaomi's Founder and CEO, is very loud and present.

He is active. He is vocal. He understands that in 2025, the CEO is no longer just a decision-maker. They are the User Interface of the brand.

This triggered a "side learning" for me that I believe is critical as we close out the year. We are witnessing a fracture not only in legacy automotive technology but also in legacy leadership models.

On one side, we have CEOs operating as "Debuggers-in-Chief" who are hands-on leaders solving problems in real-time with their customers. On the other, we have "Institution Protectors" who are executives safeguarding legacy, prestige, and shareholder stability behind layers of handlers.

And right now, the Debuggers are winning.

To understand this shift, I want to borrow a framework from entrepreneur Alex Hormozi called SPCL. It explains influence through four dimensions:

Here is the problem: Legacy CEOs (BMW, VW, Mercedes) have massive Status (billion-dollar empires), Power (they employ thousands), and Credibility (100 years of heritage).

But they have almost zero Likability (Relatability).

They are hidden behind polished statements and legal teams. You respect them, but you don't feel connected to them because they are too distant and too perfect. You cannot connect with them on a human level.

The Debugger-CEOs have all four. By being vulnerable, showing frustration, anger, and excitement, and by speaking directly to customers, they unlock that final lever. When you combine Likability with Status, Power, and Credibility, you don't just get a customer. You get someone who is loyal to your mission because they feel part of it.

I learned this the hard way. By no means am I very successful, but I'll share my example. For three years, I created deep-dive videos on automotive and emobility topics. At first, I created "faceless" content and hid behind graphics because I was too shy. Then came AI, and suddenly people thought I was an AI.

When I finally started showing up personally, the numbers didn't increase a lot, but the trust did. I applied this learning to LinkedIn after losing my job eight months ago. In just eight months, I grew from 750 to 4,100 followers and generated 1.5 million impressions and really valuable conversations with professionals.

I realized too late that people don't follow a logo. They follow a person they feel they know and can relate to.

Undoubtedly, the pioneer for this is Elon Musk. I remember watching him post a few years ago and I couldn't wrap my head around why he was doing it, as I worked in a traditional company. But the best example isn't a tweet. It is a moment of engineering humility.

The Proof: The SpaceX Thruster Moment In 2021, during an interview with YouTuber Tim Dodd (Everyday Astronaut) at Starbase, they discussed the booster's thruster system. Tim asked a clarifying question about gas venting and why it was designed that way.

Mid-sentence, Elon paused. He realized the system didn't make sense.

He didn't get defensive. He didn't ask to cut the footage. He said on camera: "Thank you, we will fix that."

Seven months later, he publicly credited that conversation for saving massive weight and complexity. A YouTuber optimized a rocket because the CEO was listening and thinking out loud.

This is the Debugger mindset: The mission matters more than the reputation of the institution. The customer isn't a buyer, but a partner in solving problems.

In the West, we aren't seeing this scale yet. But in China, they have started mastering it.

No. "Founder/Debugger Mode" isn't just about being loud on social media. It is about listening. And this is where many get it wrong.

Henrik Fisker tried to play the role of the visionary founder. He was the face of the brand and active on social media. But the company collapsed.

Why? Because he missed the most important part of the Steve Jobs playbook.

Jobs once famously said: "Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people." He understood that his greatest asset wasn't his own genius, but the team he built.

I analyzed Fisker's downfall in two detailed videos (links below), and the pattern was clear. In both attempts, Fisker Automotive (2005-2013) and Fisker Inc (2016-2024), he failed to listen to the engineers. Their opinions were rejected and silenced.

Relatability is not a substitute for competence. Customers will give a "relatable" CEO more leeway, but if you ignore your team and customers, and the product fails, the company becomes history.

Now contrast this with the legacy giants like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen.

I have immense respect for their engineering heritage. But their leadership model was built for a different century. Because they are protecting an Institution, they cannot admit imperfections.

Instead, you get statements vetted by legal and polished by PR. They are so perfect they have no imperfections. A lot is said without really saying anything. And they feel distant because they are distant.

The "Handlers" Problem I have tried personally to approach C-suite executives from traditional emobility players (not automotive OEMs) at recent conferences. I am an industry professional and they have an idea who I am. Throughout the time I have been posting, I have always tried to remain factual, although I know the algorithm favors the clickbait and provocative headlines.

The experience was brutal. The moment you get close, the "handlers" jump in asking, "What are you doing here? You can talk to me." Even though I am in the same industry, there is a firewall.

When you cannot reach them, and when they only speak in press releases, you might respect the engineering, but you don't connect with the company.

Is this just "Founder/Debugger vs. Professional CEO"? I used to think so.

But Jim Farley proves that wrong.

The Ford CEO is the only legacy leader who has successfully crossed the chasm. Why? Because he operates with authenticity. When Farley drove the Xiaomi SU7, he didn't hide it. He went on a podcast and said: "I've been driving it for six months, and I don't want to give it up."

This honesty buys incredible credit. Because he admitted Xiaomi was good, I would tend to trust him more when he says the new Ford Car is good. I know he isn't always reading a script.

You might think this is soft marketing theory. It isn't.

Factory Utilization Rates in China (H1 2025):

The brands with relatable, engaged CEOs maintain demand even as the market collapses around them. The connection creates loyalty that survives price wars.

As I watch these dynamics, I keep returning to one question. When a 16-year-old is deciding what car they will aspire to own in ten years, what story are they connecting with?

The carefully crafted press releases from a faceless institution? Or the founder posting on social media about a battery breakthrough, admitting the previous version had issues, and thanking the user who suggested the fix?

Western OEMs know they can build the cars. But can we build the connection?

Are we ready to drop the handlers, stop the polished press releases, and actually debug the industry together with our customers?

Because that is what survival looks like in the next decade.

Next Steps:

Thank you for reading my work this year. From the Nexperia supply chain crisis, to Germany’s EV Subsidy 2026 Loopholes, to covering Mercedes AMG GT XX recording breaking run where they consumed 8 years of energy in 8 days, to explaining the massive technology development of BMW iX3 Neue Klasse when it comes to emissions, it has been a year of massive learning.

I wish you a restful break. See you in January.

Haseeb