Traxxas has emerged as one of the most influential companies of the hobby industry in the modern era. They tower above all other individual R/C surface manufacturers, and even Horizon Hobby, with its multiple brands and worldwide status, seems to be trailing Traxxas in product innovation and dominance in the world of R/C cars and trucks. With Traxxas’ sizeable influence on the overall hobby market, let’s look at some things Traxxas could do that will further shake up the industry. Whether these hypothetical actions are good or bad is a matter of perspective, but there’s no doubt, if enacted, they would cause quite the stir.

For the last thirty plus years, the hobby industry has been largely built around the concept of openness — that any, say, speed control, from any manufacturer, can work with any motor, or receiver, or vehicle that the user wants. This has lead to a lot of hodge-podging, but it also fostered competition and drove down prices, because no single company cornered the market on anything.

Today, I want to talk about how that foundation for our industry is being jeopardized. It will likely start the hobby industry down the road leading to higher prices, fewer choices, and, eventually, a series of "walled gardens" between which nothing can be interchanged. This future is now, and the first shot fired in the revolution centers around a surprising and seemingly innocuous component: the humble battery connector.