Elon has superhero complex just like Gates but unlike Gates he's actually trying to solve problems himself and Gates just throws billions around and hopes things will get solved.
I don't own an EV (yet), but any time I see someone praise Tesla and knock any competitor I honestly wonder if they're a shareholder. There's some serious issues I see with those cars that a majority of the fanbase seems to excuse or ignore. Proprietary charging network and the refusal to release a CCS adapter, touchscreen-focused UI, claims of "full self driving" that don't seem to materialize and sometimes have deadly consequences, build quality issues, lack of android auto/carplay, etc.
Is it just me? Is there really some "magic" I'm not seeing?
The only magic is the cult of Elon and "US made". What most don't know is that Tesla is deep in the red financially if you don't count sale of regulatory credits to other automakers and they are quickly going away (3-4 years max). Tesla's 2020 net income of $270 million doesn't look great if you subtract the $428 million per quarter from those credits. Unless something actually magic happens in the next few years that will cause Tesla to sell more cars than now, even with other automakers gearing up, then they are going to either be sold or die off. Personally I very much doubt sales will be better next year. Especially with the problems with extremely bad quality control and software. But hey, I'm sure the stock market will still love him.
Cathie Woods seems to believe that sales are going to be exponential (they have been so far) and battery costs will keep falling + huge growth potential from robotaxi fleet
People tend to rationalise every flaws once they buy something. It's the same for computers, cameras, headphones, anything that can costs a lot of money really.
Tesla made electric cars cool and for that alone they deserve some respect, that being said historical constructors are catching up. I think the magic you're missing is that Tesla is a car company selling itself as a tech company, which is more exciting than good old historical constructors. Add a meme lord on top and you get a very good marketing duo
>People tend to rationalise every flaws once they buy something. It's the same for computers, cameras, headphones, anything that can costs a lot of money really.
Take this effect and multiply it by several if the item in question is a status symbol product or a product that helps the owner project some sort of image.
There are pros and cons to everything. Few cons don't make the whole thing bad. Some of them really seem stretching too. Touch screen UI being a dealbreaker?
One of the key things people like about Tesla is innovation.
Even if Tesla itself completely fails I believe they have made a positive impact on EV/FSD in general by motivating others to compete.
I own a Model 3. So far, about 20 months in, it has been a very reliable car that has required close to zero maintenance. I can’t say that for any other of the 10 or so cars I’ve owned. It’s a pleasure to drive. I only use auto pilot on long trips, and I find that where conditions require me to turn it off (weather, bad road marking, etc), I feel less safe.
The biggest reason to own a Tesla, vs. any other EV, is for charging on long trips. I’m sure others will catch up and I hope so, but for now, it’s the only sane choice unless you’re just commuting.
Tesla has the worst car, which also happens to be the best car. I have owned several EVs.
First, driving an electric car is wonderful. Smooth power, lots of torque, quiet, convenient. You can run the climate control while you're in the store. There is no smog checks, there are fewer parts, drastically less maintenance. When you smell coolant or oil, it's probably another car.
As far as Tesla EVs - they did a lot of things right.
Driving a few year old nissan leaf is like driving a car with a 1.5 or 2-gallon gas tank. Charging a leaf during a longer journey is a (giant) leap of faith.
Tesla made their batteries big enough and put chargers within the footprint of their cars.
I know, they didn't follow SAE for the charger, but really they've been innovating with this interface, at the forefront. That gives them agency that would be slowed down with a committee. (note that europe made them follow SAE standards)
But the Tesla is making some bonehead moves in ergonomics. Does anyone over at tesla drive? Yes, yes it will all be automatic some day, but their high-end models are from people who want the motor. Those people are into the driving experience.
There is no dashboard in the 3 or Y (or truck). You have to look to the side for status, and to adjust most functions. Status in the direction of view seems obvious to me.
They've also eliminated most stalks in the 3 and Y - for example overloading autopilot with the PRND stalk. The 3/Y scroll wheels are troublesome to use - s/x are much better. but they're bringing all that to the new s/x - and pulling all the stalks. ugh.
Right now you can't flash your lights or turn on defog without navigating the touchsceen. The automatic wipers suck and you can't adjust the intermittent delay even on the touchscreen. Touchscreen targets are very very small, especially in a moving car.
I've said it before, I think tesla should allow the option of a dashboard for the 3/Y/truck, and it should allow more direct controls for critical driving features.
aside: the USB player is the best. It can play apple lossless or flac. It is also the worst. thousands of posts on the USB player bug thread on TMC.
I also think they should take a year, yes a year, and fix existing functionality instead of adding new functionality (no matter how cool playing the witcher on the touchscreen would be).
Fix the wipers. Fix the USB player. add a dashboard. add controls. ask the customers.
> Proprietary charging network and the refusal to release a CCS adapter
Proprietary connectors are also a hallmark of Apple, another favorite of tech bros. If it works for them, Tesla made the "right" bet when they chose to aim for rabid fandom over compatibility.
27 comments
[ 3.9 ms ] story [ 69.6 ms ] threadIs it just me? Is there really some "magic" I'm not seeing?
Tesla is rapidly expanding and investing. There is no need to focus on profits before they achieve scale.
As long as they manage to drag the world car market to EV they will achieve their goal, even if they die in the process.
Tesla made electric cars cool and for that alone they deserve some respect, that being said historical constructors are catching up. I think the magic you're missing is that Tesla is a car company selling itself as a tech company, which is more exciting than good old historical constructors. Add a meme lord on top and you get a very good marketing duo
Take this effect and multiply it by several if the item in question is a status symbol product or a product that helps the owner project some sort of image.
One of the key things people like about Tesla is innovation.
Even if Tesla itself completely fails I believe they have made a positive impact on EV/FSD in general by motivating others to compete.
The biggest reason to own a Tesla, vs. any other EV, is for charging on long trips. I’m sure others will catch up and I hope so, but for now, it’s the only sane choice unless you’re just commuting.
First, driving an electric car is wonderful. Smooth power, lots of torque, quiet, convenient. You can run the climate control while you're in the store. There is no smog checks, there are fewer parts, drastically less maintenance. When you smell coolant or oil, it's probably another car.
As far as Tesla EVs - they did a lot of things right.
Driving a few year old nissan leaf is like driving a car with a 1.5 or 2-gallon gas tank. Charging a leaf during a longer journey is a (giant) leap of faith.
Tesla made their batteries big enough and put chargers within the footprint of their cars.
I know, they didn't follow SAE for the charger, but really they've been innovating with this interface, at the forefront. That gives them agency that would be slowed down with a committee. (note that europe made them follow SAE standards)
But the Tesla is making some bonehead moves in ergonomics. Does anyone over at tesla drive? Yes, yes it will all be automatic some day, but their high-end models are from people who want the motor. Those people are into the driving experience.
There is no dashboard in the 3 or Y (or truck). You have to look to the side for status, and to adjust most functions. Status in the direction of view seems obvious to me.
They've also eliminated most stalks in the 3 and Y - for example overloading autopilot with the PRND stalk. The 3/Y scroll wheels are troublesome to use - s/x are much better. but they're bringing all that to the new s/x - and pulling all the stalks. ugh.
Right now you can't flash your lights or turn on defog without navigating the touchsceen. The automatic wipers suck and you can't adjust the intermittent delay even on the touchscreen. Touchscreen targets are very very small, especially in a moving car.
I've said it before, I think tesla should allow the option of a dashboard for the 3/Y/truck, and it should allow more direct controls for critical driving features.
aside: the USB player is the best. It can play apple lossless or flac. It is also the worst. thousands of posts on the USB player bug thread on TMC.
I also think they should take a year, yes a year, and fix existing functionality instead of adding new functionality (no matter how cool playing the witcher on the touchscreen would be).
Fix the wipers. Fix the USB player. add a dashboard. add controls. ask the customers.
Proprietary connectors are also a hallmark of Apple, another favorite of tech bros. If it works for them, Tesla made the "right" bet when they chose to aim for rabid fandom over compatibility.
Toyota has this. Though to be clear they defend the brand itself. The CEO doesn't have any special personal following like Elon does.
Edit: looking at the edits, but the person's who has done a lot or most of the recent edits has the word "stonk" in their username.
In some cases, the Criticism article is longer than the one about the company itself.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Criticism#Separate_a...
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Content_forking#Poin...