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I mean, multiple companies have higher quality electric vehicles, but that isn't what sells. The name is what's selling. Tesla's are pretty ugly, they have hor

I mean, multiple companies have higher quality electric vehicles, but that isn't what sells. The name is what's selling. Tesla's are pretty ugly, they have horrible reliability. You don't buy a Tesla for style, you buy it to show off.

igrekel 7y ago
Having tried all reasonably priced EVs, its not a question of style. My original plan was to get a Leaf but I ended up buying a Tesla. It just drives better than the other cars and you get a much better car with a larger second row, more practical cargo space with a Tesla than the other EV options. That is without mentioning that you have to wait months to get a Leaf plus or a Kona electric. The latest VW may be interesting but it didn't exist at the time. I don't see where the higher quality electric vehicles are coming from. It is a very polarizing car, some strangers will go up to you and tell you how Tesla will go bankrupt, you'll have no one to service the car, it will lose all its value and other things like that. "The name" is nearly a liability to me. It is just a car, it is useful.
- CrazyStat 7y ago
  > "The name" is nearly a liability to me. Yes, same here. I also initially wanted a Leaf, in part because I don't really want my car to be so conspicuous--before the Tesla I drove a tan Corolla, about as inconspicuous as you can get. But the Leaf (and Bolt, which was the other EV option at the time) simply didn't make sense.
CrazyStat 7y ago
> multiple companies have higher quality electric vehicles When I bought my Tesla in mid-2018 the alternatives were the Bolt and the Leaf. Both had significantly worse range--I was looking at a 180-mile roundtrip commute for the next year, so range was important. Both were uncomfortably small for me. Neither matched Tesla's driver assist features for my almost entirely highway commute. Neither had fast-charging options along my commute route; Tesla had two superchargers. The situation has changed a bit in the last 1.5 years, but still nobody else matches Tesla's range or charging network. I'm not sure what metric you're using for quality, but Tesla won me over on features, not name. > Tesla's are pretty ugly Subjective. The X is a bit strange, but the falcon doors are actually super convenient (as long as they don't break). The S and 3 exteriors are both very nice looking in my opinion, though I'm not such a fan of the spartan interior on the 3.
- FireBeyond 7y ago
  > I was looking at a 180-mile roundtrip commute ... Tesla had two superchargers. Oof. The last thing I'd want to add to an already horrible commute is a supercharger stop, or more. > the falcon doors are actually super convenient (as long as they don't break) Kinda a pain in the ass in a garage.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - CrazyStat 7y ago
    > Oof. The last thing I'd want to add to an already horrible commute is a supercharger stop, or more. The Tesla had enough range that if I was able to charge regularly I didn't need the supercharger, but it was a nice backup if something prevented me from charging. Also stopping halfway through the drive and grabbing a snack while at the supercharger wasn't really a bad thing. >Kinda a pain in the ass in a garage I have a standard 7ft garage door and they can fully open with about 2 inches of clearance at the top. Not really a pain at all.
vardump 7y ago
> they have horrible reliability Any references about this? So far I've only found evidence they're functionally highly reliable.
- AnthonyMouse 7y ago
  The early build quality was poor and they had a lot of problems with ordinary things breaking that had nothing to do with being electric and everything to do with being inexperienced at making cars. They could be doing better now but it's a little early to say because the more recent cars aren't that old yet. Either way it seems more like teething issues than something they won't get right eventually. Meanwhile it's fairly unambiguously true that electric drivetrains are a lot simpler and should require less maintenance in general.
bananabreakfast 7y ago
They have fantastic reliability. You heard wrong. Short seller FUD, on the other hand, is quite real.

igrekel 7y ago

Having tried all reasonably priced EVs, its not a question of style. My original plan was to get a Leaf but I ended up buying a Tesla. It just drives better than the other cars and you get a much better car with a larger second row, more practical cargo space with a Tesla than the other EV options. That is without mentioning that you have to wait months to get a Leaf plus or a Kona electric. The latest VW may be interesting but it didn't exist at the time. I don't see where the higher quality electric vehicles are coming from. It is a very polarizing car, some strangers will go up to you and tell you how Tesla will go bankrupt, you'll have no one to service the car, it will lose all its value and other things like that. "The name" is nearly a liability to me. It is just a car, it is useful.

CrazyStat 7y ago
> "The name" is nearly a liability to me. Yes, same here. I also initially wanted a Leaf, in part because I don't really want my car to be so conspicuous--before the Tesla I drove a tan Corolla, about as inconspicuous as you can get. But the Leaf (and Bolt, which was the other EV option at the time) simply didn't make sense.

CrazyStat 7y ago

> multiple companies have higher quality electric vehicles When I bought my Tesla in mid-2018 the alternatives were the Bolt and the Leaf. Both had significantly worse range--I was looking at a 180-mile roundtrip commute for the next year, so range was important. Both were uncomfortably small for me. Neither matched Tesla's driver assist features for my almost entirely highway commute. Neither had fast-charging options along my commute route; Tesla had two superchargers. The situation has changed a bit in the last 1.5 years, but still nobody else matches Tesla's range or charging network. I'm not sure what metric you're using for quality, but Tesla won me over on features, not name. > Tesla's are pretty ugly Subjective. The X is a bit strange, but the falcon doors are actually super convenient (as long as they don't break). The S and 3 exteriors are both very nice looking in my opinion, though I'm not such a fan of the spartan interior on the 3.

FireBeyond 7y ago
> I was looking at a 180-mile roundtrip commute ... Tesla had two superchargers. Oof. The last thing I'd want to add to an already horrible commute is a supercharger stop, or more. > the falcon doors are actually super convenient (as long as they don't break) Kinda a pain in the ass in a garage.
- deleted 7y ago
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- CrazyStat 7y ago
  > Oof. The last thing I'd want to add to an already horrible commute is a supercharger stop, or more. The Tesla had enough range that if I was able to charge regularly I didn't need the supercharger, but it was a nice backup if something prevented me from charging. Also stopping halfway through the drive and grabbing a snack while at the supercharger wasn't really a bad thing. >Kinda a pain in the ass in a garage I have a standard 7ft garage door and they can fully open with about 2 inches of clearance at the top. Not really a pain at all.

vardump 7y ago

> they have horrible reliability Any references about this? So far I've only found evidence they're functionally highly reliable.

AnthonyMouse 7y ago
The early build quality was poor and they had a lot of problems with ordinary things breaking that had nothing to do with being electric and everything to do with being inexperienced at making cars. They could be doing better now but it's a little early to say because the more recent cars aren't that old yet. Either way it seems more like teething issues than something they won't get right eventually. Meanwhile it's fairly unambiguously true that electric drivetrains are a lot simpler and should require less maintenance in general.

bananabreakfast 7y ago

They have fantastic reliability. You heard wrong. Short seller FUD, on the other hand, is quite real.