What will it take to make you seriously consider an EV?

There are a few reasons that I can think of
- Better availability of Chinese EVs (Polestar, MG, BYD soon) and cheaper VW EVs like the ID3.
- Unified and more developed CCS charging infrastructure across all EVs. So people don't have nearly the range anxiety as non-Tesla owners do in the US. Smaller land area also means easier to build up charger infrastructure.
- Better government incentives and financial incentives due to higher gas prices (though I'm not sure if that's true anymore due to rising EU electricity prices)
- Big cities generally have better public transportation so more households have zero or just one car. It's easier to stomach the higher initial cost of EV when you only have one car.

 

Of course they are going to make mistakes. It’s a new tech and a really ambitious one.

The feature has always been in testing and they just recently opened BETA for more users. I think anyone that does even a basic amount of homework knows that it’s not something you use all the time and especially without supervision .

Aside from their phantom braking which I believe is due to over reliance on cameras, their autonomous driving feature is pretty darn good. Level 3 in city driving has been really responsive in particular, which is the hardest to achieve.

I personally don’t use the FSD much. I only use it when something is stealing half my attention such as change of music or grabbing something from the floor, I will quickly turn it on momentarily as a safety measure. To me FSD was more of an option rather than something I based my purchase on.

Btw, Tesla now has an i intermediate option available. Instead of going full on for a FSD, you can buy a software enhancement for a lot less that will give you some of the features like automated highway lane changing etc but not full in city driving capability.

 

Writing this as an actual owner of Teslas, actual user experiences, reasons I chose it over competitors, and without any regard one way or other for Musk.

Tesla is still the leader in the major categories that are of importance to EVs such as charging network, charging speed, range and efficiency, battery tech, etc.

Tesla offers the best overall value when you factor all these in.

They are not a luxury vehicle. While front seats are comfortable, there is nothing in the interior that is going to wow you or make you feel luxurious. They will also have exterior cosmetic issues. But neither is going to affect the performance of the car. If you can live past this then you get the best EV ownership experience.

Tesla’s EV advantage that matters for EVs:

1) Tesla charging network is their biggest advantage by far. People just don’t get this until they start driving an EV. I have seen numerous people that are just fine with their non-Tesla EVs but had to switch to Tesla simply because of Tesla far superior charger network. There are a number of reasons why Tesla superchargers are better than all other chargers COMBINED:

a) There are far more Tesla charger stations out there than any other chargers. And there are far more stalls in each than any other chargers. On my long distance road trips, I always have access to a number Tesla charging locations. Also when I arrive to those locations they have 10-20 stalls. Most other brand chargers are too spread out, out of range, and when you get there you will find 3-5 or less stalls. Tesla is actually widening the gap with its competitors. Tesla is expanding much faster than its competitors. The competition is not catching up to Tesla anytime soon.

b). Once you get to the charger, 99% of the time Tesla chargers work as they should. They are very reliable. With other chargers it’s a crap shoot. Half the time half of them won’t even work and this is not an exaggeration. Read up on user experience and I am also talking about my own personal experience.

c) Tesla chargers are fast and deliver the rate promised when you get there. The app will clearly indicate 150kw and 260kw chargers. Other chargers don’t indicate it clearly. It’s a crap shot as to what you are going to get with the limited stations.

d) Tesla chargers work in extreme cold. Other chargers not so much. I have seen cases where entire charging station with all the stalls were down in freezing whether. In the same conditions, Tesla chargers worked just fine.

e) Tesla manages traffic at its station really well. They penalize you if yo leave your car plugged in after charging. Others don’t. What this means is that with its higher number of charging stations, higher number of stalls, and their traffic management system, you will have an access to charging when you want it. With the other ones even if you do arrive at a location which already has only 3-5 stalls,and even if it’s working, you might not have access to it because the dude with the ID4 just leaves it there overnight because he wants to take advantage of his free charging, and importantly is not getting penalized for it.

With more and more EVs popping up, other chargers getting clogged up, Tesla’s advantage of its charging network only widens.

And most people until they have lived with an EV and experienced the pain don’t understand this massive advantage.

Teslas superior charging network pretty much eliminates range anxiety.

2) Range and efficiency: Tied to the charging network and speed is the range and efficiency. This is the most important thing to look for in an EV. Tesla offers good range with excellent efficiency and also offers one of the best integrated software to monitor the range and efficiency. As an example, Ionic 5 offers good range but it’s efficiency is no where close to a Tesla. Same with Rivian. I charged and drove the Rivian and holy crap it ate through that battery pack. Which means more time spent looking for and charging at chargers and more reasons to get range anxiety.

My friend and I are making a ski trip to White Mountains soon. He will be driving his Rivian and I will be taking my Tesla. I don’t even have to think about my Tesla. Plenty of superchargers on the way and over there. For him, not so much. He has to plan his trip carefully around the limited number of chargers available to him and he will be eating through his battery pack at a much faster rate.

3) Battery tech. Another top category for an EV and It can be argued that this is where the gap is least between Tesla and its competitors. However, they are still the leaders and even when others have caught up, I don’t see them falling behind others. They have been at it longer than others and still invest heavily on R&D.

4) Best integrated infotainment system with charging management, battery preconditioning, charge location finder, and energy monitoring system, route planner with charging options and plan. It just does the job without the user having to worry about battery, charge, and range.

Bonus: Tesla performance and fun factor. My kids and I love how fun the car is to drive and ride in. You will see a big grin on my kids face and myself anytime I hit that accelerator and feel that instant torque delivery. It’s such a fun and responsive car.

 

<BIG LITHIUM HAS ENTERED THE CHAT>

 

my guess is he is going to say it's all the drivers behind. not the buffoon who stopped in the middle of the road abruptly.

 

I dont understand the question or should I assume you do not know basic traffic rules?

 

Competition is coming.

 

Tesla announced a massive price cut for US (and Europe too)

I am sure many will see this as the inevitable end to Tesla instead of the manufacturer capturing the massive vehicle premium vs dealers capturing the premium. Now Tesla can capture that 7500 rax rebate. Very tempting to get a Tesla.

 

SOOOOO MUCH DEMAND YOU HAVE TO LOWER THE PRICE.

 

where the cybertruk at broh

 

2 weeks away.

a startup like rivian showed a prototype truck and had it on the roads faster than a 10 year veteran.

 

Windows95 is still rendering the graphics

 

That Model Y LR will sell like hot cakes. That's an insane price drop. I wonder how legacy automakers will respond in terms of pricing. It's going to be hard for Hyundai/Kia to compete in price, especially if you factor in tax rebate.

 

Tesla just made life miserable for it’s competitors.

53k for a long range Model Y before the tax credit.

Very hard to even consider alternatives like VW id4 and Ionic 5 now.

 

Rivian production is slow which is why there is a long wait period. It also has only two products in its consumer pipeline and the second one is not even available yet.

The Cybertruck could very well be manufactured at a much faster rate once it is up and running.

More importantly, difference is the materials and manufacturing processes.

Rivian uses current manufacturing and materials.

Cybertruck is different and innovative in ways. It has nothing to do with being a veteran because it’s using a lot of new things never tried in car industry, not even in their own previous Teslas.

It is using single sheet of steel and you can’t cut and frame using traditional methods. Instead the sheet is bent are specific spots. Also, why it has sharp instead of rounded edges. It’s using an Exoskeleton/unibody design/structural battery back and will be using giant IDRA press. IDRA has been delivered to Texas location and is being installed.

As for what Elon says during product announcements, always take that with a grain of salt.

 

Because competition is coming.

 

I'm looking forward to the Cyber truck. I hope it lives up to its expectations.

 

There is no competition when it comes to charging network.