• no banana
    link
    fedilink
    3639 months ago

    Remember when he removed the Disney+ app from Teslas because he was angry over twitter ads? That kind of unreliable behaviour might have something to do with it.

    • Dojan
      link
      fedilink
      1129 months ago

      I had no idea he did that but I’m also not surprised. That’s so funny.

      • no banana
        link
        fedilink
        879 months ago

        It is hilarious, but it’s also very seriously something that would make most people reconsider their choice of vehicle.

        • Dojan
          link
          fedilink
          559 months ago

          Oh absolutely. Though with all the EVs on the market right now, Tesla isn’t a good choice, Elon or no. There are better EVs out there.

          • @stoly@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            279 months ago

            I think that this is the part that people miss. When it was new and unique, they had the market cornered. Now the big automakers have caught up and they have far more experience with this.

            • @Delta_V@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              179 months ago

              yeah, for a while they were the only option if you wanted an EV with >80 mile range, but there are other options today

              Tesla’s no-dealerships, no-hassle purchasing experience is more like ordering something from Amazon instead of the usual, infuriating slog of trying to purchase a new car. Its strictly superior to the legacy car companies, and so are Tesla’s batteries.

              But the entire rest of the vehicle isn’t the best anymore. The CEO’s loud, public support for fascism is just one more nail in the coffin for a brand that was already past its prime.

              • @nomous@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                79 months ago

                You can buy a car from Carvana for the listed price and they’ll deliver it to your home now. One less reason to buy Tesla.

                • @nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  59 months ago

                  Yeah and while the dealer network of major brands can be scummy, it also comes with pretty good parts networks, which Tesla still seems to lack, or actively impede.

          • @proudblond@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            99 months ago

            We bought a Tesla nearly six years ago and this was why. He wasn’t quite such an obvious raging asshole at the time, but also we were hoping to signal with our wallet that we wanted manufacturers to step up EV production. Which they did. I’m happy with my car but if I had to replace it, I’d look at other options. Although I feel like my M3 is the only smallish car option on the market right now; everything is a freaking crossover and that’s not what I want to drive all the time.

        • Neato
          link
          fedilink
          English
          79 months ago

          Yeah. There’s a lot of products I use and buy where I really don’t like the owners or CEOs. I try to avoid what I can where I can, but some are so ubiquitous or monopolistic it’s quite tough. But this would get a hard pass from me, even if Teslas were far and away the best EV options.

          If I can’t be sure the company’s policies aren’t going to be directly influenced by the fascist man-child CEO then I’m going to stay far away from the products. I have enough to worry about with corporate policies making stupid decisions for profit without watching an idiot throw tens of billions into an incinerator because of pride.

    • @Lianodel@ttrpg.network
      link
      fedilink
      English
      359 months ago

      That was such a dumb move, not just because it was petty in and of itself, but because it means you now can’t separate Musk’s drama from his products. His antics will demonstrably spill over into fucking with your car, even after you bought it.

      • no banana
        link
        fedilink
        119 months ago

        Yep. Maybe he’ll remove the functioning of the steer by wire in the cubertruck when he’s in an argument with waffle house next time.

    • @root_beer@midwest.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      89 months ago

      Now imagine having all your shit tied up in X, The Everything App!™️* and you make a statement he doesn’t like or agree with one or whatever. Welp, there goes your bank account, social security info, personal medical data, and so on because you are being quarantined for the Woke Mind Virus

      Tap for spoiler

      *which will never actually become A Thing

    • @Bloodyhog@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      29 months ago

      My opinion is that nothing like D+ or Netflix or whatever should be on a central console in the first place. If it is there, there will always be a driver watching it instead of a road and killing someone as a result.

      Until FSD is a thing, entertainment should be reserved for passengers.

      • Johanno
        link
        fedilink
        18 months ago

        As far as I know those systems are intended to be used either by second monitor in the back or only if the car is standing still.

        When you have your lovely family time in the daily traffic jam. Or when you had to sell your TV and now go into your car to watch. /s

        I personally think the idea on itself is stupid. However in China they are a step ahead and have even more of that shit. The point is that in china you won’t have much space in your flat in the big cities so you can move into your car because there is more space /s

        The price of those cars with that stuff is starting at about 100k€ and only going up.

        No normal human being is intented to buy these.

        • @Bloodyhog@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          19 months ago

          I did not, and have no plans to as i find the whole idea of touch screen controls in a car infuriating. That goes not for Tesla only, of course.

  • Pennomi
    link
    fedilink
    English
    1989 months ago

    Tesla would do well to distance themselves from Musk, for a lot of reasons. But it may be too late - the damage to their reputation may already be fatal.

    • Flying Squid
      link
      fedilink
      1689 months ago

      They could definitely bounce back if the board fired him and the new head of the company made changes that actually made the cars better, rather than make the model numbers spell S3XY or have the horn make a fart noise for a premium or make and sell whatever the fuck the Powell Motors Homer Cybertruck is.

      • @TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        609 months ago

        The problem is that Elons con man routine is the only reason Tesla is so overvalued. I’m sure they are afraid that if they let him go the stock price would readjust to a reasonable market price.

        No matter what you think of him, he is brilliant at conning a tech enthusiast’s money out of their wallets.

        • @jmiller@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          23
          edit-2
          9 months ago

          Oh, it’s not the only reason, and the other may actually be worse. They sold $1.8 billion of carbon credits to other auto manufacturers last year. Which is pretty much free money to them. And hastens climate change, but, you know, free money.

        • Flying Squid
          link
          fedilink
          169 months ago

          That just comes with the territory of being wealthy, which he lucked into thanks to Peter Thiel taking a liking to him (probably because he wanted to fuck him). People confused the companies he invested in which happened to be successful despite him, and would probably more successful if he weren’t involved- see SpaceX when Shotwell took over day-to-day operations.

          Lots of people, otherwise smart people, smell someone with money and say, “I want to go to there” because they think wealth can be transmitted through close contact.

          • themeatbridge
            link
            fedilink
            6
            edit-2
            9 months ago

            I call it the Biggest Asshole in the Room strategy. Capitalists can be extremely successful by simply being the biggest asshole in the room. Smarter, more talented, better comnected people will cater to the biggest asshole in the room simply because it makes life easier to appease them. See also: Trump, Jobs, Bezos, Gates, anybody on Shark Tank, Ortega, Murdoch, Koch Bros, etc., all masters of the strategy. It’s a personality type that aligns perfectly with the free market where inertia and friction generate profit from the work of creation, innovation, and productivity.

        • @lefaucet@slrpnk.net
          link
          fedilink
          -19 months ago

          Nah this iant true at all. I covered this in another xomment so Im gonna copypasta it here…

          Tesla has the following:

          Custom AI silicon designed by the designer of Apple’s M1 chip. It’s designed for training. They are about to scale it massively to create the Dojo supercomputer. They look to be on par with NVidia on performance/$. No small feat, and means they arent reliant on NVidia

          They have custom inferrence chips used in all of their cars and their android robot. It gets fantastic performance per watt. My 5 year old car has first-gen inferrence chips and it’s still getting better with software… meaning it hasnt reached its potential. The latest chip design is probably much better, but I dont know much about it

          They have possibly the best humanoid hands and arms that will work with this AI goodness.

          Their walking and navigation is looking to be top notch… We’ll see

          FSD really is incredible. I drive with it and it improves every year. Just got 12.3 and it’s pretty bomb.

          Tesla solar is still a thing. The model 3 kinda derailed development a while back and it never really recovered. I think competitors are doing well and Tesla sees better returns on their other projects. Tesla needs to bring down their Solar prices which they just dont seem to be doing. Im guessing they dont want to scale manufacturing yet.

          They have some of the largest casting machines on the planet and press out the frames of their cars for far cheaper than their competition can stamp and weld theirs. Stellantis and Toyota are adopting this manufactiring strategy as fast as they can, but they are a year or maybe 2 behind. I suspect Ford, VW and GM are adopting this too.

          Tesla factory floors are much more efficient at iterating and improving. Their in-house software for managing workers and workflow development are unique to Tesla. Just look at the efficient packaging of their HVAC system after dozens of iterations every year for a couple years. It’s by far the best HVAC in the car world.

          They have developed a lithium clay extraction process that vastly reduces chemical waste and water usage. They’re still 5 or so years out from implementing this in even a small capacity and clay extraction isnt guaranteed to be superior to spodumene. I expect the efforts they’re putting to this will pay off in 15 years.

          They own lithium clay rights in Nevada where some of the richest Lithium clay deposits are. I think theyre doing permitting for mining, which will probably take to the end of the decade. Mining’s crazy

          They offer the best price for grid-scale batteries and are growing that business faster than their cars grew. Hawaii just replaced their last coal peaker plant with Tesla batteries. California and Australia are saving a lot of money with them. The batteries pay for themselves when used to replace peaker plants and stuff to maintain frequency.

          They are growing so-called virtual power plants and have been doing extremely well in a few test locations in Texas, Australia and Puerto Rico. I think the UK too?

          After funding and working with the inventor of the lithium battery’s team they’ve been getting first looks at new battery chemistry. The thick walls of their 4680 are designed with adding silicon in mind. I suspect theyre testing this out at Kato road production facility.

          They’ve collected a bunch of battery manufacturing patents over the years and their dry-electrode process is providing very good economics. Getting them to scale has been excruciatingly slow, but they’re about to triple capacity this year in Texas and I think are starting development of another iteration of their 4680 battery production process at their Kato road facility right now.

          They are on track for becoming a top-three battery manufacturer by the end of the decade.

          GM and Ford’s battery packs are like 5 years behind tesla’s. Tesla packs more battery in less volume using less weight with better thermals and ridgidity. Their packs are a lot cheaper to produce too.

          Tesla claims they have a ferro magnet motor in development. We’ll see. If so, watch out for very cheap electric cars with no rare-earths or cobalt

          They just signed deals with BP and an another conglomerate to sell chargers for the other business’ charging infrastructure. More volume means cheaper manufacturing for their own charging stations too.

          All cars will soon have the NACS plug so everyone will be able to charge at a Tesla station… Which is the largest and most reliable charging network in the world.

          Battery prices keep falling. Gas cars are going to have to compete with cheaper electric by the end of the decade. Tesla isnt competing with other electric car makers so much as it’s competing with fossil fuels. Electric will win this. The faster the better

          Elon has contributed to these only in a “we’re gonna fund these wild ideas!” Way. Like Edison. He’s smart and avoided bad projects and embraced fast failing to great success… Things are maturing and I dont think there’s much value to get from Elon…

          Tesla will be fine without Elon. I’d argue better.

          The only fear of Elon leaving would be big oil investors buying control and derailing things… I dont think that’ll happen though. I think enough investors are in it specifically to eliminate fossil fuel dependency.

          The fear of Elon staying is he drags Tesla into his edgelord bullshit and uses it to dick over the world as hard as he and some dictator/billionaire friends can… Which seems more likely

          After he derailed the CA bullet train with his hyperloop hyperbole and joked on twitter abould the Bolivian coup, I dont trust his ass one bit.

          • @TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            109 months ago

            I think the problem with these claims is that they’re all being made by Musk. Who has proven time and time again that he over-promises and under delivers literally every project he associates himself with.

            If we actually look at where they are actually making their money it’s primarily just in their vehicle sales/leasing. They aren’t a silicon valley start up, they are a vehicle manufacturer, and when we analyze them as such, there is no real way to equate them with having 10x the market cap of ford.

            I dont trust his ass one bit.

            I don’t know how you could not trust him one bit, yet trust that what he claims Tesla is doing is what Tesla is actually doing. Custom ai chip, dojo super computer, android robot with the best hands…all of these seem like marketing scams. How does this improve the sale of cars to a significant degree? Seems like he’s just like every tech bro in the country scrambling for the new block chain, or VR type marketing gimmick.

            They’re all fields of study that already have huge companies that have already invested significant amounts of capital and research on. What makes us assume that Tesla is going to be able to profit from these ventures when they haven’t even figured out how to make a truck?

            I’m not claiming that Tesla is a worthless company, I just don’t think they’re worth 10x more than the most popular vehicle manufacturer in America.

      • @AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        89 months ago

        I only have one question about the Cyber truck. Why haven’t I ever seen a rusty DeLorean, especially considering I have seen DeLoreans that lived in KY, GA, MS, AL, and LA

        (Louisiana, not the city in California, not to be confused with Canada. Why TF do we reuse so many two-four letter abbreviations?)

        • @wjrii@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          89 months ago

          The general theory is that they used a cheaper grade of stainless, specifically one that is still magnetic because it makes material handling easier during manufacture, meaning higher iron content, meaning more prone to rust if you don’t pay extra for the clear vinyl wrap. People will say the “real” name of the material is “stain less” steel, which is not true – “stainless steel” is just 1910’s marketing wank – but it is accurate enough as a description.

          • @ZapBeebz_@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            49 months ago

            There’s a reason “Stainless Steel” is referred to as CRES (Corrosion Resistant Steel) more commonly in industry.

        • @thisbenzingring
          link
          English
          49 months ago

          You won’t see rusting DeLoreans because there wasn’t very many made and they have always been something special. If you’re seeing one, it’s been cared for. But find one in a junkyard, they might not have that shine

      • @AbidanYre@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        69 months ago

        Maybe. But they’re not the only game in town when it comes to electric cars anymore. There are real auto manufacturers with good reputations making them now.

        • Flying Squid
          link
          fedilink
          19 months ago

          I agree. I was just speaking in the abstract about Tesla in specific and how they could potentially save themselves.

          I doubt they will though.

    • Lemminary
      link
      fedilink
      369 months ago

      the damage to their reputation may already be fatal

      Definitely. Tesla = Musk in my mind and always has been ever since it blew up with promises of a greater tomorrow that never materialized. All it did was up the EV competition, imo.

    • @Oderus@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      169 months ago

      I’m someone who’s buying an EV and due to Elon alone, I won’t buy a Tesla. I’ve wanted one for so long but waited for the data to show how well they hold up after years of use and now that the data is out, I’m buying a non-Tesla. Thanks Elon, you moron.

      • @wjrii@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        49 months ago

        I have a datapoint of 1, but I’ve also heard from my wife that when she’s traveling outside the US, so many cab companies and rideshare drivers have started using Teslas that the brand prestige is taking a hit, regardless of quality (which is also low).

        • @Augustiner@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          39 months ago

          Interesting… where I’m from most cabs are Mercedes limousines. I never heard about people thinking less of Mercedes because they are popular with taxi drivers.

        • @Oderus@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          19 months ago

          The fact that they removed the stalks on the steering column so all functions are on the screen is reason enough. Do I really want to slide my finger up/down to change from D to R? I know they have wipers on the steering wheel, as well as turn signals but the changing of gears? Hard pass.

    • _NoName_
      link
      fedilink
      29 months ago

      The damage to their design certainly could be reversed though.

  • @TrueStoryBob@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    1599 months ago

    Didn’t someone have a picture of a Tesla in the wild with a bumper sticker that read something like: “I bought this before I knew Elon was a complete idiot.”

      • @BleatingZombie@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        169 months ago

        Unfortunately, debadging is a pretty common thing in the car community regardless of how well liked the car is

        I see it on a lot of BMWs

        • @Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          link
          fedilink
          49 months ago

          And then you get people who not only have the premium badges but also a license plate that say the cars make or model AND a frame around the plate that also says it lul. I see it all the time in Cali. I want to de badge my car, mostly cause if they want me to advertise for them they should be paying me. It’s just that the front and back badges are indented Into the car and I haven’t found any replacements I like. I also haven’t found any custom maker online, maybe I just need to commission a 3d printer to try something for me.

        • @FakeGreekGirl@lemmy.blahaj.zone
          link
          fedilink
          English
          29 months ago

          Didn’t realize that. Purely anecdotally, I don’t recall seeing any debadged cars other than Teslas out on the road, but it’s not like I’ve been looking for them.

      • @Wes_Dev@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        69 months ago

        Debranded? Nice. I dislike that modern cars are covered in logos and tacky chrome symbols and words. Give me a nice plain car with nothing but paint on the outside.

      • Neato
        link
        fedilink
        English
        49 months ago

        someone needs to make some car badges that have the same style and size as the T logo to replace them with. maybe a big ‘F’ for Fucklas or something

    • @blazeknave@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      89 months ago

      Buying that for my neighbor. We’re both Jews. Called him out last year and he acknowledged it but they bought the car a while ago.

  • troed
    link
    fedilink
    1479 months ago

    No shit. My lease on the Model 3 I got in 2020 is up in a few months and the requirements we had for the replacement was “anything but Tesla”.

    (which turned out to be a VW ID.7)

    • @Toto@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      72
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      “No shit” we’re the first words in my head too. Will be buying electric in the summer and the list starts with anything-but-Tesla.

      • Flying Squid
        link
        fedilink
        309 months ago

        I’m hoping my next car (might be a while, my Prius is only 8 years old and I will continue to drive it until it becomes necessary to replace it) will be an EV or a PHEV, but it will not come from Elon’s company.

        • @vithigar@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          129 months ago

          I had the same hope, then got rear ended and my 12 year old Lancer got written off. My plan had always been to keep it as long as possible, maintain it, and drive it into the ground, but I hadn’t banked on someone else doing that for me.

          Have a PHEV now, charging infrastructure where I live is pretty asstastic, and I do just enough longer range driving to make a full EV annoying under those circumstances.

          • Flying Squid
            link
            fedilink
            99 months ago

            Thankfully, I don’t need a huge range, so that isn’t a big deal to me. I’m in the U.S., in Indiana, in coal country, so yeah, electricity is not clean, but I’m also not under any illusions that me driving an EV or PHEV will help save the planet, either. The savings in gas is a bigger issue to me and I would be happy if I never had to go to a gas station in the middle of winter again.

            • @MagicShel@programming.dev
              link
              fedilink
              89 months ago

              Savings in gas, oil, transmission maintenance, brake pads adds up nicely. However be prepared to lose some of those savings in higher taxes because you aren’t contributing to the roads via gas tax (which is stupid because by and large the ones tearing up the roads are truckers). And of course battery replacement is expensive but I think that’s less of a problem than most people expect.

              Caveat: I own a Volt, not a full EV, but I’ve been watching for quite a while.

              • Flying Squid
                link
                fedilink
                59 months ago

                I don’t know that it would even out with taxes, I think I’d still come out ahead, but I’m not sure I admit. Never having to go to a gas station again as long as I live unless I wanted coffee or something would be worth it alone. I absolutely loathe pumping gas. Everything about it. Especially the smell.

                I’m not concerned about the battery issue. My Prius is from 2016 and the battery is still in great condition.

        • @evatronic@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          59 months ago

          I’m stuck at hybrid, as I work from home and live in an apartment complex that has only one level 1 charger for some 300 units near the front office where the property manager parks her stupid Tesla.

          I’d go full electric if I had a place to reliably charge it.

          • Flying Squid
            link
            fedilink
            59 months ago

            I think the biggest hurdle for PHEV and EV adoption is going to be people like you living in apartments. Landlords have no incentive to spend money on chargers. It should be subsidized.

            • @evatronic@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              English
              39 months ago

              Absolutely. And the real kicker is apartments tend to be the exact demographic that could use a midrange electric vehicle to commute daily with the most.

        • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod
          link
          fedilink
          English
          29 months ago

          my Prius is only 8 years old and I will continue to drive it until it becomes necessary to replace it

          That might be a while. My parents had one of the first hundred Priuses imported into the US in 2001, and it barely needed maintenance and hit 200,000 miles before my niece totaled it in an minor accident. When they bought it she still needed a car seat.

          • Flying Squid
            link
            fedilink
            1
            edit-2
            9 months ago

            That’s fine with me and great to hear! I have no interest in regularly getting a car upgrade. Every car I have ever owned, I have driven until it was either too expensive to keep driving it or it got totaled in a crash (never something that was my fault, thankfully).

            I mean I would love an EV or a PHEV, but not enough to do anything about it unless I have to. If I’m lucky, by the time I need a new car, they’ll actually be self-driving and I won’t have to worry about that either.

    • Nach [Ohio]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      99 months ago

      I feel this. I own a OG body style model S. I still have unlimited supercharging. The battery is starting to show its age and i’m sort of starting to look around. The Rivian R3X is my current front runner.

      • @Carrick1973@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        29 months ago

        The RX3 looks fantastic and is the car that got be actually thinking about a full EV, and not a hybrid. If it comes in at 45k or so I think it could be a killer car.

    • @LEDZeppelin@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      89 months ago

      Buddy of mine was in market for model S price range. Only because of this moron’s fascist shenanigans, my friend ended up getting BMW iX. Much better vehicle sans the fascism.

  • @Nioxic@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    879 months ago

    Indeed

    i am not spending a fucking dime on anything that Elon Musk earns money on

    i even deleted my twitter account when he bought it

    But, even though Elon is an ass, the way tesla handles repairs on their cars, makes me not want to own one anyway. I wanna just use my local mechanic. Not exclusively teslas own

  • I wanted a Tesla and couldn’t afford it. Now I can afford it and I would buy one right now if it weren’t for Musk turning into a complete shit bag. (I realize he always was, but he hid it well and I thought he was an awesome dude) Fuck that guy, and fuck every company he’s a part of. I’ll just wait until conversion parts become cheap enough it’s worth playing with.

  • Promethiel
    link
    fedilink
    829 months ago

    His vehicles aren’t even safe for other Dragons to ride on. Why would I buy from a company who unironically had the below answer for me when I googled from the back seat of one of their cars while Ubering and thought of that news:

    Opening a Rear Door with No Power

    Not all Model Y vehicles are equipped with a manual release for the rear doors. Remove the mat from the bottom of the rear door pocket. Press the red tab to remove the access door. Pull the mechanical release cable forward.

    Emphasis mine. Still don’t know which kind I was on, but an emergency would have not been the ideal ‘find out’ time. I’ll avoid that by not fucking around with purchasing their cars.

    • Noxy
      link
      fedilink
      English
      239 months ago

      as a dragon enthusiast AND and EV enthusiast, I am qualified to support your statement that the Model Y may be unsafe for dragons to mount

      I recommend dragons stick with the classics

    • Neato
      link
      fedilink
      English
      179 months ago

      Not all Model Y vehicles are equipped with a manual release for the rear doors. Remove the mat from the bottom of the rear door pocket. Press the red tab to remove the access door. Pull the mechanical release cable forward.

      How the fuck did that pass road safety tests in the US? That’s lethal in any event where you need to leave the vehicle in an emergency. It’s essentially always-on child safety locks.

        • Neato
          link
          fedilink
          English
          19 months ago

          Yes. There’s multiple checks for manufacturing cars. The first one that would have caught this is from their design prior to sale: NHTSA: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This would prevent such an obviously dangerous car from ever being sold. So clearly they have dropped the ball off a cliff.

          If someone were to alter their car post purchase, it might be caught at yearly state inspections. These all vary by state but generally ensure that cars are road legal and not dangerous. They most often catch broken or illegally altered lights and exhaust.

  • Flying Squid
    link
    fedilink
    779 months ago

    A while ago, someone posted a photo (I think on Reddit before I left) of a Tesla with a bumper sticker that said something like, “I bought it before we all found out Elon was crazy.”

    I think that should be encouraged for all people who bought a Tesla before the ‘pedo guy’ incident. After that, you have no excuse.

    • @some_guy
      link
      69 months ago

      My partner reported seeing a similar sticker.

      Related: I saw a cybertruck in the real world over the weekend and laughed heartily. I thought about stopping to take a pic, but fuck it.

  • The Picard Maneuver
    link
    fedilink
    759 months ago

    I appreciate that Teslas helped normalize electric cars, but yeah, I don’t trust him enough to drop that kind of money on a product from one of his companies.

    What’s to say he wouldn’t do something recklessly impulsive the moment I buy one that makes it harder to get parts, removes software features, or gets my car keyed by someone who hates his guts?

    • @NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      21
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      Said it many times but I still think musk’s tesla had a negative impact on EV cars overall.

      When the cars were first hitting mainstream markets (rather than being the car your weird uncle buys), automakers were already selling hybrids. I forget if they were plug-ins or not, but stuff like the Prius were ubiquitous to the point it was a joke on The Office.

      Then the story became you need a full pure electric vehicle. And the way they marketed the distinction was that the most important thing in the world was a long battery range because coverage of charging grids was shit.

      Which gets us to, funny enough, the cybertruck where the range is “okay” without hauling anything, dogshit if you actually USE your truck, and being marketed with a really expensive add-on to get an even bigger battery (and even less cargo space) because RANGE IS GOD!!!

      And… that is the problem we see facing all EVs (moreso in the US, but also in Europe and Asia). The idea that you need an EV that will last you all day for a long roadtrip just to buy some groceries. Rather than a focus on improving charging grid infrastructure (which, we are actually seeing even in the land of the free ar-15 with a 12 piece mcnuggets) and fast charging of smaller batteries.

      If we had stuck to the hybrid model we would have a lot less emissions over the years AND people would be more understanding of what they actually need to go “full electric”. I am a generally strong supporter of electric vehicles (who lives in the ass end of nowhere…) and even I was amazed at the mileage I was getting with some toyota hybrid rental a few months back.


      Just because it deeply bothers me. If you think an EV can’t be used for a roadtrip, go watch the Technology Connections video where he talks about doing exactly that. The short and skinny of it is that you DO need to put a bit more effort into route planning (and there are great sites for that), but it mostly boils down to stopping for 20-40 minutes to charge up most of the way once or twice a day.

      Which sounds bad until you remember you aren’t in your early 20s anymore and that sitting in a car for a 36 hour drive is a miserable experience. Stop at a rest stop for some food or a target/walmart for some snacks and a piss break. When you get done, your car is mostly charged up.

      And if you ARE in your early 20s and considering an EV: Kid, go spend more money on avocado toast.

      • @RunawayFixer@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        79 months ago

        Plugins weren’t a thing yet iirc, at least not from the large mainstream brands. Prius was just normal hybrid without charging.

        Imo it’s impossible to say what would have been, in a what if scenario like this. Without Tesla, large battery tech would probably/maybe/possibly be a lot less developed than it is now and we might not have seen plugin hybrids become mainstream just yet. Personally, I do think that Tesla deserves credit for accelerating the development of these technologies, and I drive a hybrid and generally loath Elon Musk :)

        • @NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
          link
          fedilink
          39 months ago

          That is just it. If we are saying we can’t make educated guesses based on situations and trends then we also cannot make any claims that musk’s tesla was a net good.

          But once we look at the past decade or so: We see hybrids pretty much universally get shit on for “not being worth it” and “a step in the wrong direction”. Which… there are merits to those arguments. But they are still better than pure ICE vehicles.

          • @RunawayFixer@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            39 months ago

            I did not see hybrids universally get shit on. I do know one person with that opinion, but I wouldn’t call him universal and I don’t put much stock in his opinions anyhow, he had had more weird takes before he spouted that one.

      • @TexasDrunk@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        19 months ago

        I take a lot of motorcycle trips. I have a 4.5 gallon tank and get around 40-50 MPG depending on how I’m driving. I’m stopping every 3 hours whether I like it or not anyway.

        I think that’s totally reasonable. I’m just ready for the infrastructure to be there in the places I want to go.

    • After those safety issues around 2019, I was getting really uncomfortable and lost interest in buying a Tesla. When he went pro-covid, I watched friends getting nervous. When he went anti-union, I watched my tech-bro friends sell their Teslas.

    • @MagicShel@programming.dev
      link
      fedilink
      49 months ago

      I think if you slap a Trump sticker on there, you’re likely to get a pass from the sorts of people who key cars. All it costs is integrity and self-respect.

  • @Taako_Tuesday@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    729 months ago

    Anecdotally I agree. Back when all I knew about Tesla was that they made fancy electric cars, I dreamed of the day I’d be able to afford one. Now I’m looking to buy a new car this year and I won’t even take a Tesla on a test drive.

    • @hessenjunge@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      15
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      My situation was similar a couple of weeks ago. I had to either buy a new car or dump a couple of thousands on my then car (which is still good for at least a decade).

      I did test drive a Tesla though as to have a ‘baseline’ for the other contenders. I did buy a different electric car just as planned but I’m glad I did the baseline.

      BTW - just a heads up: make sure you check the headroom on the back seats of any EV you fancy. I might have bought a Kia EV6 if I didn’t bump my head in the ceiling in the back - and I’m of average height.

  • @Wes_Dev@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    719 months ago

    To this day, you can still find conservative media that shits on anyone with electric vehicles, for some reason.

    Now Musk opened his mouth and said stupid shit, and the other side doesn’t want his cars either. All he’s got left are the people who don’t care, already bought one, or fall over themselves to kiss his feet.

  • @Drukail@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    709 months ago

    I bought my first EV last month. I’ve been looking forward to making the switch for 10 years. I would have been happy to buy a Tesla back then (not that there were many options). I didn’t even consider it as an option now because of Musk.

  • @Coreidan@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    699 months ago

    I am avoiding Tesla because their design philosophy and decisions are gimmicky and don’t not prioritize functionality.

    If I am going to spend big money on a car I am going with quality. Not some gimmicky pos where you can’t even open the doors if the battery cuts out. I’ll pass on the touchscreen with wheels.

    • Logi
      link
      fedilink
      119 months ago

      Not some gimmicky pos where you can’t even open the doors if the battery cuts out.

      There is a mechanical lever that you can use if the power is out. Probably it was required by regulators, but it’s there.

      I’m sure that wasn’t the deciding factor anyway.

    • partial_accumen
      link
      fedilink
      10
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      If I am going to spend big money on a car I am going with quality. Not some gimmicky pos

      I’m not sure any manufacturer is producing that car today EV or ICE.

    • @LrdThndr@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      79 months ago

      I agree with you 100%, but your example doesn’t work. There IS a mechanical way to open the door. There’s a concealed handle near the window controls.

      Still won’t buy one because the quality is shit and Muskrat is a shitbag, but if you’re gonna hate, hate for the right reasons :)

      • @Coreidan@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        249 months ago

        No my example is perfect. And you used the right word to describe it.

        CONCEALED.

        Ok so maybe the owner knows about it. Not every body who rides or even drives the car is going to be the owner. There are a lot of extenuating circumstances.

        You shouldn’t need to be instructed on how to open the fucking door when there is a power failure. It should be intuitive. It’s intuitive in literally #every single car on the road today except for teslas. Oh no. If you are driving in a Tesla you better be briefed ahead of time where the concealed door handle is incase of an emergency and if you don’t happen to know where it is then I guess you’re fucked.

        No thanks. I’d rather just buy a car that isn’t designed by brain dead idiots trying to make a buck off a stupid gimmick.

    • Schwim Dandy
      link
      fedilink
      19 months ago

      I’m curious as to what you consider “quality”. Legitimate question, not being facetious.

    • @AA5B@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      -49 months ago

      I am going with quality

      I don’t think quality and longevity really exist for EVs yet. The technology is still too new, constantly changing, and the vehicles may disappear as quickly as they appeared. Legacy manufacturers are still mostly talk. If that’s your criteria, I think we’re still in the stage where leasing is better, only keeping vehicles a few years

  • @set_secret@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    649 months ago

    As someone who owns one, i bought it before i knew how truly awful he was. As a car it’s actully been really great, it’s s done just over 100,000k with zero issues no rattles, still feels new and I’d be lying if i didn’t admit it’s the best car I’ve ever owned. The only maintenance is tyre changes from wear.

    What sucks is i hate being seen in it because it makes me look like a Musk fan boy, and I’m understating is when i say i dislike him intensely.

    The reality is I probably won’t buy another Tesla when i eventually drive this to its grave, purely because of the association with possibly the world’s biggest douche.

    I live in hope Tesla will jettison him from their company and refocus on just making eclectic cars without him, then i might consider staying with the brand. But if he’s there I won’t be, and clearly im not alone.

  • @Duamerthrax@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    589 months ago

    I was talking to a fervent Musk fan. He was explaining how much he loved how much Musk was pissing off liberals and how he was such a good businessman. I asked him if would ever buy a Tesla and he said no. I told him that Musk doesn’t sound like a very good businessman.