The disapproval of Elon Musk is the top reason Tesla Model 3 owners are selling their electric vehicles and going for another brand, according to a new survey of 5,000 Model 3 owners.

  • @xenomor@lemmy.world
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    40911 months ago

    Tesla spent years building a brand identity that is intimately woven together with Musk. It’s damaged goods now as far as I’m concerned. Every time I encounter one of its products I think about it. It wasn’t too long ago when I was eagerly following product updates in the hopes of eventually buying a car power wall or that solar roof system. I was enthusiastic about rationalizing away the poor build quality and terrible customer support. Now, I would never buy a thing from them and I’m happy to pass judgement on anyone who does. $tslaq

    • @almar_quigley@lemmy.world
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      16511 months ago

      Even beyond Musk the quality of Tesla’s for the price is absolute shit. His presence just makes it even worse. The main selling point for them was the higher range but seems like that may have been a lie the whole time.

      • @whofearsthenight@lemmy.world
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        2011 months ago

        that may have been a lie the whole time.

        Musk’s taint on the brand is I think majorly based on this type of thing. His twitter purchase has revealed that he’s a serial liar, and now people are seeing all of the ways that it is happening with Tesla. People tolerate assholes all of the time. What they don’t want to tolerate is snake oil salesmen, and I’m not sure there has ever been a bigger one than Musk.

      • @RaincoatsGeorge@lemmy.zip
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        1111 months ago

        Fun fact: teslas are the most recalled car brand in the country.

        I don’t discredit the work done by the engineers there, I’d argue they laid the groundwork to usher in the future of electric cars in this country. But of course all the credit goes to musk. Just another situation like Steve Jobs. See Bill Burrs bit on Jobs and replace him with Musk, same exact story.

        • @jamkey@lemmy.world
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          911 months ago

          How many of those are real serious recalls that they didn’t just fix with easy tweaks over the air? I hate Musk as much of the next guy but I follow a lot of EV YT channels and even the ones that don’t like Tesla acknowledge that the media overhyped the recalls given how many of them have been easy OTA fixes. Plus since they iterate very fast and don’t just update the car once every four years often it only affects a small subset. Like 1-4k cars in some cases rather than the typical 100k recall that Toyota would have.

        • @AttackBunny@lemmy.world
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          5611 months ago

          Tesla is the most recalled vehicle brand. That’s impressive. Looking at you Kia/hyundai and Nissan.

          Musk himself admits Tesla has build quality issues

          Search “Tesla panel gap issues”. Tons of people complaining and many say that trying to fix the issue causes other, bigger gaps, or just gets worse. I’ve heard rumor that if you try to fix them, you’ll void some kind of Tesla support.

          Oh, and one of the most damning ones in my book. During a car fire, which Tesla has had PLENTY of, some genius decided that the door locks should default to LOCKED. Who the actual fuck thought this was acceptable? How did they ever make it into production.

          There’s a video floating around of a guy kicking his windows out to escape his burning Tesla.

          Dumb dumb musk decided he was smarter than everyone else, (spoiler he’s not) and overrode his own engineers. He decided there were no physical sensors required for auto driving, only cameras. Every other manufacturer knows that not possible yet, but musk knew better

          Yes, a lot of car fires are difficult to extinguish, and yes, electric/hybrids more so, but teslas are exceptional. Can’t out out the many teslas that catch fire When the local fire dept came by to inspect our business we got to chatting and they said that they had a Tesla catch fire. They used everything in their arsenal, and a LOT of water. Like more than you could imagine. Then it got towed to a holding yard. Someone parked it up against a building, and next to quite a few other vehicles waiting for legal things/inspections. Tesla reignited in the tow yard and took out everything near it too. The yard is in BIG trouble for damaging a whole lot of evidence/vehicles being held for court cases, etc.

          I could go on, but those are the biggest ones.

            • @AttackBunny@lemmy.world
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              711 months ago

              Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.

              There are also the people who got locked out of their cars because the battery died. Or even better the one that locked INSIDE their tesla when the 12v battery died. Getting locked inside a car, in AZ heat is deadly, VERY rapidly.

              That’s like the door failing to locked when the car is on fire, or in an accident. Who the fuck let that pass QC?

          • @ThePantser@midwest.social
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            11 months ago

            During a car fire, which Tesla has had PLENTY of, some genius decided that the door locks should default to LOCKED.

            Leave no whiteness is Tesla motto

            • @Diplomjodler@feddit.de
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              511 months ago

              No it hasn’t. Please point us to a source that shows Tesla having more fires than other EV brands, let alone ICE cars.

              • @Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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                311 months ago

                The claim isn’t that they have more fires than other EV or ICE cars. The claim is that if they do have a fire they will trap you and your family in it.

          • @8BitRoadTrip@lemm.ee
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            1211 months ago

            Burning lithium and other exotic metals are class D fires. They are extraordinarily difficult to extinguish. They burn hot enough to break down water into oxygen and hydrogen. Mainly you let them burn themselves out and try to prevent them from spreading to other more traditionally combustible materials.

          • Zoolander
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            1111 months ago

            I’m not a Musk fan at all but some of these are misleading or just downright wrong.

            Tesla is only the most recalled brand if you categorize “recalls” to include software updates. If Tesla can fix an issue via an OTA update, it shouldn’t be considered a recall but it is in the source being used.

            Teslas do have build issues but they’re not overwhelmingly more present than other cars. They’re only showing that way because Tesla only has 4 models of car and the build issues carry over from year to year. That’s not the case for other cars where, like with a Jetta, the body is redesigned but the name stays the same.

            The door lock thing is also misleading because the case would be the same for any other car where the driver locked the doors. Either way, the fire department is breaking a window. They don’t have magic keys to open every car door out there. The fire department could pull on the handle all day long and it wouldn’t matter. The driver locked the doors and could have opened them but didn’t (and there’s even a special manual override for them along with a Fire Department quick access switch at the front of the car).

            • @AttackBunny@lemmy.world
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              1311 months ago

              First and foremost, when you have a vehicle with an electric door lock, you ALWAYS fail it to open. On a “normal” car (yeah there are some that are all electric now too), you have a physical switch that you flip, and it’s unlocked. The locking mechanism for the Tesla is electric, so in the case of the wires being damaged, or as witnessed, the car being on fire, you have no MECHANICAL mechanism to open the door. Supposedly, there is one INSIDE the door, lol what? but how many people will know that, and more importantly be able to access it in a panic?

              I did a little more digging. SOME models are equipped with a mechanical release on the door (I assume it’s something you have to pay extra for), but not all of them. As I mentioned above, there is a mechanical option, but you would have to know exactly to remove the door card trim panel, and access the cable. People don’t even read enough of the owners manual to know how shit they really want works, let alone a safety issues.

              Clearly you don’t understand what a recall is. Recalls are highly regulated, and things like a software update for the aircon do not fall under the recall term. In fact, manufacturers do everything in their power to avoid recalls. They will often issue a TSB, instead, when a recall isn’t being forced by the NHTSA. Good try though. As you can see from teslas own website (I don’t believe this is even close to all of them) they are ALL safety issues, which is what recalls are for, either voluntary, or forced by NHTSA.

              No, they absolutely have more build quality issues than even the lowest trim shit econoboxes. I always say that a tesla is a corolla with a big computer in it, but even the corolla is built WAY better, and I’m old enough to remember 80s cars. Those were pretty damn bad.

            • @bluetoque@lemmy.ca
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              1311 months ago

              You missed the part where the driver was conscious and couldn’t escape from the inside due to locked doors.

        • @TheMinions@ttrpg.network
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          11 months ago

          A lot of cheap surface level stuff. For example, my dad has a model 3, and the back of the passenger chair just falls off. And by the back I mean the hard plastic shell that holds the seat pocket for the passengers in the second row to use.

          There have also been reports of things like mismatched tail lights, cars leaking when it rains, and bumpers just falling off. But I haven’t seen those in person.

          Stuff like that.

    • @LEDZeppelin@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      In addition, almost all big car manufacturers now have far better EVs in terms of quality, features, and looks. Tesla no longer has the monopoly they enjoyed for almost a decade. If you’re selling me an EV with this shit stain on it, I’d just go the shop next door.

      Let his fascist followers buy his EVs….oh wait, they hate them. Remember all the rage against EVs in Texas that led to “rolling coal” in Teslas, purposely parking F250s to take up all the Tesla charging stations, vandalism at charging stations, keying Teslas parked at malls? Yeah, those are the people he is fighting for.

    • @Naia
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      2911 months ago

      I wanted a Tesla for years. I even had stock which helped me buy my house.

      I no longer want a Tesla and it 100% has to do with musk. And I decided that before I realized I’m trans.

    • @mikeboltonshair@sh.itjust.works
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      1211 months ago

      Lol so are the CEOs of all the other manufacturers people to look up to and admire? Would you buy a Volkswagen or did you own one when Martin Winterkorn was running it?

      Elon is a man child, I don’t look to him for any insights or knowledge, would I buy a Tesla? Ya if the car itself is good, if it’s not good then I wouldn’t buy it. It wouldn’t have anything to do with Musk however

      Who do you bank with? Do you hold those CEOs to the same standards and not use their products?

      Good luck buying anything where there isn’t some ethical issues surrounding the people who are the the top of those corporations

      • JJROKCZ
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        5111 months ago

        Most other ceos shut their mouth and let the product speak. Tesla/Elon’s mo has been to have the product in the background with him at the forefront, that worked well until it didn’t

        • DessertStorms
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          611 months ago

          Most other ceos shut their mouth and let the product speak

          I prefer my evil rulers behind the curtain, thank you very much!

          *this is in no way a defence of Musk it’s a pointing out how ridiculous it is to see a problem with him but not care about the other obscenely wealthy capitalists who not only exploit labour and hoard resources, but also basically own government via either corruption (aka “lobbying”) or direct representation (ie all the rich fucks in government making rules for themsleves and their friends), just like Musk, simply because they’re “polite” enough to do it behind closed doors.

          That’s not to say don’t buy the things you need, it’s to say don’t be deluded in to thinking that it matters. As long as capitalism exists, governance by and for the rich isn’t going anywhere, and your money will always be going to one of maybe a couple dozen people.

          There is no ethical consumption under capitalism

          • @Gsus4@feddit.nl
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            11 months ago

            A big lesson from Trump and others like him is that when someone’s a piece of shit and brags about it in public, it looks innocuous and at best it may be revealing and may validate your views on power and the flaws of society, but on another level he’s likely to give voice to, rally an convince other assholes to feel entitled and protected to act like assholes and then you have an actual problem. So yes, polite evil is slightly better.

        • Not sure where we disagree here? You are right the jackass just can’t keep his mouth shut I don’t care what his beliefs are though, I don’t go to corporations for my ethics, I go to them because I want to buy a product

        • @Lemmylaugh@lemmy.ml
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          111 months ago

          But what if he is too big to fail? I mean how long have we been talking about musk? And it doesn’t look like anything is changing

      • @m0darn@lemmy.ca
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        2111 months ago

        Tesla spent years building a brand identity that is intimately woven together with Musk.

        It worked well for a long time but it makes sense if people lose faith in Musk they lose faith in Tesla. Because he is synonymous with the brand.

        Lol so are the CEOs of all the other manufacturers people to look up to and admire?

        They haven’t built their brands around the reputation of their ceo.

        Would I buy a Tesla? Ya if the car itself is good.

        How can you evaluate if a car is good? It has recently been revealed that Tesla/Musk was exaggerating their range so severely that Tesla owners thought their cars were defective. Tesla has been trading on a reputation of ‘goodness’ that it didn’t deserve.

        Tesla is seeing repercussions from risks they took tying their brand so tightly with Musk.

        • If anyone bought a Tesla because of Musk they were idiots, so same logic applies the other way

          You could argue Apple built its brand around Jobs (who died because of his moronic beliefs about natural cures) and now Cook… pretty sure Apple kowtows to Chinese censorship and also does shitty things (I’m typing this on an iPhone right now) so I’m no fan of Jobs or Cook I just don’t give a fuck about them, I bought it because it’s the best phone for me

          The range issues are pretty funny, people thinking they were defective is comical, I will however point out that is nothing new all auto manufacturers have done this for the decades with fuel economy numbers, I can’t tell you how many people we would have come through the dealership complaining about fuel economy after buying a new car

          As far as evaluating if a car is good or not of course you can do that, do research on reliability issues, check recalls, ask friends and family who have actually owned them if they are any good, if you have a mechanic that you know ask them

        • DessertStorms
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          11 months ago

          In that case you must then remove yourself from society, since not only does at least 90% of the money you spend end up in the pockets of evil people, but evil people are also keeping much if not most of your heard earned money for themselves before you ever know it existed by paying you less than your labour is worth (what you earned them).

          This is a feature, not a bug.

        • Nothing wrong with that but… again do you do that across the board all the time because if you do congrats it’s not an easy thing to accomplish

          And I’m not dumb I know it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing, doing it when you can is great I just can’t stand people who pontificate about shitheads like Musk but buy all their shit from Amazon

      • SpaceBar
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        511 months ago

        You can’t have a rational discussion about Tesla on lemmy. So many people are so sick of hearing about Musk that only those who REALLY hate him will click on an article about him. Those people can not separate the product from the vocal dirtbag that is its CEO.

        It’s not worth even trying here.

      • Flykr
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        211 months ago

        Biggest issue is social. Buying a Tesla associates you positively with musk (by design), and from my experience most Tesla owners are incredibly annoying about it. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to avoid the stigma. Same reason people buy Harleys - the brand name and cultural associations on a vehicle matter a lot, sometimes even more than the car itself.

        • I can see what you are saying but that’s not a universal thing, like when it comes to Tesla I never associated that with Musk he’s just the shithead that owns it, to me it’s more about the most widely available semi affordable electric car you could buy since the legacy manufacturers dragged their asses wasting time with hydrogen and hybrids

          I guess the difference I have here with people is exactly that, I don’t attach him as being Tesla

          That was a good way of putting it describing it like a Harley, makes sense. I ride motorbikes and I dgaf about what brand I own, I’d ride anything including a Harley

    • @InternetUser2012@lemmy.world
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      411 months ago

      I wanted a Tesla. I was ready to get a model 3. Then he went full blown ass clown and at first I thought it was a joke, like he was just messing around being funny. Then I realized how big of a dbag he really is and yeah, no thanks. I bought a CTS-V instead and although it’s the opposite of fuel efficient, it’s the most fun vehicle I’ve ever driven.

  • CodingSquirrel
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    15111 months ago

    If I already had a Tesla I don’t know that I’d sell it because of him, but he was one of the major factors in me not even considering them when I was shopping for my EV. The other reasons being shoddy quality control, shitty practices, and dumb design decisions. All of which probably stem from him anyway.

    • @Windex007@lemmy.world
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      4611 months ago

      I’d be looking to sell it, specifically because of him.

      The willingness for him to make executive decisions to fuck people using his platforms is what frightens me. He’ll cut starlink for people he doesn’t like. He’ll snipe twitter accounts of people he doesn’t like.

      Since Teslas can be remotely force fed new updates, I genuinely believe it’s just a matter of time before he starts fucking with peoples cars. I expect as a way to use Tesla owners as pawns to apply political pressure in areas w/ high ownership that enact tax policy he doesn’t like.

    • CharlestonChewbacca
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      3311 months ago

      Yeah, if my car was beyond repair tomorrow and I needed a new one, I’d be getting either a Hyundai Ioniq 6 or a Silverado EV. A few years ago, I would’ve been leaning toward the Model 3.

    • flipht
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      211 months ago

      Same. I had to get a new car recently. Prices were crazy and I wish I had gone with a new instead of a used. But Tesla was off the list from the beginning. I figured I’d wait one more car to get electric. Should be in a new place by then where I can install a home charger too, and the prices will probably be drastically lower by the time my current car dies again.

  • @Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
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    10011 months ago

    I used to want a Tesla… Now I don’t. That’s 60% Elon and 40% their poor build quality.

    The second percentage should be higher. It’s not, though. Elon is a very hateable person due to his low IQ, and astronomically high level of arrogance.

    • Joe
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      I honestly couldn’t understand how people had any praise for him in years past. He always came across as (yet another) embarrassing forever teenager, born with a silver spoon in his mouth and little sympathy for or understanding of others.

      This is in vast contrast to Bill Gates who (despite my loathing of Microsoft’s business practices, especially in the 90’s and early 00’s) continued to grow and earned some respect with his philanthropic endeavours and just generally acting like an educated adult.

      Still, I’d rather have fewer rich jetsetters and more competent Governments and international institutions, effectively working to better mankind.

      • Flying Squid
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        1211 months ago

        I gave him the benefit of the doubt, although there was certainly doubt, until the “pedo guy” thing. Then I realized he was just a manchild. And, of course, he used his high-priced lawyers to get out of that obvious slander in court.

    • GladiusB
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      311 months ago

      Your post does not contain enough edgy for him to read or notice it. Have you considered what Neo would say in the Matrix?

    • @GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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      311 months ago

      Same for me. Was saving for a Tesla, but now I’ll go with a different brand. For me, it’s 75% Elon and 25% that I’m just starting to prefer what other EV makers are putting on the market.

    • panCatQ
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      211 months ago

      Its just been few months if not years , that elon had an image of real life iron man and what not ! 😂

      • @Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
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        111 months ago

        Well, that’s not actually true for everyone. I’ve been talking about this guy being a douchebag for years. I have a relative that told me three years ago that I was just jealous of his success.

        I really want to talk to that guy again now… Maybe the next reunion, haha.

    • Rikudou_Sage
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      111 months ago

      As much as I hate Elon, the poor quality would be like 90% reason. I prefer being alive more than I hate Elon by a huge margin.

      • @MotoAsh@lemmy.world
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        111 months ago

        Oh no, they’re very safe. You just might not be able to open your trunk or roll down windows for eight months until the dealership 200 miles away can attempt to look at the problem, fix the trunk, and somehow break the passenger door in the process.

        • Rikudou_Sage
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          111 months ago

          From what I hear the cars like to burn a lot. And I myself am not a fan of being burned alive. YMMV.

    • @theragu40@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Yeah I think this is a bigger risk for Tesla than current owners selling.

      I’m not in the market for a car right now but there’s a decent chance that the next one I buy will be an EV. Up until maybe 2 years ago I’d have said a Tesla would have been top of the list for options. I don’t really feel that way anymore, and Musks instability is the primary reason.

      I think his antics will have a snowball effect on future sales.

      • @Bluescluestoothpaste@sh.itjust.works
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        11 months ago

        Teslas just don’t drive better than any other EV. Yes, the first time i got in a tesla i was floored, but it was also the first time i ever sat in any EV. After seeing a handful of other EVs, i now realize tesla isn’t anything special at all, all the EVs have that smooth electric motor feel.

        They’re going to be a medium sized car maker, like mercedes or bmw. They have no chance at selling more cars than toyota or gm to justify the insane market cap.

    • @DauntingFlamingo@lemmy.ml
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      I’m going to wait and see if Toyota’s alleged 1450km/900mi solid state battery is real. It is rare for Toyota to tell the public what they’re working on until it’s ready to roll. This could be a ploy to lower sales of competitors, but if Toyota isn’t telling the truth, it will bite them. I’d love a small EV with that kind of insane range and the ability to use autonomous driving on interstates

  • cassetti
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    11 months ago

    My partner needed to buy a new vehicle. A Tesla Model was easily in budget. But they opted not to buy one because they want zero affiliation with Musk or any connotations that they may endorse his behavior by owning one of his products.

      • cassetti
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        1511 months ago

        Oh no doubt that was also a big factor, but even if they were well built high quality cars, it would still be a non-starter as long as Elno has anything to do with the company.

      • @navi@lemmy.tespia.org
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        1411 months ago

        Anecdotally I have to disagree.

        I really enjoy our Model 3 and Model Y. After renting an ID.4 for a week in Norway I find that the Tesla setup is a lot more “no nonsense” than other OEMs.

        For example the ID.4 has many “safety” features that help center the car in the land if it detects that you are leaving the road. In Norway that have very narrow roads and you often have to pull over to the shoulder (far past the lane edge) to let a car pass.

        To turn those settings off in an ID.4 I had to dig through a menu and disable them every time I get into the car. Every. Time.

        Tesla’s UI experience is much more like a smart phone with persistence like one would expect. Like or hate the form factor, the infotainment on Tesla’s are done about as well as you can with a giant touch screen in my opinion.

        I really fucking loath Musk these days though and wish he would be ousted from Tesla.

        • @Sarcastik@lemmy.world
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          311 months ago

          Not really fair to compare the ID.4 against your Teslas. The Audi Etron on the other hand has a far superior infotainment system compared to the Tesla and none of the issues from the base model VW.

          I’m not accusing of intentionally comparing apples to oranges, but given the price brackets you made a really terrible argument.

          • @navi@lemmy.tespia.org
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            311 months ago

            The price brackets seem the same to me. Our Model 3’s config is actually cheaper than it’s similar ID.4 spec, where as an etron is like $30k MORE.

  • Don Escobar
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    6911 months ago

    I’m sure the anti-woke crowd he is pandering to is going to jump in and buy up all the teslas

    • @eestileib@sh.itjust.works
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      2911 months ago

      I think the Ford electric truck is selling like crazy to that demographic; if you really need low end torque suddenly an electric motor is tolerable.

      • @vd1n@sh.itjust.works
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        1511 months ago

        Lmao my dad never shuts the fuck up about electric cars now he wants an electric car because Elon became a right wing god.

        • @Rediphile@lemmy.ca
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          1211 months ago

          I don’t actually think this…but imagine if Elon is just pulling a super long con on the right.

          Again, he isn’t…but that would be pretty cool in an alternate universe.

      • @Blastasaurus@lemm.ee
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        611 months ago

        They’re not selling here. There’s a huge off-roading community here and nobody wants to risk getting stuck 300km into a logging trail.

        • @jivemasta@reddthat.com
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          2311 months ago

          Lol, yeah. Everyone I talk to about my car instantly becomes a weekend road tripper, like they are constantly going on thousand mile road trips to the middle of nowhere where there aren’t any charging stations.

        • @p1mrx@sh.itjust.works
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          911 months ago

          In theory, with a stack of solar panels an EV could take you even farther into the wilderness, The Martian style.

        • @Dude123@lemmy.world
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          711 months ago

          Well people using their trucks to that extreme are always going to choose reliability over performance

    • jecxjo
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      511 months ago

      I think the demographic may not be the correct financially. Though that might be more funny, a bunch of people buying out of spite and then defaulting.

    • @Landmammals@lemmy.world
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      311 months ago

      Elon musk didn’t really think about how people who buy electric cars and the anti-woke is two non-connected circles on a Venn diagram.

    • Aiʞawa
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      211 months ago

      Don’t discount Elmo Lusk’s cleverness like that, he’ll surely implement, alone with his little capable hands, an aerosol-spraying system to lure in his new clientele; prolly named Make Ozone Holed Again or something. Free canister every month for Xwitter Premium subscribers!

  • @AzPsycho@lemmy.world
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    6811 months ago

    I think it’s more about how those types of buyers view the manufacturers reliability long term. The man is unhinged and has proven with Twitter that if given the chance he will willingly fuck over users. Imagine giving a bully the ability to limit your driving range or disabling your vehicle on a whim because he decides he doesn’t like you or what your local govt says.

    Not saying he would do it but he has proven repeatedly to be unstable enough to believe he could escape punishment for doing it.

    • Chainweasel
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      11 months ago

      Imagine giving a bully the ability to limit your driving range or disabling your vehicle on a whim because he decides he doesn’t like you

      He cancelled a reporter’s Tesla Model X pre-order because he criticized Tesla on late deliveries on pre-orders.

    • @stabby_cicada@slrpnk.net
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      2111 months ago

      Really emphasizes how vital “right to repair” is. If a Tesla didn’t have proprietary software and centralized control over its cars it wouldn’t matter how irrational Musk was. But Tesla owners have to trust Tesla to maintain both the hardware and software in their cars, which means buying a Tesla is a long-term commited relationship with that company. And same with Ford, GMC, every car company whose software is a black box - if you can’t repair your own vehicle, you have to trust the management of the car company won’t screw you over for fun and profit.

  • @atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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    5911 months ago

    That’s the risk when your brand is a “status symbol” and the company is closely linked with your personality.

    Steve Jobs knew how to do this well. Elon is no Steve Jobs…

  • @MicroWave@lemmy.worldOP
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    4711 months ago

    Since Musk acquired Twitter, the Tesla CEO has started to voice his political and social views more frequently, as well as share controversial conspiracy theories.

    This has resulted in a wave of people changing their minds about Musk, especially people on the left side of the American political spectrum. Many have suggested this has a negative impact on Tesla, which is intricately linked to Musk.

  • @chuckd@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    I love my Tesla, but I don’t think my next car will be one because of Musk and what he’s done to the brand. Really disappointing that he’s put the same people who’ve coal rolled and iced chargers instead of his loyal, reservation making, early adopting FSD clients like me. I’m watching the expanding market with excitement as other companies are rolling out vehicles with nicer features and comparable pricetags than current Teslas.

    • @pottedmeat7910@lemmy.world
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      111 months ago

      This is as close as it comes to my opinion on the subject.

      I have an S. 7 years, 80k miles. I like the car, I really do. Even after all this time. I still get free supercharging, which is great when I travel out of the area, which I do not infrequently.

      I’m not embarrassed by it, despite Elon’s dive into Coco Puffs Crazyland. When I got it, there was nothing else like it on the market.

      Selling it now would be like buying a case of Bud just so I could shoot at it. Or burning my Nikes out of spite. I paid good money and it was worth every cent.

      With that being said, between Elon’s dementia and all the complaints I hear about build quality in the other mods, my next car, whenever I go buy it, won’t be a Tesla. There’s competition now and they are catching up fast…and I don’t think the Cybertruck is going to save them.

  • @joklhops@lemmy.world
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    4011 months ago

    For Tesla, it’s a bad time for the cult of personality to fall apart as more electric car competition comes out every year.

    • @mrmanager@lemmy.today
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      711 months ago

      The guy actually never had a good personality even. They had to train him for TV evening shows to even make it work…

    • @OppositeOfOxymoron@infosec.pub
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      811 months ago

      The vehicles are decent, the service is terminally putrid. Bad alignment from the factory ruined $5k in tires, Tesla offered me $500 off the cost of replacement.

      I took it in for another issue, and when I told the tech about how the car burned through the inside edge of the tires on the car, he said “Yeah, they do that.” and followed it with a recommendation that I get wheel alignments TWICE A YEAR.

      • @MetricIsRight@lemmy.ca
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        511 months ago

        I work in the rim and tire industry. We have anywhere between 10-14 installs a week (just tires or tire and rim packages etc) we deal with a LOT of Tesla’s. They ALL do this. Alignments barely help, they are heavy cars with very poor suspension geometry. I know for the model S there was an aftermarket company that made a kit to fix the excessive camber in the rear to alleviate the tire wear issue but I’m not too sure on other models. I see and work on at least 3 Tesla’s a week, seeing what I’ve seen, even if someone offered me one for free. I would trade it for another EV.

        • @OppositeOfOxymoron@infosec.pub
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          111 months ago

          I get that the cars are heavy, but the tires should wear evenly - 80,000lb tractor trailers don’t burn through the inside edge of tires at 25% of their usable life… As far as suspension is concerned, they did replace parts in the rear to allow them to better adjust the alignment, and I’ve put fewer miles on the vehicle this year, plus had a warranty repair that required re-aligning all tires again… But I’m going to be super pissed if it happens a second time.

      • @kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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        11 months ago

        They just spy on you and nickle and dime you to get you to buy extra features.

        Those are among the things that fit with my definition of “pile of shit”

      • @Imotali@lemmy.world
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        211 months ago

        The top end Tesla loses blow for blow in all bit range (nominally) and charger availability (which is changing) to Porsche… for $4,000 more.

        Oh and the Porsche’s frame was formally an ICE so it’s a tried and tested frame that’s received multiple iterations to hone the design.

        Tesla’s would be nice if they were priced $15k cheaper… and they’d still be piles of shit that spy on you.

  • @tenitchyfingers@lemmy.world
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    3111 months ago

    Isn’t it also the fact that everything he touches explodes and ends up being an unsafe product? I’d rather buy any other brand before buying Tesla, even regardless of his extremely unlikable personality and dumbass choices.

  • @whome@discuss.tchncs.de
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    3011 months ago

    Maybe Teslas will come with disguise kits, where you can switch the Tesla logo with a different brand. Just like Twitter created the option to hide the Twitter blue checkmark…