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>investors will probably wish Elon could just stick to one thing and finish it Have you read these threads? There are people here who claim to have invested a

>investors will probably wish Elon could just stick to one thing and finish it Have you read these threads? There are people here who claim to have invested all their savings into TSLA, and yet seem fairly clueless about the industry in which Tesla competes. The more things that get announced, the more they want in. Tesla haven't yet proven that they can reliably build a cheap, profitable vehicle at scale, but still people talk about the next one and the next one... Meanwhile, the Bolt is out, reviews are positive, and HN doesn't talk much about it. Not Elon, I guess. http://www.motortrend.com/cars/chevrolet/bolt-ev/2017/2017-chevrolet-bolt-ev-vs-2016-tesla-model-s-60/ http://www.motortrend.com/cars/chevrolet/bolt-ev/2017/2017-c...

chc 9y ago
The Bolt is lacking a couple of things that are very important to Tesla enthusiasts: 1. The charging situation, and the ability to drive long distances without much trouble. Thanks to the Supercharger network, Tesla's cars can plan a route to get you from nearly any point A to any point B without too much longer of a drive than most people would do in a gas-powered car. The Bolt can use third-party chargers, but AFAIK it takes longer to charge and there's no concerted effort to ensure coverage with those. (Here's an article on this from a reviewer who likes the Bolt: https://electrek.co/2016/09/14/the-very-good-chevy-bolt-reviews-are-in-but-everyone-forgot-to-ask-the-most-important-question/ https://electrek.co/2016/09/14/the-very-good-chevy-bolt-revi...) I think this is a bigger point than most people who aren't actually planning to buy an EV think. The Bolt's lack of an answer to range anxiety makes it more of a commuter car, which puts it more in the same arena as the Nissan Leaf rather than any of Tesla's cars. 2. Autopilot. This is a very exciting feature Tesla is pushing very hard that the Bolt doesn't have at all. And on top of those, there's also the fact that AFAIK you can't buy the Bolt in most places, which kind of puts a damper on how popular it can be.
jlund 9y ago
I am in the perfect demographic for the Bolt: I am a previous Chevy owner (with a car that ran well for over fourteen years!), I want an electric car, and I'm not afraid of being an early adopter. I can't buy one. Chevy doesn't appear to be manufacturing them beyond a handful of review units for magazines like Motor Trend and a small number of end-user sales in states where they need the ZEV Credits. People are unenthusiastic about the Bolt because they're matching Chevy's apparent level of enthusiasm. The rhetoric around the Bolt ("Chevy did it! They were first at scale with a $35k car!") is arguably even more disconnected from reality than anything people are saying about Tesla. The Model 3 isn't a compliance car that is masquerading as a serious effort. Tesla is planning on selling it nationwide. They didn't restrict pre-orders to California and Oregon. Setting aside the actual cars, these are big differences. At Chevy's current roll-out pace, my Model 3 pre-order will arrive long before any local Chevy dealerships are willing to sell me a Bolt (while passive-aggressively pushing me towards an internal combustion vehicle the entire time).
aanm1988 9y ago
But Elon Musk is literally Iron Man/the God King. What does it matter if I don't understand anything about the industry, Elon will lead me to the promised (of mars, or hacking the matrix).

chc 9y ago

The Bolt is lacking a couple of things that are very important to Tesla enthusiasts: 1. The charging situation, and the ability to drive long distances without much trouble. Thanks to the Supercharger network, Tesla's cars can plan a route to get you from nearly any point A to any point B without too much longer of a drive than most people would do in a gas-powered car. The Bolt can use third-party chargers, but AFAIK it takes longer to charge and there's no concerted effort to ensure coverage with those. (Here's an article on this from a reviewer who likes the Bolt: https://electrek.co/2016/09/14/the-very-good-chevy-bolt-reviews-are-in-but-everyone-forgot-to-ask-the-most-important-question/ https://electrek.co/2016/09/14/the-very-good-chevy-bolt-revi...) I think this is a bigger point than most people who aren't actually planning to buy an EV think. The Bolt's lack of an answer to range anxiety makes it more of a commuter car, which puts it more in the same arena as the Nissan Leaf rather than any of Tesla's cars. 2. Autopilot. This is a very exciting feature Tesla is pushing very hard that the Bolt doesn't have at all. And on top of those, there's also the fact that AFAIK you can't buy the Bolt in most places, which kind of puts a damper on how popular it can be.

jlund 9y ago

I am in the perfect demographic for the Bolt: I am a previous Chevy owner (with a car that ran well for over fourteen years!), I want an electric car, and I'm not afraid of being an early adopter. I can't buy one. Chevy doesn't appear to be manufacturing them beyond a handful of review units for magazines like Motor Trend and a small number of end-user sales in states where they need the ZEV Credits. People are unenthusiastic about the Bolt because they're matching Chevy's apparent level of enthusiasm. The rhetoric around the Bolt ("Chevy did it! They were first at scale with a $35k car!") is arguably even more disconnected from reality than anything people are saying about Tesla. The Model 3 isn't a compliance car that is masquerading as a serious effort. Tesla is planning on selling it nationwide. They didn't restrict pre-orders to California and Oregon. Setting aside the actual cars, these are big differences. At Chevy's current roll-out pace, my Model 3 pre-order will arrive long before any local Chevy dealerships are willing to sell me a Bolt (while passive-aggressively pushing me towards an internal combustion vehicle the entire time).

aanm1988 9y ago

But Elon Musk is literally Iron Man/the God King. What does it matter if I don't understand anything about the industry, Elon will lead me to the promised (of mars, or hacking the matrix).