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Honestly I think the biggest hurdle for breaking into the mainstream is still charging infrastructure and the all-electric nature of Teslas. Sure superchargers

Honestly I think the biggest hurdle for breaking into the mainstream is still charging infrastructure and the all-electric nature of Teslas. Sure superchargers are a lot more common than they used to be but they're nowhere near the saturation of gas stations (the need for which will ramp-up if the model 3 sells) and good luck if you go out into a rural area. For the time being EV/Gas hybrids like the Volt are a lot more practical and cheaper. I could walk off the lot with a lightly used Volt for half the price of a Model 3 and get the vast majority of the benefits (autopilot simply isn't a big selling point for me at the moment) with none of the downsides.

brianwawok 9y ago
You cant compare the two. Ever car needs a gas station a few times a month. An ev owner could charge at home and literally never use a supercharger. You dont need a supercharger in every tiny rural town.
- s0rce 9y ago
  For EV to replace cars you need to have superchargers along the main roads (already getting there) for long trips and also some place for visitors to charge in small towns (either superchargers or chargers at hotels, campgrounds, rest stops, etc. There will still probably be areas of the country where it will be hard to find charging stations (although gas stations are infrequent in those parts currently, its much easier to bring some extra gas in a can then an extra battery).
- scottLobster 9y ago
  I'm thinking more about travelers passing through. Even if I owned a Tesla I literally couldn't take it to see my relatives in rural North Carolina, or go camping in many locations. Right now supercharger station coverage is about as effective as cell service was 10 years ago. It's there, but there are noticeable dead zones that lots of people (although perhaps not people in the HN bubble) will care about. Hopefully Tesla can continue making money and build out the infrastructure further, but right now for anyone on a strict budget, even a Model 3 is paying a large premium for an ultimately less capable vehicle. At their current rate of expansion, maybe in 5 years I'll start thinking about an upgrade. :)
  - gertef 9y ago
    Sure, there are many infrastructure products that are different from cities versus rural areas. Tractor maunfactures do awful business in cities, but John Deere is still sucessful. Cities are still half the population.
  - gertef 9y ago
    Sure, there are many infrastructure products that are different from cities versus rural areas. Tractor maunfactures do awful business in cities, but John Deere is still sucessful. Cities are still half the population.
  - brianwawok 9y ago
    Sure. So EV will not become 100% of cars tomorrow. But I think right now with the current charging infrastructure, EVs could be something like 90% of cars (or at least a very large amount). I could replace both of my cars tomorrow with EVs and be OK. Would it mean I couldn't take it camping to the UP in Michigan? Likely, but I go every 3 years at most anyway. I would just rent a dinosaur bone boner from Hertz for the weekend if I really needed it.

brianwawok 9y ago

You cant compare the two. Ever car needs a gas station a few times a month. An ev owner could charge at home and literally never use a supercharger. You dont need a supercharger in every tiny rural town.

s0rce 9y ago
For EV to replace cars you need to have superchargers along the main roads (already getting there) for long trips and also some place for visitors to charge in small towns (either superchargers or chargers at hotels, campgrounds, rest stops, etc. There will still probably be areas of the country where it will be hard to find charging stations (although gas stations are infrequent in those parts currently, its much easier to bring some extra gas in a can then an extra battery).
scottLobster 9y ago
I'm thinking more about travelers passing through. Even if I owned a Tesla I literally couldn't take it to see my relatives in rural North Carolina, or go camping in many locations. Right now supercharger station coverage is about as effective as cell service was 10 years ago. It's there, but there are noticeable dead zones that lots of people (although perhaps not people in the HN bubble) will care about. Hopefully Tesla can continue making money and build out the infrastructure further, but right now for anyone on a strict budget, even a Model 3 is paying a large premium for an ultimately less capable vehicle. At their current rate of expansion, maybe in 5 years I'll start thinking about an upgrade. :)
- gertef 9y ago
  Sure, there are many infrastructure products that are different from cities versus rural areas. Tractor maunfactures do awful business in cities, but John Deere is still sucessful. Cities are still half the population.
- gertef 9y ago
  Sure, there are many infrastructure products that are different from cities versus rural areas. Tractor maunfactures do awful business in cities, but John Deere is still sucessful. Cities are still half the population.
- brianwawok 9y ago
  Sure. So EV will not become 100% of cars tomorrow. But I think right now with the current charging infrastructure, EVs could be something like 90% of cars (or at least a very large amount). I could replace both of my cars tomorrow with EVs and be OK. Would it mean I couldn't take it camping to the UP in Michigan? Likely, but I go every 3 years at most anyway. I would just rent a dinosaur bone boner from Hertz for the weekend if I really needed it.