4 ms·

Tesla has advantages but they're not making cars with broad appeal outside technocrats. The performance is great, but it's not everything. They're pretty ugly,

by vr46 9y ago

Tesla has advantages but they're not making cars with broad appeal outside technocrats. The performance is great, but it's not everything. They're pretty ugly, the interiors are naff and the dashboard + software is distracting in the worst way. I don't drive often, but when I do, it's for covering long distances across Europe and I cannot imagine wanting to be in a Tesla compared to my 11-year-old Audi. The major automobile companies are starting to understand their own strengths and more competition here should help everyone raise their game.

a_bonobo 9y ago
How does Tesla's 'autopilot' fare with German streets? I've only seen videos from wide multi-lane US-American streets, nothing with cramped 100-year old German inner-city streets
- sddfd 9y ago
  That is an excellent question. If you've ever driven Berlin inner city during rush our with cyclists driving on the road, vans parking on regular traffic lane to unload (no joke), people jaywalking, etc. you'll probably find it hard to believe that any autonomous driving system should handle that in the near future.
  - vr46 9y ago
    Probably by stopping a lot and moving very slowly. Pedestrians and cyclists will soon have the upper hand by a huge margin once they figure out that autonomous cars will never run them over and they can herd those cars like a border collie with sheep.
    - sddfd 9y ago
      Exactly, but who's going to use a system that gives you the very true feeling that you could do its job much better?
  - thiagooffm 9y ago
    I just love berlin streets, I believe the future is actually without cars... I don't see it as outdated, but the future. We have so many bikers and everything goes generally smooth. How about making roads only for bike lanes, having proper metro stations and public utility(such as ambulances?).
- Cthulhu_ 9y ago
  In addition, how does it do on Germany's high-speed highways? They have a number of unlimited speed highways, great for high-performance BMW's and Audi's but probably not great for battery powered cars.
  - vr46 9y ago
    I imagine Teslas perform well, I've seen a few on the autobahn, but battery life will be limited somewhat at very high speeds, which is why I imagine they limit the top speed of the Model S. Autopilot is all very well, but on two-lane autobahns, where the speed disparity between lanes can be very high (Lorries in one lane, overtaking in the other), one needs to be fairly vigilant.
    - ccozan 9y ago
      I drive daily my german Autobahn. With no exception, I haven't seen a Tesla drive faster than 120 Km/H. Most of them trail behind a truck, probably to conserve energy - less wind resistance. I almost laugh when I see them crawling like that.
      - prostoalex 9y ago
        > Most of them trail behind a truck, probably to conserve energy - less wind resistance. Most likely the car is on autopilot, and the driver opined to take his attention off the road and do something else. I see that occasionally with Teslas driving from LA to Vegas - a giant semitruck up front is something that you know radar won't screw up, plus it removes incentives for other guys to cut in front of you, as a spot behind a truck is rarely that desirable.
  - heipei 9y ago
    Range will suffer greatly, but in terms of top speed and acceleration a Tesla does not have to hide. This is one of the better videos of a Tesla accelerating, as it does not show the passengers but just the road / speedometer. The driver stops at the end of the on-ramp and then goes straight from 0 to 220kph (136mph) in a few seconds: https://youtu.be/x-BlQCpZ6UM?t=68 https://youtu.be/x-BlQCpZ6UM?t=68
Yizahi 9y ago
Tesla may not be universally pretty but just look at Prius, Leaf, i3, Zoe, Vbolt and Bvolt and trillion microcars with micro battery - they are ugly as hell, way way more ugly than Model 3.
prostoalex 9y ago
The strength of Tesla's autopilot pretty much forgives their interior design sins, especially, I'd imagine, "for covering long distances across Europe". As far as interior design, while you cannot add switches or knobs, you can buy after-market accessories like center consoles and extra cupholders. The spartan interior design is a product of range anxiety - each additional pound reduces the electric vehicle's range, so understandably manufacturers prefer the range reduction be done by customer. You see the same effect in ultracompact hybrids, which compete on EPA MPG.

by vr46 9y ago

a_bonobo 9y ago

How does Tesla's 'autopilot' fare with German streets? I've only seen videos from wide multi-lane US-American streets, nothing with cramped 100-year old German inner-city streets

sddfd 9y ago
That is an excellent question. If you've ever driven Berlin inner city during rush our with cyclists driving on the road, vans parking on regular traffic lane to unload (no joke), people jaywalking, etc. you'll probably find it hard to believe that any autonomous driving system should handle that in the near future.
- vr46 9y ago
  Probably by stopping a lot and moving very slowly. Pedestrians and cyclists will soon have the upper hand by a huge margin once they figure out that autonomous cars will never run them over and they can herd those cars like a border collie with sheep.
  - sddfd 9y ago
    Exactly, but who's going to use a system that gives you the very true feeling that you could do its job much better?
- thiagooffm 9y ago
  I just love berlin streets, I believe the future is actually without cars... I don't see it as outdated, but the future. We have so many bikers and everything goes generally smooth. How about making roads only for bike lanes, having proper metro stations and public utility(such as ambulances?).
Cthulhu_ 9y ago
In addition, how does it do on Germany's high-speed highways? They have a number of unlimited speed highways, great for high-performance BMW's and Audi's but probably not great for battery powered cars.
- vr46 9y ago
  I imagine Teslas perform well, I've seen a few on the autobahn, but battery life will be limited somewhat at very high speeds, which is why I imagine they limit the top speed of the Model S. Autopilot is all very well, but on two-lane autobahns, where the speed disparity between lanes can be very high (Lorries in one lane, overtaking in the other), one needs to be fairly vigilant.
  - ccozan 9y ago
    I drive daily my german Autobahn. With no exception, I haven't seen a Tesla drive faster than 120 Km/H. Most of them trail behind a truck, probably to conserve energy - less wind resistance. I almost laugh when I see them crawling like that.
    - prostoalex 9y ago
      > Most of them trail behind a truck, probably to conserve energy - less wind resistance. Most likely the car is on autopilot, and the driver opined to take his attention off the road and do something else. I see that occasionally with Teslas driving from LA to Vegas - a giant semitruck up front is something that you know radar won't screw up, plus it removes incentives for other guys to cut in front of you, as a spot behind a truck is rarely that desirable.
- heipei 9y ago
  Range will suffer greatly, but in terms of top speed and acceleration a Tesla does not have to hide. This is one of the better videos of a Tesla accelerating, as it does not show the passengers but just the road / speedometer. The driver stops at the end of the on-ramp and then goes straight from 0 to 220kph (136mph) in a few seconds: https://youtu.be/x-BlQCpZ6UM?t=68 https://youtu.be/x-BlQCpZ6UM?t=68

Yizahi 9y ago

Tesla may not be universally pretty but just look at Prius, Leaf, i3, Zoe, Vbolt and Bvolt and trillion microcars with micro battery - they are ugly as hell, way way more ugly than Model 3.

prostoalex 9y ago

The strength of Tesla's autopilot pretty much forgives their interior design sins, especially, I'd imagine, "for covering long distances across Europe". As far as interior design, while you cannot add switches or knobs, you can buy after-market accessories like center consoles and extra cupholders. The spartan interior design is a product of range anxiety - each additional pound reduces the electric vehicle's range, so understandably manufacturers prefer the range reduction be done by customer. You see the same effect in ultracompact hybrids, which compete on EPA MPG.