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> and so labor groups that are entrenched in legacy car manufacturing wish to prevent Tesla from accelerating those companies' decline. You say this but Tesla
by KirinDave 9y ago
> and so labor groups that are entrenched in legacy car manufacturing wish to prevent Tesla from accelerating those companies' decline.
You say this but Tesla got absolutely spanked in the last 3 quarters in its auto division by the supposedly inferior unionized likes of Chevrolet, Fiat, Nissan and Toyota. ALL of them got much more affordable offerings out to market before the Model 3 was ready. Fiat managed to get refurbed and quite enjoyable 500es on sale for under $13000. The Leaf has enjoyed brisk national sales that picked up substantially last year. Toyota's Prius Prime and Chevy's Volt are sophisticated large-bank hybrids with outstanding reviews. The real kicker is Chevy's Bolt, which is pretty much competitive directly with a model 3 and gets outstanding reviews, with Chevy dramatically retooling to convert their Sonic lines to start selling more Bolts (an act that was curiously misrepresented by a lot of traditionally very pro-Tesla press, btw).
These EVs are moving well anywhere the economy is in okay shape, bucking the trend of slowing car sales as the market is glutted by used cars that are flatlining in value due to oversupply.
This idea that labor unions area a conspiracy to decrease productivity is difficult to prove, and given the magnitude of that allegation the lack of performance on Tesla's part with the Model 3 seems pretty damning for your argument here.
> So while I strongly support organized labor in abstract, it's difficult to blame Tesla for wishing to make its workforce less vulnerable to attack from big labor. Like many interest groups, big labor is mostly concerned with its own survival and growth, and is not really about the workers at all.
This, "I am sympathetic but actually these people are distilled evil, lie about everything including their mission, and are actually made up of saboteurs" line is the pinnacle of disingenuous discourse. I hope you don't think this passes muster for rational discourse here.
You obviously do not, "support organized labor in abstract" if you view a unionization effort (which you centralize into some kind of phantom called "big labor" as if it isn't actually made of a multitude of loosely cooperating worker-run-and-governed groups) nor do you seem terribly interested in "the workers" or their fate when productivity might be at stake.
- mattmcknight 9y agoWhat do you mean by "absolutely spanked"? They have out delivered all the other brands you mention this year, by number of sales and dollars,in and have a huge backlog of pre-orders. https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/
- KirinDave 9y agoGiven that the Bolt premiered this year, was only available in California for the first 2 months, and had no pre-orders before December... those are extremely good numbers. Especially since: conspicuously absent from this list is the Model 3. What month is it again? What month was the Model 3 supposed to launch?
- mattmcknight 9y agoNot "absolutely spanked". Not in all three quarters. Make all the excuses you want, Tesla sold more EVs. When Model 3 production does ramp up, do you think it will be less than the Bolt?
- KirinDave 9y agoEvery Bolt sold now is a model 3 that won't be sold. Every Prime is a model 3 that won't be sold. You might even make an argument Volts are in that category, but I've yet to see any solid data there. I know I jumped off that stupid waiting list, I paid less and I got a great car that doesn't require I own and partially remodel a home for best experience. Every Tesla owner I know (and I know a few, I'm part of an EV modding community that Tesla owners show up at) is jealous of some core aspects of Bolt, Spark, Volt, and Leaf owner's experience. The fiat people maybe less so, but they like to point out they paid 10% and it's way easier to mod the acceleration curves so they get a pass. But it's true, we lack gull wing doors and the S's stock configuration is really fun to drive. We also paid less than half the price for more than half the upside. So.