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As a BMW owner, I don't have a desire to own an electric BMW. The magic of what Tesla's doing is the cool tech that makes one lust after one of their cars in wa

by rconti 9y ago

As a BMW owner, I don't have a desire to own an electric BMW. The magic of what Tesla's doing is the cool tech that makes one lust after one of their cars in ways you don't lust after other 'boring' sedans. (of course, you might still lust after a gas sports car!) The secret sauce is the community, the supercharger network, the ability to seamlessly plan a trip with every charge stop pre-populated and supercharger availability right there on the screen and updated on the fly. IMO, it makes everything else feel janky and outdated. An electric BMW looks like an existing car with electric bits bolted on, and good luck figuring out where to charge.

majormajor 9y ago
> As a BMW owner, I don't have a desire to own an electric BMW. The magic of what Tesla's doing is the cool tech that makes one lust after one of their cars in ways you don't lust after other 'boring' sedans. The biggest issue with BMWs is overcomplicated electronics and software leading to bugs or eventual weird glitches. I stopped buying them because of this, and IMO the Teslas looks even worse. I see a lot of used cars in my future. As to the network stuff, and charger availability on the screen: isn't that purely an early-adopter problem? Why wouldn't chargers be as prevalent as gas stations?
- rconti 9y ago
  I'd say it's largely an early-adopter problem, but likely will stand for at least the next 5 years, which is critical when making a purchase today. Tesla charging infrastructure "just works", and charges quickly, at generally-known rates. I've perused other charging station maps and they're all hit-or-miss. You'll get 220v but not high amperage. You'll find the charger does't work. You'll find the chargers are full and cars are just parked there not going anywhere (Tesla works around this by charging people money for leaving their cars on a charger after they're full). You'll find the charger is private -- can only be used by employees of the office building you drove to, relying on finding a charger there. That said, this system works fine for 99.9% of daily driving where you charge in known places -- every day at home, or every day at work, or whatever. But the more I've looked into the charging infrastructure for non-Tesla vehicles, the LESS impressed I've been. At many of these public chargers you'll have to be parked for 4+ hours to get even 20-30 miles' worth of charge.

by rconti 9y ago

majormajor 9y ago

> As a BMW owner, I don't have a desire to own an electric BMW. The magic of what Tesla's doing is the cool tech that makes one lust after one of their cars in ways you don't lust after other 'boring' sedans. The biggest issue with BMWs is overcomplicated electronics and software leading to bugs or eventual weird glitches. I stopped buying them because of this, and IMO the Teslas looks even worse. I see a lot of used cars in my future. As to the network stuff, and charger availability on the screen: isn't that purely an early-adopter problem? Why wouldn't chargers be as prevalent as gas stations?

rconti 9y ago
I'd say it's largely an early-adopter problem, but likely will stand for at least the next 5 years, which is critical when making a purchase today. Tesla charging infrastructure "just works", and charges quickly, at generally-known rates. I've perused other charging station maps and they're all hit-or-miss. You'll get 220v but not high amperage. You'll find the charger does't work. You'll find the chargers are full and cars are just parked there not going anywhere (Tesla works around this by charging people money for leaving their cars on a charger after they're full). You'll find the charger is private -- can only be used by employees of the office building you drove to, relying on finding a charger there. That said, this system works fine for 99.9% of daily driving where you charge in known places -- every day at home, or every day at work, or whatever. But the more I've looked into the charging infrastructure for non-Tesla vehicles, the LESS impressed I've been. At many of these public chargers you'll have to be parked for 4+ hours to get even 20-30 miles' worth of charge.