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It's fascinating that the Jobs Reality Distortion Field is alive and well in Tesla. I don't own one, and each friend I ask tells me the same thing across S, 3,

It's fascinating that the Jobs Reality Distortion Field is alive and well in Tesla. I don't own one, and each friend I ask tells me the same thing across S, 3, X, and Y: "Great tech! Amazing experience! I mean, sure, fit and finish is a problem, repairs take forever, hard to get parts, you just live with the smallish problems... Well, no, never had this many issues on <any other car brand> but this is the future I'm driving! I'll get even newer stuff in upgrades... Oh, the physical parts? That's a problem... But the savings! Of course, no gas payments! Well my power bill did increase, but it's gotta be cheaper than my gas." Each person was initially effusive then, when pushed, realistic. Sloppy assembly, broken features, things that we would never accept in a usd$90K car from any other brand... Til Tesla both lowered and raised the bar, depending on your pov. The power of Brand: the comfort with paying more for an item or service wirh equal or less quality than alternatives in general, but with one (or a small cluster of) perceived unique value prop. Amazing. And even with all the evidence of the problems, I still want one too... (A coda: the cutesy naming of tesla sort of sums it up around lots of flash, some amazing function, some tawdry qualities: the models sure are "s3xy".)

Hamuko 6y ago
>And even with all the evidence of the problems, I still want one too... Sometimes I think that owning a Tesla would be neat, but I always manage to kill that voice in my head by looking up the prices. Works every time.
- sn_master 6y ago
  It's the interior that does it for me. Model 3 is the one I find the least appealing. I doubt as many buyers would have accepted that if it was from another manufacturer at the same price point.
  - Hamuko 6y ago
    Oh yeah, not a fan of the ultra-minimalistic Model 3 interior. And if I understood it right, they didn't even bother to put windshield wiper controls on a physical button or stalk, which boggles my mind.
    - marvin 6y ago
      You can activate the wipers for one-time spraying and wiping from the stalk, and you can select wiper speed by voice command. If none of those options are suitable, it's the touchscreen.
      - sn_master 6y ago
        One-time spraying isn't convenient when it starts raining. Voice commands are useless to people like me with a heavy accent. Touch screen while driving is not a safe distraction.
        Corrado 6y ago
        The wipers automatically activate when its raining. I've only had to manually activate the wipers a handful of times.
        perl4ever 6y ago
        Maybe it works better on Teslas, but my experience with other cars is that auto wipers are a gimmick that I would pay not to have. I can't say if it's more because of the sensor, or the programming.
- WA 6y ago
  Looking at broken suspensions helps, too: https://insideevs.com/news/447593/tesla-suspension-issues-owners-true-stories/ https://insideevs.com/news/447593/tesla-suspension-issues-ow...
- ryandrake 6y ago
  What kills it for me is that buying a Tesla means tethering yourself to the company for everything. Parts, service, functionality, analytics and telemetry. I don’t want to have a relationship with the manufacturer of the goods I buy—I just want to buy the thing and have the ability to use and fix it without them always up my ass.
unityByFreedom 6y ago
Eh, Apple had profit from the start and was on the path to profit as long as Jobs was in charge. Selling regulatory credits to attain profitability isn't a sustainable business model, nor is it novel in the least.
marvin 6y ago
Maybe it's too obvious to point out, but Apple, in which Jobs pioneered the Reality Distortion Field, is now among the very most profitable companies in the world. The term was originally used in either awe or derision depending on the person, but in that case it heralded exceptional success.
ryanmarsh 6y ago
The appeal is: 1. The driving experience (fast acceleration) 2. It’s different and unique 3. Owning one seems to have cachet It’s not the worst manufactured car I’ve ever owned but it’s not the best either. The service experience varies but doesn’t match the luxury brands. With as many as are on the road people regularly want to talk about my Model S like it’s a Ferrari or something. The rise in my electric bill is a fraction of my old fuel bill but I can’t say it justifies the cost. The model X is particularly ostentatious with its gull wing doors. A couple families at our children’s private school drop their children off in one. The cars get far more attention than the more expensive luxury cars in the drop off line. So it’s purely an emotional purchase. Something car manufacturers have been using to their advantage for some time now.
matthewdgreen 6y ago
I hate Tesla fanboyism as much as the next person, but I bought a Model 3 as a midlife crisis car (joking, I think?) and it’s the best car I’ve ever driven. Probably most of this is the improved acceleration and handling of an electric car in general, meaning that it isn’t Tesla-specific — except that when I tried to buy another brand there was nothing comparable. But elements of the Tesla experience really are light years beyond and other car, electric or not: the supercharger network is ubiquitous and it “just works”. I can’t imagine buying another electric car and having to worry about where I’ll charge on longer trips. The UI and navigation makes other cars (including my friend’s newish BMW) look like a 2009-era Blackberry. Last week I scheduled a computer upgrade, and Tesla showed up at my house yesterday and did it in my driveway. Yes: the interior is more basic and probably it doesn’t have the excellent build quality of a BMW. But I wouldn’t trade back. In fact, I’m never buying another ICE car again, which means other brands had better get their act together and start shipping something that competes. The TL;DR here is: people who rave about finish are like people who complained about the iPod based on storage capacity. Tesla really is doing something very right, and ignoring that based on the (very real) perception of fanboyism is cutting off your own nose.
- pwinnski 6y ago
  I traded my Prius for a used Fiat 500e, even trade, and it was the best decision I ever made about a car. I love my electric car, and hope to never own a gas-powered vehicle ever again! (After my wife's car eventually dies.) Sure, for rare longer trips we have to take her car, but all of the benefits you mention for your Tesla are also true for my cheap, limited-range Fiat. The acceleration, the handling, it's a thing of beauty and a joy forever!
- Corrado 6y ago
  I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said. Admittedly, I'm a bit of a fanboy but I do recognize that there are some things on my MY that are not where I would like them to be. Regardless, the upsides of the car more than outweigh any downside I have experienced. I feel like most people who say things like "Yea, it's nice, but what about all those problems?" would change their tune if they actually owned one. After the first test drive my view on other vehicles instantly changed to "How do people continue to drive those covered wagons?"
mcot2 6y ago
This is complete and utter B.S. There are dozens of reasons why Teslas are much better EV’s than competitors have come up with. Most owners (I probably know an order of magnitude more than you) are pretty clear eyed on some of the quality issues, service and especially the buying/delivery experience. Most (not all) owners I know like the mission of the company and really love their cars despite some of those issues. To the issue at hand here, this is the eMMC endurance issue. Tesla should absolutely replace that for free since it is their software writing too much data that destroyed them.
- sn_master 6y ago
  What do you think about the Porsche Taycan?
  - mcot2 6y ago
    I have not have a chance to drive it yet due to the pandemic but I planned to. I would reserve most of my judgement until driving one. I will say that for the price my expectations are quite high.
    - sn_master 6y ago
      I think Porsche won over Tesla in producing the next generation of sports EV first. I don't think it's fair to compare the Taycan to anything Tesla offers except the new unreleased Roadster. I haven't personally driven it either, but that's what I gathered from the reviews and spec sheet. Maybe after driving it I would change my mind, that's certainly possible.. It's also interesting that Bill Gates chose the Taycan as his first EV when he could have afforded anything he wanted.
      - dzhiurgis 6y ago
        I think it’s insane Bill waited a whole decade to jump in EV bandwagon.
        6y ago
jdhn 6y ago
For me, it's the exteriors. The Model S is my favorite looking Tesla that's currently in production, and that's because the proportions are right, and the front bumper isn't one giant expanse of plastic, but is instead broken up by a faux grille. The Model Y and X look like unattractive blobs with poor proportions (in fairness, all crossovers look like this), and the 3, X, and Y all have the front bumper that is just an ugly expanse of plastic that has no visual breakup.
creeble 6y ago
I bought my Tesla with 335k of its 340k miles on it. A bit of an experiment. Not one feature was broken except one USB port, which I was able fix myself. Headlights were replaced once before I bought it (HID, not LED) and the motor was replaced under warranty in its first year. I had the front sway bar link replaced because it made a little clunk. It still has the original brakes on the rear (which I'm about to replace, myself, they're readily available outside Tesla). This is a third year Model S, remember. They've come a long way since. There are places where the fit of the carpeting could be better; looking at new Model 3s, all such fit and finish issues seem far ahead. Still, mine's better by and large than my 2006 Jeep. There are plenty of Tesla owners that have problems with their cars, and Tesla's customer service experience varies widely between service centers. But to say that someone else has had more problems with their Tesla than any other brand is just an unlucky Tesla owner. Or one that has never owned an Audi or a Land Rover or a Jeep or a Cadillac or a Jaguar or a first-gen Kia or a lot of other cars. That Tesla could even make any brand-new car, in America, in the 21st century, is miraculous. The fact that it is a revolutionary car only adds to what you call a distortion field. (Edit: cutesy naming? It uses [until Model 3] an AC synchronous motor, invented by Nikola Tesla. It couldn't be a more appropriate name, imho.)
NoPicklez 6y ago
I find that when speaking about many cars here in Australia, some people are very strong on their opinion of their cars and brands. Where you will find someone trashing a particular car brand, then another person of the view that they've had little to no issues at all. I suppose with the Tesla maybe it's the feeling of buying a little ticket of the future and as such you might feel okay with dealing with teething problems when it comes to a car brand that is trying to do better for the environment in a way that car brands snobbed off in the past.

Hamuko 6y ago

>And even with all the evidence of the problems, I still want one too... Sometimes I think that owning a Tesla would be neat, but I always manage to kill that voice in my head by looking up the prices. Works every time.

sn_master 6y ago
It's the interior that does it for me. Model 3 is the one I find the least appealing. I doubt as many buyers would have accepted that if it was from another manufacturer at the same price point.
- Hamuko 6y ago
  Oh yeah, not a fan of the ultra-minimalistic Model 3 interior. And if I understood it right, they didn't even bother to put windshield wiper controls on a physical button or stalk, which boggles my mind.
  - marvin 6y ago
    You can activate the wipers for one-time spraying and wiping from the stalk, and you can select wiper speed by voice command. If none of those options are suitable, it's the touchscreen.
    - sn_master 6y ago
      One-time spraying isn't convenient when it starts raining. Voice commands are useless to people like me with a heavy accent. Touch screen while driving is not a safe distraction.
      - Corrado 6y ago
        The wipers automatically activate when its raining. I've only had to manually activate the wipers a handful of times.
        perl4ever 6y ago
        Maybe it works better on Teslas, but my experience with other cars is that auto wipers are a gimmick that I would pay not to have. I can't say if it's more because of the sensor, or the programming.
WA 6y ago
Looking at broken suspensions helps, too: https://insideevs.com/news/447593/tesla-suspension-issues-owners-true-stories/ https://insideevs.com/news/447593/tesla-suspension-issues-ow...
ryandrake 6y ago
What kills it for me is that buying a Tesla means tethering yourself to the company for everything. Parts, service, functionality, analytics and telemetry. I don’t want to have a relationship with the manufacturer of the goods I buy—I just want to buy the thing and have the ability to use and fix it without them always up my ass.

unityByFreedom 6y ago

Eh, Apple had profit from the start and was on the path to profit as long as Jobs was in charge. Selling regulatory credits to attain profitability isn't a sustainable business model, nor is it novel in the least.

marvin 6y ago

Maybe it's too obvious to point out, but Apple, in which Jobs pioneered the Reality Distortion Field, is now among the very most profitable companies in the world. The term was originally used in either awe or derision depending on the person, but in that case it heralded exceptional success.

ryanmarsh 6y ago

The appeal is: 1. The driving experience (fast acceleration) 2. It’s different and unique 3. Owning one seems to have cachet It’s not the worst manufactured car I’ve ever owned but it’s not the best either. The service experience varies but doesn’t match the luxury brands. With as many as are on the road people regularly want to talk about my Model S like it’s a Ferrari or something. The rise in my electric bill is a fraction of my old fuel bill but I can’t say it justifies the cost. The model X is particularly ostentatious with its gull wing doors. A couple families at our children’s private school drop their children off in one. The cars get far more attention than the more expensive luxury cars in the drop off line. So it’s purely an emotional purchase. Something car manufacturers have been using to their advantage for some time now.

matthewdgreen 6y ago

I hate Tesla fanboyism as much as the next person, but I bought a Model 3 as a midlife crisis car (joking, I think?) and it’s the best car I’ve ever driven. Probably most of this is the improved acceleration and handling of an electric car in general, meaning that it isn’t Tesla-specific — except that when I tried to buy another brand there was nothing comparable. But elements of the Tesla experience really are light years beyond and other car, electric or not: the supercharger network is ubiquitous and it “just works”. I can’t imagine buying another electric car and having to worry about where I’ll charge on longer trips. The UI and navigation makes other cars (including my friend’s newish BMW) look like a 2009-era Blackberry. Last week I scheduled a computer upgrade, and Tesla showed up at my house yesterday and did it in my driveway. Yes: the interior is more basic and probably it doesn’t have the excellent build quality of a BMW. But I wouldn’t trade back. In fact, I’m never buying another ICE car again, which means other brands had better get their act together and start shipping something that competes. The TL;DR here is: people who rave about finish are like people who complained about the iPod based on storage capacity. Tesla really is doing something very right, and ignoring that based on the (very real) perception of fanboyism is cutting off your own nose.

pwinnski 6y ago
I traded my Prius for a used Fiat 500e, even trade, and it was the best decision I ever made about a car. I love my electric car, and hope to never own a gas-powered vehicle ever again! (After my wife's car eventually dies.) Sure, for rare longer trips we have to take her car, but all of the benefits you mention for your Tesla are also true for my cheap, limited-range Fiat. The acceleration, the handling, it's a thing of beauty and a joy forever!
Corrado 6y ago
I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said. Admittedly, I'm a bit of a fanboy but I do recognize that there are some things on my MY that are not where I would like them to be. Regardless, the upsides of the car more than outweigh any downside I have experienced. I feel like most people who say things like "Yea, it's nice, but what about all those problems?" would change their tune if they actually owned one. After the first test drive my view on other vehicles instantly changed to "How do people continue to drive those covered wagons?"

mcot2 6y ago

This is complete and utter B.S. There are dozens of reasons why Teslas are much better EV’s than competitors have come up with. Most owners (I probably know an order of magnitude more than you) are pretty clear eyed on some of the quality issues, service and especially the buying/delivery experience. Most (not all) owners I know like the mission of the company and really love their cars despite some of those issues. To the issue at hand here, this is the eMMC endurance issue. Tesla should absolutely replace that for free since it is their software writing too much data that destroyed them.

sn_master 6y ago
What do you think about the Porsche Taycan?
- mcot2 6y ago
  I have not have a chance to drive it yet due to the pandemic but I planned to. I would reserve most of my judgement until driving one. I will say that for the price my expectations are quite high.
  - sn_master 6y ago
    I think Porsche won over Tesla in producing the next generation of sports EV first. I don't think it's fair to compare the Taycan to anything Tesla offers except the new unreleased Roadster. I haven't personally driven it either, but that's what I gathered from the reviews and spec sheet. Maybe after driving it I would change my mind, that's certainly possible.. It's also interesting that Bill Gates chose the Taycan as his first EV when he could have afforded anything he wanted.
    - dzhiurgis 6y ago
      I think it’s insane Bill waited a whole decade to jump in EV bandwagon.
      - 6y ago

jdhn 6y ago

For me, it's the exteriors. The Model S is my favorite looking Tesla that's currently in production, and that's because the proportions are right, and the front bumper isn't one giant expanse of plastic, but is instead broken up by a faux grille. The Model Y and X look like unattractive blobs with poor proportions (in fairness, all crossovers look like this), and the 3, X, and Y all have the front bumper that is just an ugly expanse of plastic that has no visual breakup.

creeble 6y ago

I bought my Tesla with 335k of its 340k miles on it. A bit of an experiment. Not one feature was broken except one USB port, which I was able fix myself. Headlights were replaced once before I bought it (HID, not LED) and the motor was replaced under warranty in its first year. I had the front sway bar link replaced because it made a little clunk. It still has the original brakes on the rear (which I'm about to replace, myself, they're readily available outside Tesla). This is a third year Model S, remember. They've come a long way since. There are places where the fit of the carpeting could be better; looking at new Model 3s, all such fit and finish issues seem far ahead. Still, mine's better by and large than my 2006 Jeep. There are plenty of Tesla owners that have problems with their cars, and Tesla's customer service experience varies widely between service centers. But to say that someone else has had more problems with their Tesla than any other brand is just an unlucky Tesla owner. Or one that has never owned an Audi or a Land Rover or a Jeep or a Cadillac or a Jaguar or a first-gen Kia or a lot of other cars. That Tesla could even make any brand-new car, in America, in the 21st century, is miraculous. The fact that it is a revolutionary car only adds to what you call a distortion field. (Edit: cutesy naming? It uses [until Model 3] an AC synchronous motor, invented by Nikola Tesla. It couldn't be a more appropriate name, imho.)

NoPicklez 6y ago

I find that when speaking about many cars here in Australia, some people are very strong on their opinion of their cars and brands. Where you will find someone trashing a particular car brand, then another person of the view that they've had little to no issues at all. I suppose with the Tesla maybe it's the feeling of buying a little ticket of the future and as such you might feel okay with dealing with teething problems when it comes to a car brand that is trying to do better for the environment in a way that car brands snobbed off in the past.