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Why is special about Tesla that makes them not a “normal” car that happens to be electric?

by wyre 5y ago

crysin 5y ago
Tesla cars have a distinct look and a "prestige" whereas something like Ford's new F-150 will look nearly identical to its gas guzzling brother. There's an ego carried behind Telsa's branding and marketing that other car manufacturers don't feed into even in their own EV offerings.
- clouddrover 5y ago
  Many car manufacturers advertise the prestige of their brands. One of the reasons the Porsche 911 has the highest profit margin of any car is the prestige of the Porsche brand. Here are some examples of how Porsche advertises its electric cars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92sXWVxRr0g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92sXWVxRr0g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m31EgQkswg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m31EgQkswg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gozMJnzZhU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gozMJnzZhU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abq-ZjJZ4oo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abq-ZjJZ4oo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvGr0uDKthI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvGr0uDKthI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0793euQNL8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0793euQNL8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBRwF0LU3Ys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBRwF0LU3Ys
- princeb 5y ago
  Teslas look like Kias. this was a big thing in the early 10s when electric cars looked like i3s and twizys. everyone wanted a normal looking car and tesla was the first one to make a normal looking car. now priuses and leafs look normal and tesla is making cybertrucks.
  - tmccrary55 5y ago
    Toyota dominated the small, cheap eco car segment and started building SUVs and Trucks. Big US auto moves so slowly, they’re always playing catch-up. Time for them to die and be reorganized.
dzhiurgis 5y ago
Musk coming from software they seem to actually adopted modern software engineering practices that other manufacturers going to struggle with for some time. Being vertically integrated helps heaps too.
kingsuper20 5y ago
Impossibly high collision repair costs?
rootusrootus 5y ago
Specifically, the post I was replying to was lamenting a future where EVs all try to be like Tesla, putting nearly 100% of the instrumentation and controls into a single large touchscreen. This is unique to Tesla, AFAIK. It worked out very well, it is a brilliant cost-saving measure that can also be marketed as 'elegant'. Have to hand it to Musk on that one. The R&D required to build a normal car interior is expensive, so skipping most of it was a phenomenal move. So anyway, my point is that there are lots of non-Tesla EV choices, and by-and-large almost all of them are just normal cars with normal dashboards and normal controls, just with electric power instead of gasoline. A few manufacturers seem to be trying to ape Tesla's design on their EVs, but personally I expect a reversion to the mean. Too many people could care less about driving a touchscreen.
- PhantomGremlin 5y ago
  This is unique to Tesla, AFAIK. Sadly, Ford decided to copy Tesla. This picture is from a first look but I think the production version isn't much different. https://www.slashgear.com/ford-sync-4-first-look-mustang-mach-e-high-tech-dashboard-revealed-17599877/ https://www.slashgear.com/ford-sync-4-first-look-mustang-mac... Once Ford realized how stupid this was, they glued that knob onto the screen. It literally is glued on. There is a "finger" controlled by the knob that interfaces with the capacitive touchscreen. I also want a "normal" EV, not a clown car.
s_fischer 5y ago
I think what they were getting at is: there's a minimal difference in terms of "look and feel" between non-tesla EVs and the gas counterparts designed by the same manufacturer. Tesla very much intends to redefine the driver experience as we know it. In the model 3, the entire control system in the center of the dashboard has been replaced by a giant singular 15" carputer touch screen. If you don't believe me, you can make the comparison for yourself. Just do an image search for the interior on the Model 3 and compare it to that of a Nissan Leaf or Chevy Bolt.

Why is special about Tesla that makes them not a “normal” car that happens to be electric?

by wyre 5y ago

Why is special about Tesla that makes them not a “normal” car that happens to be electric?

Tesla cars have a distinct look and a "prestige" whereas something like Ford's new F-150 will look nearly identical to its gas guzzling brother. There's an ego carried behind Telsa's branding and marketing that other car manufacturers don't feed into even in their own EV offerings.

clouddrover 5y ago
Many car manufacturers advertise the prestige of their brands. One of the reasons the Porsche 911 has the highest profit margin of any car is the prestige of the Porsche brand. Here are some examples of how Porsche advertises its electric cars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92sXWVxRr0g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92sXWVxRr0g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m31EgQkswg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m31EgQkswg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gozMJnzZhU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gozMJnzZhU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abq-ZjJZ4oo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abq-ZjJZ4oo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvGr0uDKthI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvGr0uDKthI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0793euQNL8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0793euQNL8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBRwF0LU3Ys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBRwF0LU3Ys
princeb 5y ago
Teslas look like Kias. this was a big thing in the early 10s when electric cars looked like i3s and twizys. everyone wanted a normal looking car and tesla was the first one to make a normal looking car. now priuses and leafs look normal and tesla is making cybertrucks.
- tmccrary55 5y ago
  Toyota dominated the small, cheap eco car segment and started building SUVs and Trucks. Big US auto moves so slowly, they’re always playing catch-up. Time for them to die and be reorganized.

dzhiurgis 5y ago

Musk coming from software they seem to actually adopted modern software engineering practices that other manufacturers going to struggle with for some time. Being vertically integrated helps heaps too.

kingsuper20 5y ago

Impossibly high collision repair costs?

rootusrootus 5y ago

Specifically, the post I was replying to was lamenting a future where EVs all try to be like Tesla, putting nearly 100% of the instrumentation and controls into a single large touchscreen. This is unique to Tesla, AFAIK. It worked out very well, it is a brilliant cost-saving measure that can also be marketed as 'elegant'. Have to hand it to Musk on that one. The R&D required to build a normal car interior is expensive, so skipping most of it was a phenomenal move. So anyway, my point is that there are lots of non-Tesla EV choices, and by-and-large almost all of them are just normal cars with normal dashboards and normal controls, just with electric power instead of gasoline. A few manufacturers seem to be trying to ape Tesla's design on their EVs, but personally I expect a reversion to the mean. Too many people could care less about driving a touchscreen.

PhantomGremlin 5y ago
This is unique to Tesla, AFAIK. Sadly, Ford decided to copy Tesla. This picture is from a first look but I think the production version isn't much different. https://www.slashgear.com/ford-sync-4-first-look-mustang-mach-e-high-tech-dashboard-revealed-17599877/ https://www.slashgear.com/ford-sync-4-first-look-mustang-mac... Once Ford realized how stupid this was, they glued that knob onto the screen. It literally is glued on. There is a "finger" controlled by the knob that interfaces with the capacitive touchscreen. I also want a "normal" EV, not a clown car.

s_fischer 5y ago

I think what they were getting at is: there's a minimal difference in terms of "look and feel" between non-tesla EVs and the gas counterparts designed by the same manufacturer. Tesla very much intends to redefine the driver experience as we know it. In the model 3, the entire control system in the center of the dashboard has been replaced by a giant singular 15" carputer touch screen. If you don't believe me, you can make the comparison for yourself. Just do an image search for the interior on the Model 3 and compare it to that of a Nissan Leaf or Chevy Bolt.