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News articles have been puplished for the last decade or so about how Tesla was going to die to these larger car companies when the larger car companies really
by qdog 5y ago
News articles have been puplished for the last decade or so about how Tesla was going to die to these larger car companies when the larger car companies really start making electric cars. Which could be true, but so far, not so much. The Bolt is electric, but not a very good comparison to Tesla.
The offerings from the other car companies do not currently surpass Tesla in any meaningful way I can see, and the assumption that the other car companie can "will into being" a technical marvel better than Tesla, seems to continue to be only an assumption.
I do not like Tesla or Musk very much, and would love for my next pickup to me an electrified F150, but none of the current electric offerings seem all that appealing if you aren't looking for a Tesla or can't reasonably commute in a Leaf. I am still skeptical I will be able to buy an F150 electric within the next 2 or 3 years, and would not be surprised to have to wait 3-5 years as they work out the kinks. I am not looking to plunk down 100k+ on GM's Hummer, either.
Dislike for Musk aside, I have to acknowledge Tesla is delivering a reasonable vehicle (discounting the stupid auto -pilot that isn't auto-pilot), whereas most other companies are still delivering small numbers of electric vehicles, but large marketing campaigns, which seem aimed at getting people to continue to wait on buying an electric car, because the next best version is always just around the corner.
- Reason077 5y agoTesla doesn’t have to die for other automakers to succeed in EVs. Every vehicle sold will eventually be electric, up from something like 3% today. Huge growth ahead and plenty of room in the market for everyone. As for marketing campaigns, almost every car ad I’ve seen this year in the UK is for electric models. Only Toyota persists in spreading EV FUD.
- vmladenov 5y agoAutopilot is autopilot in that it mostly maintains the course with minimal need for intervention. My real flight time is minimal but I’ve done a ton of flight simulator and Tesla autopilot matches the airplane definition of autopilot well.
- qdog 5y agoRight, I should have said more specifically Musk's FSD claims, the actual current function of autopilot seems pretty great vs. where we were.
- tw04 5y agoWe test drove a Mach-e and a model y within days of each other. They Mach-e has a far better interior, performance is a toss-up. Unless you truly believe that Tesla is going to deliver on FSD (which I’m skeptical of) I’m not sure how you could claim they have an unassailable lead.
- qdog 5y agoTesla's lead is not unassailable, my point is the other car companies are still lagging. Mach-e is the lone offering from Ford, who just released a brand new Bronco which has no electric version. Ford also has worse infrastructure support for charging. Fit and finish on Tesla seems to still be pretty poor from what I keep hearing, and warranty issues etc. If/when Ford gets a lineup at least as broad as Tesla, I'll believe they are fully engaged to electric. The fact they are coming out with (I'm assuming) popular completely new vehicles like the Bronco that are still only ICE looks like they are still putting their R&D dollars into ICE far more than electric, or were until very recently. Heck, there are 2 more trim options available for the Bronco than the Mach-e.