15 ms·

The difference seems to be that Tesla was 5-10 years ahead on everything: Minimalistic interiors, modern infotainment, mobile app performance, and of course the

by judge2020 4y ago

The difference seems to be that Tesla was 5-10 years ahead on everything: Minimalistic interiors, modern infotainment, mobile app performance, and of course they lead the way in making electric cars viable by showing that they can both look good and blast off in record time. But you're right that other automakers see Tesla as a threat and are catching up; for example, the range and charging curve improvements on models like the EV6 / Ioniq 5 look great, assuming the charger work [in the cold].

staunch 4y ago
> The difference seems to be that Tesla was 5-10 years ahead on everything... This is pretty much the definition of a great tech product: it's ahead of anything else by N years. What makes a great technology company is that they manage to consistently maintain that lead with product after product. We'll see if Tesla can maintain its lead. It's not looking good and it probably depends mostly on whether or not Elon Musk can regain his grip on reality.
- myko 4y ago
  Tesla has already lost its lead as far as the car itself. The Ioniq is an affordable car and better than Tesla Model 3/Y. Mercedes and BMW have better luxury models with EQS and i7, and the BMW i4 is more fun to drive than a Model 3. The Cadillac Lyriq costs what a Model Y does but compares favorably to the Model X. Tesla interiors feel cheap compared to other cars in their same class and they have notorious build quality issues. They do have one major advantage, which is why I still drive a Model S, and that's the Supercharger network. It's a big deal for anyone who regularly drives a few hundred miles in their EV.
cainxinth 4y ago
> Minimalistic interiors, modern infotainment, mobile app performance None of that is why Tesla was ahead of everyone for so long. It's because their cars have better range, and Tesla is still the range leader. They held four of the top six spots in 2022, and the number one is the Lucid Air (only 3k of them have actually been sold): https://www.caranddriver.com/shopping-advice/g32634624/ev-longest-driving-range/ https://www.caranddriver.com/shopping-advice/g32634624/ev-lo... Also, I just want to say I am categorically not an Elon or Tesla fanboi and I am rooting for other brands to meet and exceed their range performance.
- tshaddox 4y ago
  Is it really that simple? Is there something about Tesla’s technology that enables longer ranges? Surely they just put in bigger batteries and charge more for the car, and competitors could also do that if it was really a primary competitive advantage of Teslas.
  - l33tman 4y ago
    Many of the competitors are STILL building on an ICE chassis and stuff batteries where the center axle would have been etc. When enough of them finally switch to pure EV platforms things will quickly improve I guess. But designing a new chassis that behave as well as their previous premium models, is not something they do in 1 year so it makes sense there is some delay.. The competitors also charge much less quickly, so there's some optimization there that they lack. Like, on paper they can do 250 kW but you never get more than 100 when actually charging it etc
    - hef19898 4y ago
      And they basically all did develop EV platforms, probably the main reason it took them as long to catch up as it did. But now that they have them, the benefits coming from those platforms are just enormous.
    - NickM 4y ago
      Like, on paper they can do 250 kW but you never get more than 100 when actually charging it etc Yeah this is one area where there's a lot of deceptive marketing. For example the Kia EV6 specs list a max fast charging rate of 350 kW but what that actually means is that you need a 350 kW charging station to reach the car's actual max charging speed of 240 kW (or 180 kW, depending on the battery options). Granted, that is still nice and fast, and the EV6 is a great car, but it's really frustrating how hard it is to compare charge speed from different manufacturers.
      - abledon 4y ago
        > For example the Kia EV6 specs list a max fast charging rate of 350 kW but what that actually means is that you need a 350 kW charging station to reach the car's actual max charging speed of 240 kW (or 180 kW, depending on the battery options). Wow that is the scummiest thing
bartread 4y ago
> Minimalistic interiors Is this something you see as a benefit? For me Tesla's overall aesthetic, including both their exterior looks and interior design, along with the absence of physical controls that go long with that represent their biggest downsides (outside of build quality).
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  The giant tablet screen that sticks out like a sore thumb is the opposite of minimalistic, or minimalistic in the worst way. I wonder how long Tesla can get away with not offering CarPlay/Android Auto functionality. The lack of that basic, cheap, and frequently used feature disqualifies any car from consideration in my view.
  - throwaway894345 4y ago
    I don’t love that I have to use the touch screen to open my glove box, and I certainly think there are a lot of UI issues (and the lack of integration with phones beyond regular bluetooth), but one thing I appreciate is that there aren’t any blinding dash lights. I can see a lot better at night in my Tesla as a consequence compared with any other vehicle I’ve driven.
    - lotsofpulp 4y ago
      I have not driven many cars, but I feel like there is usually a dial to adjust the brightness of dash lights. At least in Toyotas.
      - throwaway894345 4y ago
        Hah, I had a Camry for 10 years and never knew it had such a dial!
        mrguyorama 4y ago
        You should read the instruction manual to the over $30k machinery you purchased. There's likely many features you didn't realize were there.
nradov 4y ago
Most car buyers don't actually want minimalistic interiors.
- bryanlarsen 4y ago
  Some people like black overstuffed couches. Some people like Danish modern.
  - theduder99 4y ago
    Last time I went car shopping, I saw a digital speedometer which irritated me for some reason so I rejected that model from further consideration.
    - leetcrew 4y ago
      I take it you're not shopping for new cars then? the cheapest new car I'm aware of that has analog gauges is a porsche. btw I have the same preference, just letting you know you are in for a disappointment.
      - michaelt 4y ago
        You just haven't looked cheap enough. For example, the Fiat Panda [1] the Nissan leaf [2] and the Kymco VSR-125 [3] all have analog speedometers. [1] https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/fiat/panda https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/fiat/panda [2] https://www.parkers.co.uk/nissan/leaf/review/interior/ https://www.parkers.co.uk/nissan/leaf/review/interior/ [3] https://www.kymco.co.uk/scooters-and-motorcycles-range/125cc/vsr-125 https://www.kymco.co.uk/scooters-and-motorcycles-range/125cc...
      - Macha 4y ago
        Seems to be a market difference? Of the three cheapest cars I could think of in my local market (Honda Civic, Kia Picanto, and Nissan Micra), only the Honda Civic has a digital speedometer.
  - eatsyourtacos 4y ago
jzb 4y ago
Being ahead on everything doesn't help if the larger players can pick and choose improvements and learn from your mistakes and adapt. It really doesn't help when the leadership of said car company is erratic and eroding the goodwill of the brand while people generally feel comfortable with more established carmakers. I feel pretty confident that major automakers are going to be around in 10 years. Buying a Tesla already feels like a bit of a gamble to me just because of its newness. With an economy that's already slowing it could really hurt them when it's likely fewer people are buying cars and will be more cautious about it when they do. "Maybe I'll hold off another year and see how the new crop of cars compares with the Tesla."
- throwaway894345 4y ago
  I haven’t checked in a while, but last time I looked Tesla was supply constrained—they couldn’t make cars fast enough to meet demand, so (unless that has changed) they’re probably not too worried about hypothetical demand reduction.
  - sumeno 4y ago
    Their global backlog of orders has gone from ~470k to ~74k over the last few months. There is no backlog of orders at all in the US or Canada and the backlog for the rest of the world is dropping quickly. https://twitter.com/TroyTeslike/status/1609346097733828609?s=20 https://twitter.com/TroyTeslike/status/1609346097733828609?s... (This is the most recent data made public, the Patreon data goes through Dec 31 with the numbers quoted)
    - conductr 4y ago
      Just to add, I used the 'build a tesla' recently for Model Y and was quoted delivery time of about 30 days. Not sure if that's accurate, but doesn't sound too supply constrained compared to discussions with other automakers I've spoken to recently (6-12 months out in some cases). I backed out because I'm really concerned with build quality issues that seem to be worsening, and generally losing confidence daily this company will be around in 5 years.
mperham 4y ago
They were 10 years ahead, 5 years ago. The market has realized that. It's also starting to creep into the mainstream consciousness that EVs aren't a good long-term solution to our poor transportation system.
- Pet_Ant 4y ago
  The answers to our woes are joint transportation and housing infrastructure. However those are anathema to the American character. I don't see it happening.
mavhc 4y ago
Tesla's only competition is Chinese EV makers, everyone else can't make enough cars, and none of them are profitable. Tesla are 5-10 years ahead on profit, due to adopting cost savings such as no buttons, more miles per kwh, thus smaller batteries, casting most of the body in 2 or 3 pieces. And then there's in house software creation, vs everyone else. Software makes their use of their motors more efficient. That's before you have the problem with how to get rid of your non EV business. Then you have battery tech, opening lithium refining facilities, owning more of the supply chain. Everyone else will be paying extra for batteries for decades.
- davewritescode 4y ago
  > And then there's in house software creation, vs everyone else. Software makes their use of their motors more efficient. You think automakers don't know about software? You do realize that what the ECU has to do to keep internal combustion engines running as efficiently as they do today is at least an order of magnitude more complex that electric motor management > That's before you have the problem with how to get rid of your non EV business. That's an asset, not a liability. Some places in the world are unlikely to have the infrastructure to support a conversion to EVs in the next decade or two. It doesn't mean we stop trying but having mature technology that you don't need to invest a lot in to support a niche use case is a good thing, not a bad thing. > Then you have battery tech, opening lithium refining facilities, owning more of the supply chain. Everyone else will be paying extra for batteries for decades. There's no reason to believe that Tesla's suppliers will remain exclusively theirs unless they've signed massive longterm deals that the public is unaware of.
  - sumtechguy 4y ago
    You can listen to what the CEO's of the 'big 3' are saying. Tesla has vertically integrated. The big 3 spent the past 50 years doing the opposite. They use many of the same ODM/OEMs for things with small twists here and there. The companies that make those things for that supply chain are behind tesla. For creating a new market like tesla is in you probably want vertical integration again to iterate on it. It was one of the 2 key innovations Ford had early on (as they were not the first car company). But as years went on it made less sense to do that. Now it is making sense again to do it.
eatsyourtacos 4y ago
>Minimalistic interiors, modern infotainment, mobile app performance, Which are all gimmicks. The vast majority of people don't want that from a car. I've been in Telsas plenty of time and absolutely hate it. Yeah it looks cool for a moment, but I would never want that.
- zaroth 4y ago
  I for one absolutely love it. It doesn’t just look cool, it’s maximally functional for all of my use cases.
  - freejazz 4y ago
    Yeah, I totally love having to take my eyes off the road in order to press any button in the cockpit. Truly brilliant design!
    - zaroth 4y ago
      Why are you pressing buttons in the “cockpit” while you’re supposed to be driving? </s> The “cockpit” button-obsession on HN is really cute sometimes. As if most drivers with button-filled “cockpits” actually feel around for them while still looking at the road. Everything timing critical for driving is either fully automated or on the wheel in a Tesla, by the way.
      - freejazz 4y ago
        I don't think the obsession is "on HN", I think the obsession is made by literally every other car manufacturer in the world.
      - oblio 4y ago
        Can you control the AC fully automatically or on the wheel in a Tesla?
    - mavhc 4y ago
      Which features do you have to take your eyes off the road to activate?
scarface74 4y ago
The infotainment system on Teslas is worse than a Nissan Sentra with CarPlay/Android Auto
- throwaway894345 4y ago
  If it would just integrate with airplay (and whatever the Android equivalent is) then Tesla wouldn’t need to support a one-off application for every streaming service.
  - filoleg 4y ago
    You don't need a one-off application for every streaming service, those are there in case you want to use them without phone at all. Bluetooth audio is a thing, and you can stream whatever audio you want from your phone to your car audio using that.
    - scarface74 4y ago
      Bluetooth audio is a poor substitute for a full UI.
    - throwaway894345 4y ago
      > You don't need a one-off application for every streaming service, those are there in case you want to use them without phone at all I agree. That's why it doesn't make sense that Tesla is approaching it as "bespoke or bust". > Bluetooth audio is a thing, and you can stream whatever audio you want from your phone to your car audio using that. Yes, but "streaming a single audio track (with low audio quality)" is pretty much all BlueTooth is fit for, and the problem is much larger than that--a luxury car should be able to stream higher quality audio and it should also be able to stream video (e.g., HBO, Paramount Plus, etc). Moreover, it should facilitate a media browsing experience through the touch screen. First of all, it's limited to audio--it doesn't help me stream HBO or Paramount or any other video service.
      - scarface74 4y ago
conductr 4y ago
> in making electric cars viable by showing that they can both look good and blast off in record time I still don't get the 'look good' part, why do non-ICE cars always need to have a different look that what is already popular/proven in the market. The traditional automakers are still doing this today with their first big pushes in EV. If they don't sell they'll blame 'the market' for not wanting EV, but in reality it could be folks just aren't interested in the design / don't what to make the fashion statement.
- 8ytecoder 4y ago
  Almost as if ICE car companies don’t want electric to sell. BMW was the worst of the lot. They’re doing better now.
  - FireBeyond 4y ago
    I don't think that makes them conspiring or evil. Just pragmatic. "We have tens of billions and tens of decades invested in 'perfecting' ICE. This is a huge upheaval" is an attitude I'd expect any of them to take (while still recognizing they need to see where the market is heading and planning for that).
- FireBeyond 4y ago
  And also, I get that it's subjective, but the Model Y does not look anything resembling "good" to me. It's like a weird futuristic Aztek. It's not attractive.

staunch 4y ago

> The difference seems to be that Tesla was 5-10 years ahead on everything... This is pretty much the definition of a great tech product: it's ahead of anything else by N years. What makes a great technology company is that they manage to consistently maintain that lead with product after product. We'll see if Tesla can maintain its lead. It's not looking good and it probably depends mostly on whether or not Elon Musk can regain his grip on reality.

myko 4y ago
Tesla has already lost its lead as far as the car itself. The Ioniq is an affordable car and better than Tesla Model 3/Y. Mercedes and BMW have better luxury models with EQS and i7, and the BMW i4 is more fun to drive than a Model 3. The Cadillac Lyriq costs what a Model Y does but compares favorably to the Model X. Tesla interiors feel cheap compared to other cars in their same class and they have notorious build quality issues. They do have one major advantage, which is why I still drive a Model S, and that's the Supercharger network. It's a big deal for anyone who regularly drives a few hundred miles in their EV.

cainxinth 4y ago

> Minimalistic interiors, modern infotainment, mobile app performance None of that is why Tesla was ahead of everyone for so long. It's because their cars have better range, and Tesla is still the range leader. They held four of the top six spots in 2022, and the number one is the Lucid Air (only 3k of them have actually been sold): https://www.caranddriver.com/shopping-advice/g32634624/ev-longest-driving-range/ https://www.caranddriver.com/shopping-advice/g32634624/ev-lo... Also, I just want to say I am categorically not an Elon or Tesla fanboi and I am rooting for other brands to meet and exceed their range performance.

tshaddox 4y ago
Is it really that simple? Is there something about Tesla’s technology that enables longer ranges? Surely they just put in bigger batteries and charge more for the car, and competitors could also do that if it was really a primary competitive advantage of Teslas.
- l33tman 4y ago
  Many of the competitors are STILL building on an ICE chassis and stuff batteries where the center axle would have been etc. When enough of them finally switch to pure EV platforms things will quickly improve I guess. But designing a new chassis that behave as well as their previous premium models, is not something they do in 1 year so it makes sense there is some delay.. The competitors also charge much less quickly, so there's some optimization there that they lack. Like, on paper they can do 250 kW but you never get more than 100 when actually charging it etc
  - hef19898 4y ago
    And they basically all did develop EV platforms, probably the main reason it took them as long to catch up as it did. But now that they have them, the benefits coming from those platforms are just enormous.
  - NickM 4y ago
    Like, on paper they can do 250 kW but you never get more than 100 when actually charging it etc Yeah this is one area where there's a lot of deceptive marketing. For example the Kia EV6 specs list a max fast charging rate of 350 kW but what that actually means is that you need a 350 kW charging station to reach the car's actual max charging speed of 240 kW (or 180 kW, depending on the battery options). Granted, that is still nice and fast, and the EV6 is a great car, but it's really frustrating how hard it is to compare charge speed from different manufacturers.
    - abledon 4y ago
      > For example the Kia EV6 specs list a max fast charging rate of 350 kW but what that actually means is that you need a 350 kW charging station to reach the car's actual max charging speed of 240 kW (or 180 kW, depending on the battery options). Wow that is the scummiest thing

bartread 4y ago

> Minimalistic interiors Is this something you see as a benefit? For me Tesla's overall aesthetic, including both their exterior looks and interior design, along with the absence of physical controls that go long with that represent their biggest downsides (outside of build quality).

lotsofpulp 4y ago
The giant tablet screen that sticks out like a sore thumb is the opposite of minimalistic, or minimalistic in the worst way. I wonder how long Tesla can get away with not offering CarPlay/Android Auto functionality. The lack of that basic, cheap, and frequently used feature disqualifies any car from consideration in my view.
- throwaway894345 4y ago
  I don’t love that I have to use the touch screen to open my glove box, and I certainly think there are a lot of UI issues (and the lack of integration with phones beyond regular bluetooth), but one thing I appreciate is that there aren’t any blinding dash lights. I can see a lot better at night in my Tesla as a consequence compared with any other vehicle I’ve driven.
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    I have not driven many cars, but I feel like there is usually a dial to adjust the brightness of dash lights. At least in Toyotas.
    - throwaway894345 4y ago
      Hah, I had a Camry for 10 years and never knew it had such a dial!
      - mrguyorama 4y ago
        You should read the instruction manual to the over $30k machinery you purchased. There's likely many features you didn't realize were there.

nradov 4y ago

Most car buyers don't actually want minimalistic interiors.

bryanlarsen 4y ago
Some people like black overstuffed couches. Some people like Danish modern.
- theduder99 4y ago
  Last time I went car shopping, I saw a digital speedometer which irritated me for some reason so I rejected that model from further consideration.
  - leetcrew 4y ago
    I take it you're not shopping for new cars then? the cheapest new car I'm aware of that has analog gauges is a porsche. btw I have the same preference, just letting you know you are in for a disappointment.
    - michaelt 4y ago
      You just haven't looked cheap enough. For example, the Fiat Panda [1] the Nissan leaf [2] and the Kymco VSR-125 [3] all have analog speedometers. [1] https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/fiat/panda https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/fiat/panda [2] https://www.parkers.co.uk/nissan/leaf/review/interior/ https://www.parkers.co.uk/nissan/leaf/review/interior/ [3] https://www.kymco.co.uk/scooters-and-motorcycles-range/125cc/vsr-125 https://www.kymco.co.uk/scooters-and-motorcycles-range/125cc...
    - Macha 4y ago
      Seems to be a market difference? Of the three cheapest cars I could think of in my local market (Honda Civic, Kia Picanto, and Nissan Micra), only the Honda Civic has a digital speedometer.
- eatsyourtacos 4y ago

jzb 4y ago

Being ahead on everything doesn't help if the larger players can pick and choose improvements and learn from your mistakes and adapt. It really doesn't help when the leadership of said car company is erratic and eroding the goodwill of the brand while people generally feel comfortable with more established carmakers. I feel pretty confident that major automakers are going to be around in 10 years. Buying a Tesla already feels like a bit of a gamble to me just because of its newness. With an economy that's already slowing it could really hurt them when it's likely fewer people are buying cars and will be more cautious about it when they do. "Maybe I'll hold off another year and see how the new crop of cars compares with the Tesla."

throwaway894345 4y ago
I haven’t checked in a while, but last time I looked Tesla was supply constrained—they couldn’t make cars fast enough to meet demand, so (unless that has changed) they’re probably not too worried about hypothetical demand reduction.
- sumeno 4y ago
  Their global backlog of orders has gone from ~470k to ~74k over the last few months. There is no backlog of orders at all in the US or Canada and the backlog for the rest of the world is dropping quickly. https://twitter.com/TroyTeslike/status/1609346097733828609?s=20 https://twitter.com/TroyTeslike/status/1609346097733828609?s... (This is the most recent data made public, the Patreon data goes through Dec 31 with the numbers quoted)
  - conductr 4y ago
    Just to add, I used the 'build a tesla' recently for Model Y and was quoted delivery time of about 30 days. Not sure if that's accurate, but doesn't sound too supply constrained compared to discussions with other automakers I've spoken to recently (6-12 months out in some cases). I backed out because I'm really concerned with build quality issues that seem to be worsening, and generally losing confidence daily this company will be around in 5 years.

mperham 4y ago

They were 10 years ahead, 5 years ago. The market has realized that. It's also starting to creep into the mainstream consciousness that EVs aren't a good long-term solution to our poor transportation system.

Pet_Ant 4y ago
The answers to our woes are joint transportation and housing infrastructure. However those are anathema to the American character. I don't see it happening.

mavhc 4y ago

Tesla's only competition is Chinese EV makers, everyone else can't make enough cars, and none of them are profitable. Tesla are 5-10 years ahead on profit, due to adopting cost savings such as no buttons, more miles per kwh, thus smaller batteries, casting most of the body in 2 or 3 pieces. And then there's in house software creation, vs everyone else. Software makes their use of their motors more efficient. That's before you have the problem with how to get rid of your non EV business. Then you have battery tech, opening lithium refining facilities, owning more of the supply chain. Everyone else will be paying extra for batteries for decades.

davewritescode 4y ago
> And then there's in house software creation, vs everyone else. Software makes their use of their motors more efficient. You think automakers don't know about software? You do realize that what the ECU has to do to keep internal combustion engines running as efficiently as they do today is at least an order of magnitude more complex that electric motor management > That's before you have the problem with how to get rid of your non EV business. That's an asset, not a liability. Some places in the world are unlikely to have the infrastructure to support a conversion to EVs in the next decade or two. It doesn't mean we stop trying but having mature technology that you don't need to invest a lot in to support a niche use case is a good thing, not a bad thing. > Then you have battery tech, opening lithium refining facilities, owning more of the supply chain. Everyone else will be paying extra for batteries for decades. There's no reason to believe that Tesla's suppliers will remain exclusively theirs unless they've signed massive longterm deals that the public is unaware of.
- sumtechguy 4y ago
  You can listen to what the CEO's of the 'big 3' are saying. Tesla has vertically integrated. The big 3 spent the past 50 years doing the opposite. They use many of the same ODM/OEMs for things with small twists here and there. The companies that make those things for that supply chain are behind tesla. For creating a new market like tesla is in you probably want vertical integration again to iterate on it. It was one of the 2 key innovations Ford had early on (as they were not the first car company). But as years went on it made less sense to do that. Now it is making sense again to do it.

eatsyourtacos 4y ago

>Minimalistic interiors, modern infotainment, mobile app performance, Which are all gimmicks. The vast majority of people don't want that from a car. I've been in Telsas plenty of time and absolutely hate it. Yeah it looks cool for a moment, but I would never want that.

zaroth 4y ago
I for one absolutely love it. It doesn’t just look cool, it’s maximally functional for all of my use cases.
- freejazz 4y ago
  Yeah, I totally love having to take my eyes off the road in order to press any button in the cockpit. Truly brilliant design!
  - zaroth 4y ago
    Why are you pressing buttons in the “cockpit” while you’re supposed to be driving? </s> The “cockpit” button-obsession on HN is really cute sometimes. As if most drivers with button-filled “cockpits” actually feel around for them while still looking at the road. Everything timing critical for driving is either fully automated or on the wheel in a Tesla, by the way.
    - freejazz 4y ago
      I don't think the obsession is "on HN", I think the obsession is made by literally every other car manufacturer in the world.
    - oblio 4y ago
      Can you control the AC fully automatically or on the wheel in a Tesla?
  - mavhc 4y ago
    Which features do you have to take your eyes off the road to activate?

scarface74 4y ago

The infotainment system on Teslas is worse than a Nissan Sentra with CarPlay/Android Auto

throwaway894345 4y ago
If it would just integrate with airplay (and whatever the Android equivalent is) then Tesla wouldn’t need to support a one-off application for every streaming service.
- filoleg 4y ago
  You don't need a one-off application for every streaming service, those are there in case you want to use them without phone at all. Bluetooth audio is a thing, and you can stream whatever audio you want from your phone to your car audio using that.
  - scarface74 4y ago
    Bluetooth audio is a poor substitute for a full UI.
  - throwaway894345 4y ago
    > You don't need a one-off application for every streaming service, those are there in case you want to use them without phone at all I agree. That's why it doesn't make sense that Tesla is approaching it as "bespoke or bust". > Bluetooth audio is a thing, and you can stream whatever audio you want from your phone to your car audio using that. Yes, but "streaming a single audio track (with low audio quality)" is pretty much all BlueTooth is fit for, and the problem is much larger than that--a luxury car should be able to stream higher quality audio and it should also be able to stream video (e.g., HBO, Paramount Plus, etc). Moreover, it should facilitate a media browsing experience through the touch screen. First of all, it's limited to audio--it doesn't help me stream HBO or Paramount or any other video service.
    - scarface74 4y ago

conductr 4y ago

> in making electric cars viable by showing that they can both look good and blast off in record time I still don't get the 'look good' part, why do non-ICE cars always need to have a different look that what is already popular/proven in the market. The traditional automakers are still doing this today with their first big pushes in EV. If they don't sell they'll blame 'the market' for not wanting EV, but in reality it could be folks just aren't interested in the design / don't what to make the fashion statement.

8ytecoder 4y ago
Almost as if ICE car companies don’t want electric to sell. BMW was the worst of the lot. They’re doing better now.
- FireBeyond 4y ago
  I don't think that makes them conspiring or evil. Just pragmatic. "We have tens of billions and tens of decades invested in 'perfecting' ICE. This is a huge upheaval" is an attitude I'd expect any of them to take (while still recognizing they need to see where the market is heading and planning for that).
FireBeyond 4y ago
And also, I get that it's subjective, but the Model Y does not look anything resembling "good" to me. It's like a weird futuristic Aztek. It's not attractive.