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One important facet that our American chums might not know, is that many people in Europe already felt that Teslas were ugly, hateful cars. They were the ultim

One important facet that our American chums might not know, is that many people in Europe already felt that Teslas were ugly, hateful cars. They were the ultimate gadget for people on a company car scheme (big tax advantages used to exist for EVs). I think there a lot of people who would tolerate being treated as a pompous arse because of their car, but wouldn't tolerate being made fun of. In the UK being a source of ridicule to your peers is the worst insult. Musk, and by extension his cars, are a laughing stock.

surgical_fire 2y ago
> One important facet that our American chums might not know, is that many people in Europe already felt that Teslas were ugly, hateful cars That's correct. And that was true even before Elon became a more politically controversial figure.
wendyshu 2y ago
Not sure why people would think Teslas (excluding Cyber Truck) are ugly or pompous
- pornel 2y ago
  For a long time Tesla had barely any presence in Europe, and Model S and X were expensive rare cars, from a weird foreign brand. Driving that was a delicate balance between coolness and showing off, and then Musk changed the image from cool to extremely divorced midlife crisis. Now that EVs are more mainstream, there is already competition from new VW, Kia, Hyundai, Renault, Volvo, BMW, which makes Model 3 kinda bland, and the more popular Model Y looks like Model 3's CAD design stretched vertically by 20%. Supercharger network doesn't have a significant advantage in Europe, all new cars use the same connector already, so buying a Tesla is a choice. People question why do you buy a car that isn't pretty, isn't cheap, isn't from a "real" car brand, and is associated with Musk's antics.
- jimnotgym 2y ago
  Did you know that car companies often have different models for the US and Europe? Some of it is the practicality of our smaller roads. Much of it is taste.
- jkmcf 2y ago
  The S is a beautiful car. The rest are awkward looking, the 3 and Y because of their stunted anterior.
tim333 2y ago
The UK is the one place where sales rose.
whamlastxmas 2y ago
This is an oddly aggressive claim for a pretty generic looking car and doesn’t seem to align with reality

surgical_fire 2y ago

> One important facet that our American chums might not know, is that many people in Europe already felt that Teslas were ugly, hateful cars That's correct. And that was true even before Elon became a more politically controversial figure.

wendyshu 2y ago

Not sure why people would think Teslas (excluding Cyber Truck) are ugly or pompous

pornel 2y ago
For a long time Tesla had barely any presence in Europe, and Model S and X were expensive rare cars, from a weird foreign brand. Driving that was a delicate balance between coolness and showing off, and then Musk changed the image from cool to extremely divorced midlife crisis. Now that EVs are more mainstream, there is already competition from new VW, Kia, Hyundai, Renault, Volvo, BMW, which makes Model 3 kinda bland, and the more popular Model Y looks like Model 3's CAD design stretched vertically by 20%. Supercharger network doesn't have a significant advantage in Europe, all new cars use the same connector already, so buying a Tesla is a choice. People question why do you buy a car that isn't pretty, isn't cheap, isn't from a "real" car brand, and is associated with Musk's antics.
jimnotgym 2y ago
Did you know that car companies often have different models for the US and Europe? Some of it is the practicality of our smaller roads. Much of it is taste.
jkmcf 2y ago
The S is a beautiful car. The rest are awkward looking, the 3 and Y because of their stunted anterior.

tim333 2y ago

The UK is the one place where sales rose.

whamlastxmas 2y ago

This is an oddly aggressive claim for a pretty generic looking car and doesn’t seem to align with reality