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My wife thinks they all look like jellybeans. Tesla makes them like that to maximize efficiency, and they’re still #1 on that metric, but people don’t care abou

My wife thinks they all look like jellybeans. Tesla makes them like that to maximize efficiency, and they’re still #1 on that metric, but people don’t care about that.

lotsofpulp 1y ago
Toyota has done quite well by maximizing efficiency.
- nemomarx 1y ago
  I think the target audience for a Toyota or Honda (boring but reliable car) isn't very interested in the kind of quality control Tesla has. They're supposed to make up for that in other features and the unique style of the truck is part of that, in theory.
  - lotsofpulp 1y ago
    The people I see with Model 3 and Y are the ones who came from Camrys and Rav4. Tesla EVs have the most data to support their reliability (at least the 3/Y), and they are clearly very reliable. Plus it costs just as much as a Rav 4, but has tons more torque. And the software is much better even though it lacks Carplay.
    - otterley 1y ago
      If Elon’s antics didn’t already turn me off as a Tesla customer, lack of CarPlay support slammed the coffin shut completely.
      - lotsofpulp 1y ago
        I thought that too, and then Toyota wanted $15 per month for remote start and made it seem like they were doing me a favor when I went to buy a car, so I ended up with a Tesla. Ended up not missing Carplay, and it cost $20k less for a car that seats 5 adults and 2 kids.
  - armadsen 1y ago
    I think the current Prius PHEV looks much better than any Tesla right now. (It’s a plugin hybrid not a pure EV, of course.)
    - cosmic_cheese 1y ago
      The current Prius is legitimately cool looking. Hard to believe it’s the same family that had been lampooned for its design for most of its existence.
    - neilv 1y ago
      IMHO, Toyota did an awesome job of taking the 2004 Prius funny wedge compact eco-nerd-mobile look (which might have been exactly what it needed at the time), and making it look sleek and modern and powerful. I'm imagining a designer looking at the earlier windshield slant, and knowing they could work with that, and retain references to the iconic earlier design.
      - throwaway173738 1y ago
        Industrial designers are like stage magicians.
    - dzhiurgis 1y ago
      Putting up with PHEV + ancient Toyota tech vs the looks takes a special person.
      - breve 1y ago
        Toyota sold the most cars of any auto group in 2024. They seem to understand the car market.
        dzhiurgis 1y ago
        They also spent billions trying to destroy EVs. Don't underestimate power of oil and legacy auto's marketing and political influence.
DoesntMatter22 1y ago
I don't know the model y is the best selling car in the world so it seems like it worked pretty well
- morleytj 1y ago
  Is it? I thought it was overtaken by the RAV4 a while back.
  - mh- 1y ago
    And if we're including the RAV4, then you probably also need to include Chevy and Ford's pickup offerings, which would also be far ahead of any Tesla. (And yes, a quick google confirms[0] the RAV4 is ahead of any Tesla offering this year.) [0]: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g64457986/bestselling-cars-2025/ https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g64457986/bestselling-cars... edit: see replies, this is US-only.
    - sqrt_1 1y ago
      Looking at your link, it seems to be US only stats? Best selling in 2024 world wide was Model Y even including trucks? https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-worlds-best-selling-cars-from-2024/ https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-worlds-best-sell...
      - mh- 1y ago
        Interesting. I can't see the source for the data in your link (it cites Statista, but that's just a graph and requires a subscription to see the source data.) Not saying it's wrong (I have no idea, that's why I googled), but would be interesting to know. edit: but also, you're right that I inadvertently looked at US-only data. I did say it was a quick Google. :) Edited my original comment.
      - breve 1y ago
        The RAV4 outsold it in 2024: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/felipe-munoz-carindustryanalysis_carindustryanalysis-felipemunoz-automotive-activity-7343853518803382272-WLM9/ https://www.linkedin.com/posts/felipe-munoz-carindustryanaly... The more interesting stat is that Toyota has 5 of the top 10 best selling cars.
SoftTalker 1y ago
All cars made in the last 20 years look like that. It’s wind tunnel design, there’s only one optimal overall shape that a car can have.
- hyperadvanced 1y ago
  I have seen this described as “looksmaxxing for cars” and I can’t unsee it now.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - tomjakubowski 1y ago
    it's effiencymaxxing. automotive looksmaxxing peaked in the 80s, the decade when new car designs looked the best
    - jacquesm 1y ago
      Citroen DS, Jaguar e-type, Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, MB Gullwing, BMW 507 and a whole raft of other 50's, 60's and 70's cars look much better than anything that I even remember designed in the 80's. Of course that's just my opinion, but those cars are so iconic, do you have any particular cars in mind for that period which you really liked?
dragontamer 1y ago
The new Prius has a similar coefficient of drag as a Tesla Model 3 but the Prius manages to look a LOT better.
- tromp 1y ago
  The 2024 Prius has a drag coefficient of 0.27 (slightly worse than the previous generation's 0.26), which compares poorly with the Model 3's 0.22.
radpanda 1y ago
My understanding is that the Lucid Air Pure is more efficient than Tesla’s offerings, but yes, Teslas have tended to be more efficient than compliance BEVs and a lot of other efforts from legacy automakers.
tromp 1y ago
With a coefficient of 0.219, they're not even in the top 10 on that metric. China seems to be making the most aerodynamic cars now: 0.191 Dongfeng Xinghai S7 0.194 XPeng Mona M03 0.195 Xiaomi SU7 Pro 0.197 Lucid Air Pure I'm looking forward to the Mona coming to Europe next year https://cnevpost.com/2025/09/09/xpeng-launch-mona-series-europe-2026/ https://cnevpost.com/2025/09/09/xpeng-launch-mona-series-eur...

My wife thinks they all look like jellybeans. Tesla makes them like that to maximize efficiency, and they’re still #1 on that metric, but people don’t care about that.

lotsofpulp 1y ago

Toyota has done quite well by maximizing efficiency.

nemomarx 1y ago
I think the target audience for a Toyota or Honda (boring but reliable car) isn't very interested in the kind of quality control Tesla has. They're supposed to make up for that in other features and the unique style of the truck is part of that, in theory.
- lotsofpulp 1y ago
  The people I see with Model 3 and Y are the ones who came from Camrys and Rav4. Tesla EVs have the most data to support their reliability (at least the 3/Y), and they are clearly very reliable. Plus it costs just as much as a Rav 4, but has tons more torque. And the software is much better even though it lacks Carplay.
  - otterley 1y ago
    If Elon’s antics didn’t already turn me off as a Tesla customer, lack of CarPlay support slammed the coffin shut completely.
    - lotsofpulp 1y ago
      I thought that too, and then Toyota wanted $15 per month for remote start and made it seem like they were doing me a favor when I went to buy a car, so I ended up with a Tesla. Ended up not missing Carplay, and it cost $20k less for a car that seats 5 adults and 2 kids.
- armadsen 1y ago
  I think the current Prius PHEV looks much better than any Tesla right now. (It’s a plugin hybrid not a pure EV, of course.)
  - cosmic_cheese 1y ago
    The current Prius is legitimately cool looking. Hard to believe it’s the same family that had been lampooned for its design for most of its existence.
  - neilv 1y ago
    IMHO, Toyota did an awesome job of taking the 2004 Prius funny wedge compact eco-nerd-mobile look (which might have been exactly what it needed at the time), and making it look sleek and modern and powerful. I'm imagining a designer looking at the earlier windshield slant, and knowing they could work with that, and retain references to the iconic earlier design.
    - throwaway173738 1y ago
      Industrial designers are like stage magicians.
  - dzhiurgis 1y ago
    Putting up with PHEV + ancient Toyota tech vs the looks takes a special person.
    - breve 1y ago
      Toyota sold the most cars of any auto group in 2024. They seem to understand the car market.
      - dzhiurgis 1y ago
        They also spent billions trying to destroy EVs. Don't underestimate power of oil and legacy auto's marketing and political influence.

DoesntMatter22 1y ago

I don't know the model y is the best selling car in the world so it seems like it worked pretty well

morleytj 1y ago
Is it? I thought it was overtaken by the RAV4 a while back.
- mh- 1y ago
  And if we're including the RAV4, then you probably also need to include Chevy and Ford's pickup offerings, which would also be far ahead of any Tesla. (And yes, a quick google confirms[0] the RAV4 is ahead of any Tesla offering this year.) [0]: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g64457986/bestselling-cars-2025/ https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g64457986/bestselling-cars... edit: see replies, this is US-only.
  - sqrt_1 1y ago
    Looking at your link, it seems to be US only stats? Best selling in 2024 world wide was Model Y even including trucks? https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-worlds-best-selling-cars-from-2024/ https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-worlds-best-sell...
    - mh- 1y ago
      Interesting. I can't see the source for the data in your link (it cites Statista, but that's just a graph and requires a subscription to see the source data.) Not saying it's wrong (I have no idea, that's why I googled), but would be interesting to know. edit: but also, you're right that I inadvertently looked at US-only data. I did say it was a quick Google. :) Edited my original comment.
    - breve 1y ago
      The RAV4 outsold it in 2024: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/felipe-munoz-carindustryanalysis_carindustryanalysis-felipemunoz-automotive-activity-7343853518803382272-WLM9/ https://www.linkedin.com/posts/felipe-munoz-carindustryanaly... The more interesting stat is that Toyota has 5 of the top 10 best selling cars.

SoftTalker 1y ago

All cars made in the last 20 years look like that. It’s wind tunnel design, there’s only one optimal overall shape that a car can have.

hyperadvanced 1y ago
I have seen this described as “looksmaxxing for cars” and I can’t unsee it now.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- tomjakubowski 1y ago
  it's effiencymaxxing. automotive looksmaxxing peaked in the 80s, the decade when new car designs looked the best
  - jacquesm 1y ago
    Citroen DS, Jaguar e-type, Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, MB Gullwing, BMW 507 and a whole raft of other 50's, 60's and 70's cars look much better than anything that I even remember designed in the 80's. Of course that's just my opinion, but those cars are so iconic, do you have any particular cars in mind for that period which you really liked?

dragontamer 1y ago

The new Prius has a similar coefficient of drag as a Tesla Model 3 but the Prius manages to look a LOT better.

tromp 1y ago
The 2024 Prius has a drag coefficient of 0.27 (slightly worse than the previous generation's 0.26), which compares poorly with the Model 3's 0.22.

radpanda 1y ago

My understanding is that the Lucid Air Pure is more efficient than Tesla’s offerings, but yes, Teslas have tended to be more efficient than compliance BEVs and a lot of other efforts from legacy automakers.

tromp 1y ago

With a coefficient of 0.219, they're not even in the top 10 on that metric. China seems to be making the most aerodynamic cars now: 0.191 Dongfeng Xinghai S7 0.194 XPeng Mona M03 0.195 Xiaomi SU7 Pro 0.197 Lucid Air Pure I'm looking forward to the Mona coming to Europe next year https://cnevpost.com/2025/09/09/xpeng-launch-mona-series-europe-2026/ https://cnevpost.com/2025/09/09/xpeng-launch-mona-series-eur...