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Comment by abzolv | Hacker News Reader

IMHO Tesla is selling well only because they are first to market, and because of the various EV incentive programs.

One will be able to assess Tesla's real market performance when the major manufacturers start selling EVs with comparable mileage capabilities.

I would much rather wait to buy an Audi EV SUV or a Mercedes EV SUV in 2019 or 2020, than buy a Tesla Model X right now. By waiting just a year or two, one deals with local dealerships, you have the usual availability of spares and parts for maintenance and body work, plus the already well-known quality and workmanship of an Audi, Mercedes, etc.

Tesla is not a bad choice, but when one is able to choose between a Tesla and Mercedes/Audi/BMW/Ford/Toyota/etc with comparable stats, I think most people will stick with the more familiar brand that they can buy from their local dealership.

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Comparing today’s tesla against a 2020 competitor is unfair. You have to compare 2020’s tesla. People have been saying tesla will be outcompeted for years and still no real competition has materialized. If the traditional car companies wanted to be in tesla’s market, they already would be.

preach! They are announcing concepts, that dont even eclipse, the current offerings. Next year you will probably see a performance Model 3 dual motor, faster than any BMW M3, M4 or Mercedede C AMG or basicly anything, in that class.

At this point, I disagree that it's because of the incentives. In fact, at the Model S price point, it probably had nothing to do with incentives, which are (if you're 'lucky', 10% at $100k pricepoint).

First to market, yes. And first to make it 'cool'. I have a hard time thinking BMW bolting batteries into a car will take away from the novelty factor of the Model S. It's not just about propulsion, it's everything -- the styling, the electronics, the early adopter thing, street cred, etc.

It's "do you want to buy one of half a dozen old school cars, or this new COOL thing?"

How many Prius owners have seen a Honda hybrid of some sort and been surprised that Honda makes a hybrid?

> How many Prius owners have seen a Honda hybrid of some sort and been surprised that Honda makes a hybrid?

Honda had the first mass-produced US-market hybrid, and was the first to make it cool.

OTOH, the first-gen Prius was more broadly useful than the super-small first-gen Insight that preceded it to the US market.

Not sure how this is supposed to map to Tesla, are you trying to say Tesla is like Toyota or Honda in this comparison?

The Tesla is like the Toyota. It's the car everyone knows is an electric. Hybrids from non-Toyota makers had to play a lot of catchup (and, frankly, even non-Prius Toyota Hybrids) to have the same appeal that the Prius did.

In the same way, I don't see electric cars from BMW or Audi or Mercedes competing with Tesla on day 1. It's just JUST the powertrain that's drawing people to the Tesla. Some of the pro-Tesla draws are down to vanity or image, and others are more tangible.

In Norway it is not 10% but a 100%

I can certainly see a lot of different possibilities as Audi/Mercedes/Porsche get their EV offerings out, but NONE of them, even the concepts (2019 2020 etc), offer similar performance, or even range to the more than year old Tesla Model S P100D. And when they come out.. they will most likely be competing against the Roadster 2.0 and very likely also an updated Model S. I feel like this is 2007-2009 all over again.. Yeah the iPhone is nice and all, but look at HTC, Blackberry and Nokia.. they are getting their iPhone killers ready...

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