I could even see people tolerating higher prices (as it is a Tesla, etc) - but that long of a delay is insane. I wonder how many Tesla owners regret their purchase after experiencing a crazy-ass long delay like that.
To be clear: I want Tesla to succeed. However I am also a realist - they have a lot of PR issues that would sink them if they were for example Ford/Chevy/BMW/Mercedes/Audi/etc.
Isn't it strange how often similar posturing appears in comments about Tesla. There aren't any secret SV police that are going to break down your door and take away your "we're saving the world" card if you say something "realist" about Tesla without a disclaimer.
Disclaimer: I also want Tesla to succeed
Disclaimer: I don't give a fig either way whether the company succeeds or fails though I have a very hard time understanding how they can ever maintain their mkt cap.
Musk has pursued an strategy that's built around very aggressive PR. This gives him lower marketing cost and lower cost of capital, so it's a reasonable approach. But he has to take the bad with the good. That includes critical articles as well as the many fawning ones.
Name any other automaker that makes claims like these about their automatic cruise control: "the person in the driver’s seat is only there for legal reasons. He is not doing anything. The car is driving itself."[1]
[1] https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2018/05/23/49...
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/15/ford-plans-a-ride-sharing-se...
https://corporate.ford.com/articles/autonomous-technology/au...
Tesla thinks they can get there faster by a year.
Again, here is what Tesla claimed:
> "the person in the driver’s seat is only there for legal reasons. He is not doing anything. The car is driving itself."
Ford has never made a claim that spurious and dangerous like Tesla has.
There are definitely major issues and growing pains with Tesla but I don't think these issues are as common as stories like this are making them out to be. If that was actually the case, you'd see hundreds of these stories popping up. Additionally, I think the situation might be way worse for Silicon Valley just because of the sheer numbers of Teslas in use in that area. The rest of the country is probably not as backed up and strained as that.
Which really puzzles me is that a high density of cars in one small region would cause these problems. In that case you can concentrate all kinds of parts locally without any inventory risks. You can have short delivery times for these parts due to the short distance. And you can build a dense network of repair shops as the demand is there. If you fail already at that, imagine to do the same in places with a lit less Teslas on the road and larger distances to your distribution centers. All this are things other OEMs figured out a long time ago.
And no offense, but your experience is one data point and anecdotal. While true numbers will be impossible to come by, countering the article with a sample of size of one doesn't help.
This is the same (in kind, though not in degree) as Slashdot a decade ago where you could not praise Windows, unless you first declared your allegiance by saying, "I love Linux but" or "I don't like Windows but".
One conclusion from all this is that I discount criticism of AMP or Google, or certain other topics that have become sacred cows. Not ignore, just discount.
Consumer Reports ranks Tesla #27 out of 29 manufacturers on reliability, and removed its recommendations for their cars. Several other surveys have similarly put Tesla's reliability dead last or nearly there.
With hundreds of thousands more Teslas hitting the road, all those service visits—along with repair work—have reportedly backed up the company's service centers. Now the company has reportedly put an end to those extended service plans and is hoping instead to highlight electric cars' inherent reliability—and hopefully reduce the wait times at those service centers.
> But reliability has been a weak spot for Tesla. According to our survey results, problems with the suspension, especially with the 2017 model year, have been an issue for the Model S luxury sedan, while hardware problems—especially concerning its unique falcon-wing doors—have plagued the Model X SUV (neither is currently recommended by CR). And now our latest survey data has surfaced numerous problems reported by Model 3 owners as well, which is why CR has removed its recommendation for the vehicle.
And as it happens, CR do recognise that engine and powertrain problems are much rarer:
> By contrast, CR members have reported few problems with Tesla’s unique electric powertrains, which may be due in part to their relative simplicity when compared with traditional internal-combustion engines
https://www.consumerreports.org/car-reliability-owner-satisf...
Reliability doesn’t measure maintenance. A Toyota Prius is more reliable than a Chrysler 200 because of the quality of engineering, assembly and components.
I worked on a Toyota issue and was amazed at how quickly a broad could-be-anything code became « when you get that, 99% of the time it’s X ».
If you add up to 5 weeks to your repair time due to logistics that is a big issue. And again one coming from the supply chain domain, as do production hell and distribution hell. And al of that has nothing whatsoever to do with Tesla's being EVs.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/10/24/tesla-...
https://www.consumerreports.org/car-reliability-owner-satisf...
https://www.businessinsider.com/survey-uk-drivers-say-tesla-...
https://www.thedrive.com/tech/27725/tesla-fleet-company-stru...
Just how you want to run a robo-taxi business with these issues is everybody's guess.
I'm also kind of disappointed that repairability isn't an EV marketing point, as electrical systems are easy to work on and diagnose compared to mechanical systems. Oh well, maybe the USA and China go to war then repairing and building becomes an American patriotic virtue
There are also a host of other non engine related things that plague older vehicles like AC, power doors/windows, etc.
Or does the lower vibration change that aspect?
What I really want is dynamic suspension that adjusts based on location. We already have cars going over every road: we could measure where the pot holes are or where the road is smooth.
I'm not sure I agree with that. ICEs have a culture of DIY repairs. Sure, that could develop around electrics and hybrids, but HV electrical systems are dangerous. I'd say they are much more dangerous than ICEs.
Everything is dangerous. Gasoline is a volatile liquid carcinogen that bursts into flames when exposed to temperatures that numerous parts of the vehicle operate at, unless it evaporates first, in which case it explodes. An ICE engine block weighs several hundred pounds and can crush you to death. If you repair your brakes or steering improperly you may first discover it as your vehicle sails through a red light at a busy intersection or swerves out of control into oncoming traffic. If you stick your hand into a fan or belt and then it starts moving, you may no longer have a hand. Or an arm. Or enough remaining blood to stay conscious and call for help.
There are ten thousand ways for idiots to kill themselves. But most people are not idiots, and have a strong personal incentive not to get themselves killed, which means that none of them are a justification for prohibiting people from repairing their own property.
Most of them operate around 400v, which isn't super dangerous (touch it, and it might kill you, but there's also a good chance you'll survive).
They also have far more protection subsystems than a typical house or factory. For example, if you cut into a high voltage wire in a car and touch it with wet fingers, the battery contactor will disconnect before you can touch the other wire to cause a fatal current.
That's my take. Good for them for taking such a huge chance and seeing an opportunity to take a chance on technology that is just now becoming practical.
But...I can't see any reason why Toyota won't squash them like a bug in the low and medium end car biz once EV technology becomes a bit better and their adoption is more mainstream. It's a heckuva business to try to make a profit in in any case.
I am, really, only a casual observer, so can someone tell me if this means anyone can use their battery tech, and whatever else is important?
1. https://www.tesla.com/en_AU/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-y...
The Hyundai Kona EV comes with 400Km (more than the base model 3) of range with a liquid cooled pack very similar in design to the model 3.
And it's 0-60 is < 1s slower despite being a front wheel drive CUV rather than a sporty, RWD sedan.
Yes I'm aware that Tesla has more tech in the Model S, X, and upcoming roadster but they can't laugh off other EV's like they did with the Leaf. Other manufacturers _are_ making progress and I hope Tesla keeps it together to lead the charge (pun intended).
As of January the Leaf was still the best selling electric car model in history.
edit: Source from February with data through 2018. If ~200,000 more Model 3s than Leafs have been delivered this year, then it is the new leader. https://qz.com/1552840/the-most-successful-ev-model-to-date-...
But technology wise Tesla is quite a bit ahead. The Leaf originally had abysmal range (better now) and doesn't have the pack longevity due to its passive cooled design. This also limits the amount of power it can produce/consume leading to lower regen efficiency, slower charging, and worse performance.
My comment above was trying to point out that the Kona is a good example of that gap being closed by yet another competitor on the EV scene.