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Comment by DaiPlusPlus | Hacker News Reader

…and absolutely not because EVs are superior to ICE cars in many critera?

I didn’t buy my Tesla as a status symbol, I bought it because of the 0-60 time.

They are certainly superior in may ways now, none of which was true when Tesla made their debut. There is also the raft of basic build fuckups, gross fitment issues, and bullshit software problems to consider, none of which dissuaded the early adopters required to have the brand hit critical mass and go mainstream. My next vehicle will almost certainly be an EV, and absolutely will not be a Tesla. Thank you for illustrating my point in any case.

Choosing a car based on 0-60 time is basically choosing a status symbol unless you do track/street racing on a weekly basis.

Or maybe they just think its fun.

Yeah, I should have put “because it’s fun to drive without contributing towards global warming” (I live in a hydro-power area) - guilt-free pleasures are hard to come by.

Nah. Here's why: anyone who actually engages the vehicle to it's full capabilities outside of a closed track is going to eat some combination of racing or careless/reckless charges and lose their license for sure, and likely the car as well. They think it sounds fun, think it's fun to tell folks around the watercooler, and putter along at the same speeds as the Toyota Yaris in the lane next to them.

My Tesla Model 3 cut my commute down from 50 minutes to 40 minutes. And I'm not driving any faster, in fact I'm one of the few drivers who do not exceed the legal speed limit.

But the Model 3, with 498 horsepower, lets me overtake lumbering trucks on the narrow, winding, hilly, one-lane-in-each-direction road that makes up my commute. In my previous vehicle I could not overtake safely. With the Model 3 I can be in and out of the opposing land quickly without endangering myself or other motorists.

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