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Comment by threeseed | Hacker News Reader

Tesla cars have poor build quality, average interiors and awful after-sales support.

So there is definitely room for Apple to take the Tesla route but improve in those areas.

How is Apple going to have better quality? Apple specializes in making devices with almost no moving parts. Mechanical products are very different.

Apple can literally buy that expertise with petty cash.

$1,000 monitor stands beg to differ!

I think the more appropriate example would be the Mac Pro wheels.

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MX572ZM/A/apple-mac-pro-w...

$700 for 4 wheels. Jeeeezus!

More expensive than the corolla wheels.

Ahhh, the true reasoning for the wheels experiment. Apple has always had a thing about round. Maybe Apple Wheels (TM) will have finally perfected round that all other manufactures have been unable to solve.

That's when Jony Ive was still around.

Apple could pick a car vendor and just buy them, slap their brand on it, and then focus on quality rather than cost

Most Apple products contain moving parts - speakers and vibration motors.

Build quality - that's not an issue anymore

Interiors - yes they can improve

Never had an issue with after-sales support.

My 2nd Tesla in 5 years.

You are but one tiny datapoint. The internet is full of disaster stories from Tesla owners.

The Internet is full of disaster stories about everything. In the actual Consumer Reports ranking Tesla is far from the bottom. It's almost exactly in the middle, between Infiniti and Cadillac.

For a car that is, as Tesla fans like to point out, "far simpler than an ICE, with a lot less that can possibly go wrong", being in the "middle of the pack" with ICEs is actually pretty damning.

And the world is full of Teslas. You really think if even 20% of the hyperbole was true that they'd be shipping the volume they are? All those Tesla buyers are just deluded marks who'd be happier in a VW or whatever?

Maybe... the situation is complicated and like all manufacturers they have some good points and some bad points and the market is in the process of deciding on what particular traits it values?

Of the people I know personally who bought Tesla's I do know they weren't aware of the reputation for difficult servicing and parts availability.

I was aware of the reputation, but just can't seem to get it to show up in real life. Darndest thing...

I'm not sure if you're just not unclear on how probabilities and random sampling work, or if you have some deeper point I'm not seeing.

I just mean that a systemic problem should be seen across the system. I'm not seeing it.

Do you actually think you have visibility "across the system?"

I've been to 6 separate service centers and always had better service than any ICE mechanic.

Do you?

"Your anecdote is irrelevant, look at my vast dataset of unrepresentative samples"

At the very least I am claiming that one data point is less valuable than multiple datapoints.

I know several Tesla owners - and live in a place where practically every second car is a Tesla. So my sample size is significant.

Personally, I wouldn't consider "several" to be "significant", but each to their own.

Tesla disaster stories are overblown, the smallest story gets a lot of attention, it does not help that Musk is hated by the media.

Nitpicking everything Musk-related is one of the biggest drivers of content on multiple social media platforms. Using the general trends of those sites that you've gleened from headlines to make generalizations is probably a bad idea.

There is huge, huge demand for a negative spin on everything and like we've seen a ton of times on the internet, if you say something exaggerated enough times it starts becoming the accepted truth.

Your first Tesla lasted less than 5 years?

I traded it in for a new one.

> Never had an issue with after-sales support. My 2nd Tesla in 5 years.

Sorry but you probably are not the target market for the Apple Car.

Many premium-market customers (early Model S/X, current Plaid shoppers) have moved to other brands such as Rivian, Lucid, and Porsche due to Tesla’s “cheapness” and abysmal customer service.

But sure, if you’re coming from a Toyota RAV4 or BMW 3 series, Tesla is great. But don’t expect to be the target demographic for a $100K+ Apple car.

Bmw 3 series are way ahead of most Teslas in terms of anything but electric drivetrain.

> Never had an issue with after-sales support.

I won't say that it has been perfect, but it definitely hasn't been worse than my car dealer experiences.

My one experience with after-sales support has been fantastic.

1. Set an appointment on the Tesla app

2. The day before the appointment my rep from the service center calls me to see if I have any questions about the process.

3. Take the car in, they immediately give me a loaner Tesla of the exact same make and model. When I get in the loaner car, it already has all my preferences imported (Signed in to Apple Music/Podcasts, seat settings, Joe Mode, Phone is the key, etc..)

4. A few days later, I get a notification from the app telling me my car is ready to pick up.

5. I drive the loaner to the service center. The app tells me to park it anywhere.

6. The app shows me where my car is parked.

7. I get in my car and drive away, without having to talk to anyone.

8. Bonus: My car has been detailed

9. Cost: $0.00

This is obviously anecdotal and I'm sure people have had bad experiences. But I was really impressed!

Improve? Every other iphone I see has a broken screen. Anecdata sure but I've never owned one as I value my money but it seems to break easily.

The windshield will probably break from hitting bugs, but fret not, there's a windshield protector you can get from your authorized dealer.

Well with data quality like that, I think you can be absolutely certain in your assessment!

You're right, the screen could just be too expensive to replace rather than break easily. The only data I need for my assessment is the price and lack of freedom. I once did an experiment with my friend who's a die-hard fan. We both turned on bluetooth on all our devices, his iphone and macbook and my android and Windows. I saw both of his, he saw none of mine. Disgusting, why would anyone pay for that?

The rest should be taken as a joke.

Mine has a broken screen because it's the only part that's failed after 5 years.

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