Is there really any reason to buy a Tesla if you want an EV other than as a status symbol? I bought a lightly used Chevy Bolt which, after rebates cost me $8000. Its range is around 230 miles. Why are people paying $40k for cars?
And as always, the number one reason to buy a Tesla is "best charging infra available". That's it. You still can't drive a non-Tesla across the country reliably. The other charging networks are in a terrible state of disrepair (far worse than Teslas!) and have significantly fewer locations which makes long distance travel in an EV impractical.
Americans don't need every car they own to be able to drive across the country, but they certainly want to. It's hard to get that out of people's heads.
In some places it may even be better to buy an 800V EV, and use the faster Ionity and Fastned networks.
"I bought a gently-used 29er for $300. Why are people paying $8k for cars?"
The only disadvantage I see compared to other electrics is the bad turning radius.
Also, in France, i think everybody who at the same time want, can afford and have a place to charge an EV have one.
You own piece of history and make a statement. These days though, that statement may mot be perceived as very positive if you’re not into chemtrails or something.
In most head-to-head comparisons between like models: Goes farther. Goes much faster. Holds more stuff. Seats more people. Charges at more spots. Vastly better charging experience ("plug in and walk away"). Vastly better infotainment system. Vastly better autopilot experience vs. mere "cruise control and lane keeping". New car prices are often cheaper, even.
Your Bolt may be a very useful vehicle but you're not going to road trip around the mountain west in it (though to be fair the linked article is about Europe). It'd be hard pressed just to take you skiing.
A Tesla with summer (maybe even all season) tires, its monstrous torque, and regenerative braking, is definitely not a good winter car for the uninitiated.
I don't own a Tesla, but that would be my choice if not for Musk's strange antics lately. As an apartment dweller who frequently goes on road trips, the ability to fast-charge on the road is important. I've rented EVs in the past and the third-party charger networks are TERRIBLE, even when they're available and working (which they often aren't).
My next car will probably be a plug-in hybrid for that reason. As much as I love EVs, the chargers are just... really, really bad. Unless you have a L2 at home or work (I have neither), that becomes a problem.
They're like uber expensive phones, whatever you buy will be a piece of shit in 10 years anyways, why would you spend 50k on a piece of shit when you can buy another one for 5k
I recently rented a modern car and god damn besides being able to control the back windows from the front seat it was all gimmick tier gadgets
But it sells new from 11k euros...
> What features are you talking about?
Status.
An M2 MBP may have best in class features and performance, but an RPi 3 may be sufficient for a particular computing task, even if it's way less advanced.
Obviously not everybody agrees, but if enough people think Tesla is the best they'll still sell well.
I would also say that the Chevy Bolt is solidly smaller than the average vehicle that most Americans buy, especially those that buy new cars.
Car manufacturers don’t really care what used buyers like you want. They don’t make money from a used sale.
That's not true. Someone buying a new cars pays attention to resale value, so car manufacturers want the resale value to be as high as possible to encourage someone to buy a new one.
Competing cars were often more expensive for worse specs, did not have access to Superchargers and made decisions that were less efficient (for example, most did not have heat pumps and had weak regenerative braking so as not to be too “weird” for gas car users).
So I bought another Tesla.
Doesn't help build quality has taken a nose dive. Definitely doesn't help that the CEO is unhinged.
I _almost_ bought into the hype back in 2020-2021, but backed out of my purchase due to poor build quality reports.