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Comment by goodluckchuck | Hacker News Reader

And a technical sense yes but the only new model they’ve released recently is the cyber truck. Otherwise their sedans and crossovers outwardly appear to be basically the same thing they were selling in 2012. Meanwhile, BMW has a fleet of eight different electric vehicles, with more modern styling, leather, and just the ability to differentiate. Of course, Tesla is well into the black on their models whereas I doubt the BMW will get out of the red anytime soon.

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The new Model 3 is new and has lots of interior features not found in competitors' cars of the same price range (ventilated and heated rear seats, screen for rear occupants, ambient lighting, Autopilot as standard, etc).

It’s also missing features that everyone else has (handles for entry/exit, a dashboard instrument cluster, lots of interior storage, support for physical keys, AirPlay / Android Auto, a forward/reverse selector, etc).

More models is worse. Anyways theres two mass market cars, one got a refresh recently the other next year

True, but it’s a numbers game. If there are 5 electric cars on the market, 2 are Teslas and the others are Nissan Leaf comparables then Tesla will get a lot of sales.

If there are 80 different models on the market and Tesla makes 5 models… that’s a tiny percentage of the choice that consumers have to pick from.

There's a lot of models of laptops and yet people still choose the Macbook

Huh? The model 3 didn't come out until 2017 and the model Y came out in 2020. That's literally just four years ago - not 2012.

I own a 2019 model 3 and will be replacing it with a 2024. In those 5 years, it's accumulated a bunch of improvements. I don't exactly have a changelog to work with, but here's what I can think of off the top of my head:

  - more powerful rear motor, 10% faster 0-60, breaking 10s quarter mile
  - track mode v3
  - heat pump
  - matrix headlights
  - adaptive suspension w/ frequency response suspension dampers
  - ryzen media control unit
  - triple pane glass
  - heated steering wheel
  - sport seating
  - ventilated seats
  - usb-c ports
  - rear entertainment system
  - HW4
  - updated wheels/tires
  - exterior styling updates (front bumper, non-chrome handles, etc...)
  - interior styling updates (LED lighting, carbon fiber dash, etc...)

Oh, and there's also the fact that I'm only paying 70% of what I did the first time around (inflation adjusted).

With that “triple pane glass” (which I’m pretty sure is laminated glass, not insulated glass), keep in mind a little design issue common to every Tesla ever made: the complete lack of any non-electrical way to open a door from outside. If there’s an electrical failure and someone needs rescuing from the car at all quickly, one needs to break a window. If all the window glass is laminated, this is not so easy.

There are stories of people getting out of a Tesla to help their kids out, closing the driver door before opening the back door, and having the electrical system die before opening the rear door. Whoops!

Yes, I suppose if

  - after ignoring the persistent warning you had days in advance that the 12v is dying
  - you lose power in the exact few seconds between
    - first securing every vehicle door
    - and then proceeding to open any other door
  - and there's another passenger inside
  - and they are also incapable of operating a door

then you will have to either jump your 12v or otherwise somehow unlock your door. The odds are diminishingly small given all of those factors, but wait there's also more:

  - You don't have all the accidental 12v drains that happen in other vehicles (lights, accessories, etc... accidentally left running)
  - The 12v is constantly replenished from the main battery, rather than a more unreliable alternator

So, I suppose there's this and then there are also the odds that your passenger is immediately struck by lightning as they exit the vehicle. At least in the former unlikely scenario, emergency responders can help you out with relative ease and little harm.

This may be unlikely, but there are actual reports of this happening:

https://www.popsci.com/technology/tesla-lock-issue/

I have also been (briefly) locked out due to what may have been RFI. Teslas are entirely dependent on radio to unlock the doors from outside.

I’m mostly referring to the design language. The newest Model 3 refresh looks a lot like the previous Model 3, which looks a lot like a shorter Model S. Then look at the visual difference between Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, Mazda. Tesla has improved their vehicles a lot, but they’re all still Teslas and some people prefer more X, or more Y.

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