BMW and Tesla both refreshed their i4 and Model 3 models las year. And the improvement in the Model 3 has been noticeable: better efficiency and range, also better driving dynamics and added features. BMW has barely changed anything, same motors and batteries, just a slightly newer infotainment system and new aesthetic. Not only that, some features are actually gone like the laser lights.
The FSD in the Tesla has improved also lots since 2022, while BMW Driving Assistant is still the same we had in 2022. Robust, but no new features.
I think Tesla is really doing a great job of improving their vehicles compared to legacy OEMs. I guess the i4 will only get real improvements with their next model in 2027.
I think there is a big potential to capture the rural more right leaning market with EVs that have more range, offroad ability, and torque than ICE vehicles- but this will be done by brands like Jeep, Ford, and Scout through EVs with ICE range extenders that can operate outside of a charging network.
If you come to the richer southern cities the picture is very different than what you describe. I'm living in Nashville TN right now and there are Teslas everywhere. Many Republicans proudly have big lifted pickup trucks and Teslas (and a LOT of cybertrucks).
So while becoming an outspoken culture warrior may have cost Musk's brand some support in blue states, it has dramatically increased its appeal in "real America" where people love showing off their masculinity through their vehicles.
I suspect the Cybertruck will dominate the legacy auto makers in the EV pickup segment.
It used to be that owning the libs was pretty simple, use more gasoline in a big lifted pickup truck. But now there are other ways to own the libs... you can also buy your electric cars from a rich guy who owns the libs.
It's the free market at work!
In the south today, the big lifted trucks are both status symbols and cultural signifiers. They immediately and visibly identify people as part of the southern / "rural" group (in quotes because many people in this group engage in performative rurality, while in reality they live in sprawly suburbs).
Members of this tribe are also naturally are more inclined to identify as Republican.
So things like the Cybertruck appeal in multiple ways; as Musk is such a vocal Republican, his cool factor goes up with the subset of this group that is extremely into politics. This is one pathway to adoption.
Outside of that, the Cybertruck is a massive pickup truck, and it is very expensive. Vehicle size and expense are both ways to signal status to people in this culture. This is another pathway to adoption.
Hence, I believe that it will become very popular in these areas.
I think the Tesla cars initially succeeded because they proved to suburbanites looking to display their status via a vehicle that electric cars could be "cool" and not "lame." Now, "culturally rural" people have their own equivalent.
I don't doubt that most of them are Teslas, but they're hardly everywhere. Also as of October, they'd only delivered about 27k Cybertrucks globally, so even if you assume 5% went to TN (which seems ridiculously unlikely), that's ~1500 vehicles out of the literally hundreds of thousands of non-EV trucks in the state.
1. https://afdc.energy.gov/data/10962 2. https://www.statista.com/statistics/196010/total-number-of-r...
At first they were way ahead technology wise with the first really practical EVs on the market, but seem to be falling behind fast. For example Porsche/VW/Audi released 800v production cars 4 years before Tesla did- and those cars still beat all of the S models on a real track with way lower paper specs. Waymo/Google has self driving tech that works demonstrably way better than Teslas. The offroad vehicle/traction systems on the Cybertruck don't work as well as any of the established 4x4 companies products- or for that matter even any of the 20 year old high end SUVs like a Porsche Cayenne or a Land Cruiser.
What is their advantage that justifies the insanely high evaluation with low sales?
I think 15 billion profit on 97 billion revenue is doing pretty well.
Ford is 4b profit on 176b revenue. VW is 16bn on 322.
> Tesla sales leveled off a few years ago
2024 is the first year since 2011 with a decline (a 1.1% decline), each year prior saw a considerable increase.
These are 2023 numbers, in Teslas latest quarter net profit margin has fallen by nearly half vs 2023 (8.6% vs 15.5%)
Keeping my diesel for a bit longer and eventually buy an EV from any another brand. EU, Korea, China, plenty of choice now.
I'd recommend trying ones out and picking one. We're not at China-levels of EV options but many do exist at most price/luxury levels. Our other car is a Ford Focus EV which I wish they still sold (I got mine new for $20k about 7 years ago).
So European Teslas and Hyundai's have used the same plug since then. AFAIK, many UK and EU Tesla superchargers are open to other cars. ( https://www.carwow.co.uk/editorial/going-electric/ev-chargin... )
Hyundai has an EV platform that is shared across a number of models. Sandy Munroe has a video on it and why he thinks it is a great idea
Maybe they are not as common as it seems.
That was on the EV6, though, but they share the same eGMP platform.
1. Software fix
2. Replace fuse
3. Replace the ICCU and be done with it
Mine's in today, Reddit has reports of people being told as late as March. Hyundai Finance is working with customers who cannot get the fix in the near term
However, my calculation is this: It's a 1% impacted issue. Replacing with an AGM battery drastically reduces the issues. Recalls somewhat mitigate this issue further. Apparently reducing your L2 charging rate to < 7kW also reduces this. At the end if you are still unlucky, the ICCU is almost always covered by warranty but replacement is annoying and can take months.
To mitigate I plan to replace my stock 12V with AGM, and buy a portable battery starter.
What a monumental dissolution in brand. I can only hope its felt quickly enough by Tesla's bottomline so it can a) either be reversed, or b) be an example to future entrepreneurs.
P.S: a) could be accelerated with some demonstrated excellence in Tesla Autopilot, it's possible, that would bring me back.
Below Subaru, Toyota, Honda, Mazda and the like,
Above Kia, Hyundai, Nissan, and way more reliable than Ford, Volvo, Volkswagen, Tesla (who is at #17), GM vehicles.
[0] https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-reliability-owner-s...
I love the car though, quite happy. Hope they do well with the R2, Tesla could use some cheaper/modern competition.
Outside far leftists, people are still buying and enjoying Teslas. The difficulties in Europe aren’t related to Elon’s politics, you just wish they were.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/09/volkswagen-halts-id-4-p...
Every German EV I saw was an ICE chassis retrofitted with batteries and an electric motor. For example they all had the hump intruding into the cabin space for the non-existent exhaust. Almost none had a frunk - it was needed for batteries or something. As a consequence the purpose built Tesla's were miles ahead. I had no idea why anybody bought these German EV's at time time, but it seemed like most Germans did.
If that's changed and Europeans making great EV's is what is driving down the sales of Tesla's then that is great news. But I live in Australia, and Tesla sales are having their edge taken off them here too. We don't make cars. There is one, and only country making a material dent in Tesla's EV sales. That is EV's from China. (Tesla's EV's sold here are also made in China, of course.) It's mostly because of price.
Despite the noise in the comments, I haven't met a single person who based their decision on Musk's personality. The things that tilt them towards other brands are price and a more conventional design (things like indicator stalks, displays in front of the driver, rain sensors that work). But these other brands are new, and meanwhile Tesla has very impressive service (BYD has suffered from widely publicised failures), an impressive charger network, and a track record. For now Tesla still dominates.
But the real story is China is made just about every EV sold here. The ICE's we import are made in a variety of places Japan, USA, Europe, and recently a few from China. But if this trend continues there will only be one country making the cars we import in 10 years time.
BMWs are decent. Other European brands' EVs are a bit of a joke. Korean ones are solid. US big manufacturers are somewhere inbetween. The Hyundai Ioniq series is probably the best value for money on average for those who don't want a Tesla or Chinese EV.