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Comment by buffington | Hacker News Reader

> Elon Musk's charisma

What little charisma Elon Musk had in 2019 had no influence on my decision to buy a used Model 3 at the time. If anything, Musk's "charisma" pushed me away from Tesla entirely, but the car's performance and charging network wasn't just better than the competition, it was fantastic, period. Elon or not, the deal I eventually got on a used one was worth it.

Today, 250k miles later? Because of Elon Musk's "charisma", I'm both highly motivated to sell it, but also can't. That's because you're not entirely wrong. Turns out, when a celebrity billionaire starts let his evil show openly, the products he shills start to lose their appeal.

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You put 250k on a Model 3? I would love to hear your experiences.

> I'm both highly motivated to sell it, but also can't. I'm sure Musk's antics affect new car sales, but it must be muted for the used market. But 250k is a lot of miles for any vehicle, and electric cars have an early smartphone era problem: each iteration brings much bigger improvements than you'd see in a more mature platform.

I've actually only put about 50k miles on myself, but it's still perfect for my needs. Battery health isn't at 100% any more, but I still get an actual 250-300 miles of range.

Mechanically, the car is solid. Doesn't rattle or squeak. Clear, chip-free windows. No quirks of any kind, really. Pretty remarkable considering the number of miles on it. I have a Toyota van with fewer miles and with the exception of the bullet proof engine, the rest is barely holding itself together. Had a window literally just fall off it recently, as the glue had given up.

I know Musk's antics are impacting my ability to sell my own car - someone recently drew the word "swasticar" (which is pretty clever, I'll admit) in the layer of salt/dirt/grime one gets during the winter on my car. I have to think that had something to do with Elon.

Local used inventory has rapidly grown as well recently. I've been checking weekly for about a year, and today, there are probably 3x as many available on the market than there were a year ago. Obviously there are a lot of variables at play when it comes to used markets, but I doubt I'd be wrong to believe that Elon's behavior has contributed to that.

I know five real, actual people (two who are actively looking for an electric car) who will never buy a Tesla because of Musk, I think you're right about that.

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