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Comment by sshine | Hacker News Reader

Same experience with my 2022 Model Y:

Have yet not had a single problem for two years.

Surely the problem lies in a high variance in the production of later models.

Like when you visit a stellar restaurant and come back years later to realize the magic sauce was a chef who left.

Also, yes, it sounds risky to buy a car without being able to drive it back when it immediately breaks. I can also see myself as a victim of that because of experiences like yours and mine: Teslas are the most purchased EVs, they're everywhere, surely you'd know if their reputation is tarnished for other reasons than the mascot being unpopular.

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There's a trick in the EU.

If you buy the special red colour Y, it'll be German made. The other colours can come from China or US.

I doubt that they are any better because most of the issues are caused by poor design.

They do have less panel gaps and other minor flaws, because the people putting them together in Germany actually care (and have unions and proper working hours so they're not exhausted).

I am not sure how much unions are present in German Tesla factories. They are certainly very present in every other German car factory. Tesla does not accept unions. In Sweden, which is unionized to a higher degree than Germany, Tesla's service (no factory there) is in continuous labor conflict with Tesla who thinks they can act as irresponsibly as their owner.

IG Metall is there (at least 10% of total staff) and of course there's a workers council, where they have seats.

I also believe the amount of panel gaps varies a lot per factory.

Anecdotal evidence says that there is less variance in the German made ones.

The others are a lottery. You might get a perfect one or you might get one where the doors barely close

Panel gaps on most utilitarian family car mean near 0, esp. around reliability.

It’s a good proxy for care taken and fs given during production.

Plenty of cars for you then. Only pity you pay 2x price for 1/2 features. But at least it looks good!

That’s IMO cope from Tesla fans. I’d take a KIA/Hyundai or Audi anytime over a Tesla.

Might be in your market.

Audi costs easily 2x for abysmal specs and reliability. Kia/Hyundai is better deal, but they are such bare cars it's almost like driving 90s Toyota. Spec them out to base Tesla (i.e. power seats, power liftgate, heated steering wheel, etc) and price is 1.5x higher.

if you drove them you would say otherwise. I have Tesla S and Audi eTron, price comparable ($90k) while the difference is like between a Harley and Vespa.

and I am the least Tesla “fan” on the planet and think Elon is the saddest person that ever lived on this planet

What features are Teslas missing out on?

Notably v2l, 360 cameras and bullet proof auto-wipers.

Rest of industry missing everything else that Tesla's had a for a decade.

it's a known problem with 2024 models, the article points to that. So while tesla may be aware of it, the public unconscious might not be (like the author wasn't), as its a new-ish, and frankly absurd problem to have.

...Is this the new "works on my machine"?

Not exactly my point.

I meant to say: I think the quality varies both per factory and over time.

There's a lot of complexity in industrial production. From the outside it looks like there's only the classic and the revamped design., but I've heard that the internal components are often far from the same.

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