Why We're Falling Out of Love with Tesla
worldcrunch.com
worldcrunch.com
I have a 2018 M3 and was almost tempted by the redesign, until I saw how they butchered the steering wheel, and some of the worst customer support I've ever had to deal with.
Also stiffing customers on what should be warranty repairs, but because the suspension is a wear item they only provide free labor, all 2018 M3 have suspension problems.
Now they are all in on self driving robo-taxis that we all know are going to be far more problematic than Waymo.
Luckily, GP made it abundantly clear he wasn’t talking about a beemer.
If we were talking about laptops I would know M3 refers to the processor, but there's literally a car named "M3" that's been popular for nearly 40 years.
He did not, nor did he make it clear - certainly not abundantly so - what they WERE talking about, which is the core and more important problem.
For example, just because it's abundantly clear they weren't talking about a Boeing 747 doesn't mean I have any idea what they were on about.
I own a Model Y and it’s really barebones and plasticky. For the similar price, the Ioniq 5 is much nicer.
Similarly, the Rivians blow Model X out of the water in terms of features.
My Model 3 with FSD constantly has problems going from A to B without intervention.
I'd miss FSD, but ultimately it's not that big of a benefit over other ADAS implementations. Lane keeping and auto cruise is like 90% of the benefit of FSD.
> My Model 3 with FSD constantly has problems going from A to B without interventio
I mean my daily drives say otherwise. Are you on HW3 or 4?
Lane change on the interstate is fine, but for city/road nav it can be really bad. There's been more than a few occasions where telsa will try and put me in the wrong lane (even on long and well established road) which would ultimately force an unintended turn. If I'm not babying the system, the car will try and cut off whoever is behind me to follow the route.
Frankly, I don't trust it because of these sorts of problems.
I had a lot of years with Comma AI before. There's no other consumer system on the planet that is close to FSD. lane assist's and adaptive cruise control are getting better with legacy manufacturers but they're still so far off.
Not the problem. Like I said, it's getting into the wrong lane and then cutting off people when it realizes it's not where it should be.
That's not a "It's not driving how I would" problem. That's a "It's creating a dangerous situation because of poor mapping data/bad route decisions" problem.
I typically drive with FSD on, but I'm quick to disengage because it's really not uncommon that the system will try and put me in an obviously bad situation.
Unless you're an impatient taxi driver I guess
My wife hates when I use one-pedal mode, if you are driving you don't notice it because you are in control, but it is less nice for passengers.
On my car, it’s not an issue. The dead zone around the coasting point is wide enough and predictable enough.
I always assumed the bus drivers were either incompetent or lacked empathy, but it being a hardware problem could make way, way more sense.
Yeah there's certainly no justifiable way a middle class person could arrive at at "Elon Musk is bad for me" independent of the elites telling us
Framing a topic as a love/hate binaric identity war is used to prevent all rational discussion.
It might be me, but just reading this gaslighting statement fires my amygdala.
Trolls, wether intentionally or subconsciouslly found perfect tactics to destroy rational debate on the internet and the public sphere in general.
When rational discussion is suffocated, those who use agressive and toxic language with no inhibitions or restraint can win and impose their ideas.
We need to disengage from these kinds of conversations and create some forums or platforms that penalize the use of such language.
I'm pretty sure the original commentor is not dumb enough to actually think everybody who disagrees with him is a brainwashed idiot who "hates Musk". Or at least, they wouldn't dare to claim it in a civil discussion if they didn't knew they can get away with it and enjoy spewing bullshit while causing undue distress to anyone who tries to argue in good faith.
That's a pretty big leap of faith, knowing myself. I would say the ratio of people who have decided "Musk is great / Musk is the devil" vs "He's a human being therefore he's not all good or bad and should be analyzed with nuance" is about 100:1 at least preselecting for the personalities that can't keep themselves from populating a comment box, which apparently includes myself.
Someone who can't manage a gear selector because it's "too complicated" is not someone I want driving on the road, and when you combine that with exceptionally terrible ride quality for the price, it makes for a dreadful experience.
When you dumb down/streamline a phone experience into an iPhone you get something anyone globally can use, with not many downsides. When you dumb down a car experience into a single screen/app you get exceptionally shitty drivers.
Hated is a strong word, but I've always disliked Musk and have no interest in Tesla because his repeated comments about "full self driving" showed that he's a liar. Everything since then has just proven my skepticism.
I don't think "Musk hate" is an identity. "Musk love," on the other hand, may be. It seems totally irrational sometimes.
It's an unresolvable problem. If you think he's that horrible, you can't get rid of him because you're signing your own death warrant (figuratively or literally, depending on how extreme your view is). If he isn't, you've got an incredible asset in your court.
The removed rural broadband funding, drives people to Starlink.
The removed charger funding drives people to Tesla chargers.
He's removed large parts of competition.
Maybe the theory is that this improves the share price.
Also, not to be nit picky, but how much rural broadband was actually implemented with the infrastructure funding during the Biden years? My understanding is, they didn't actually get much done.
Or they can sell their shares and move on or even short the stock if they have problems with Musk. Which some have undoubtedly already done. It appears that even you don't have a strong conviction that Musk's actions are hurting Tesla, or you'd short Tesla stock.
Most are not.
Meanwhile Wang Chuanfu at BYD is focused on the cars. Charlie Munger being prophetic about that: https://youtu.be/tlb6pcJHl0Q
It's a shame, because they could have produced something really special.
I don’t really think that’s true. We know tesla is a large company and most of that money will be going to employees and a small percentage to shareholders (this board contains many).
So what I suspect they mean is they are concerned about their personal image which is why the “stench” imagery was used.
Big chunk of the revenue might go to employees but Tesla is massively overvaluated company whose market cap is dominated by fictitious capital not tied to any real asset. Its hype believe magic money - a big speculation. And none of that money ever goes to any employee. It all goes to shareholders.
If anything by buying Tesla you are helping to keep this hype alive.
Yes I just looked at their 10k.
80% of the cost of the Tesla is materials and manufacturing (small part of that is employees). Of the remaining 20%, 10% goes to sales and marketing and R&d, where labor is the dominant cost (employees).
So about 8-12% profit for shareholders.
It's pretty clear from what I wrote: I'd be tacitly supporting our Vogon overlord. Every time I looked at it I'd feel like crap. It would be like driving a kick me sign, a turd, or a dead fish. It would be a humiliation on wheels. I don't want Musk's miasma clinging to me.
- IMO Tesla's minimal M3 interior aesthetic at first was cool because it was different, but really is just quite boring. It looks like necessary cost-saving from a time where EVs were more expensive to manufacture that just never went away.
- Chinese cars look great. I took an Uber ride in a BYD in Mexico City; it was very good. The ride was smooth and the interior was very futuristic. They're apparently cheaper too. They're an option for me because I don't live in the USA.
- It doesn't sit well with me that Tesla has promised so many things it hasn't (and probably will never) deliver. I'm not buying a Tesla expecting to eventually have a robotaxi, or even expecting it to eventually drive itself, but it's still just sketchy that they promise so much on such ambitious (at first) timelines and then just don't deliver.
- Tesla doesn't win on price. There are cheaper options. I feel like I'd be paying for "the brand", but I'm not a "for the brand" buyer.
- The stuff Tesla seems to be better than others at —the speed, the acceleration, or even the autopilot— are not things I personally consider I need. They're cool party tricks. My friends who have Teslas have shown us the acceleration punch, autopilot in the highway, etc. Autopilot almost drove us into another car once, so definitely not paying $8,000 for that. The 0-60 I know I'd barely use, the top speed it's fair to say never, and I wouldn't miss them much as a nicer interior or whatever else I can buy me with what I'd save if I opt for a cheaper option.
I still can get by without a car, so I'd rather wait a year or two to see how the EV market develops. Looking at the options available right now it's just not looking great for Tesla, and outside of the USA and Europe, I'm not even sure it has that much to do with Elon's antics.
But then I tried other cars. And now I have no idea what they were talking about.
My 3 year old Tesla is a far better car than any new EV I have managed to test drive so far. They tend to be riddled with pointless or borderline evil crap (e.g. an ID.7 listened to everything I said inside the car and tried some AI shit on me) whereas my car is simple and to the point.
I might not get a new Tesla due to politics and I sure hope the other EV manufacturers are able to catch up before that time comes. Does not look promising right now.
Nothing is obvious folks.
And the rest of the world has more advanced cars. Tesla is like GM. Nobody outside the US wants them.
Tesla did have that Apple-esque hype going for it though, can never underestimate that...
Feels like they squandered a ten year headstart somehow, and I don’t understand how the current valuation holds. My feeling is they needed a Tim Cook to show up about ten years, and instead got Musk still stalking factory floors. If I needed a car, I’d choose electric, but I’d choose one from a car company these days: all the advantages of a Tesla seems to have dried up … and that’s before the associations with That Man.
My faith in Musk has dropped off in three phases, because I used to think he was awesome: “pedo guy” made me think he was an asshole, self-driving cars that don’t coming “next month” for years made me think I couldn’t trust what he says, and now the MAGA stuff makes me question his human decency.
Since then they've worked perfectly.
It's been too much hot air for too long.
Tesla started as basically the lone electric luxury car, and it was entering the market claiming that self-driving was coming soon. Which, when combined with SpaceX launching not long after... seemed like it might be the real deal.
But that was 16 years ago. They kept attention for a long time with repeated promises of FSD, and SpaceX definitely kept things interesting by doing increasingly impressive landings with the boosters, which lent a ton of credibility... but...
The competition is here, now. And instead of getting that self-driving that was promised, it basically capped out at a moderately useful cruise control that still requires your attention and input, and they're now admitting they don't have the ability to shove it over the line,
So instead of being a revolutionary vehicle that frees the driver from the monotony of traffic... it has to actually compete as a traditional car, against a litany of decent entrants into the EV space, contesting it on both quality (Audi, BMW, Rivian, Lexus etc) and price (Chevy, Ford, Honda, Citreon, Leap, Fiat, etc).
And compared to those... Tesla just isn't that good. It still not bad (although for the love of god I wish they would stop with the doors that stop working after a crash) but it's just mostly a solid "meh".
So... it's not really clear how Tesla expects to compete at this point. They aren't the best, and they aren't the cheapest, and they're not settling into the legendary utility status of the Prius (where it's not the best or the cheapest, but it's a good, cheap workhorse).
Could have probably coasted for a long time on goodwill, but Musk seems deadset on burning that to the ground on his drug & ego filled rollercoaster in politics and the media. In theory... they should have plenty of ability to compete, so they aren't done... but they need to ditch the ego that produced the recall prone cybertruck, send Musk to rehab (or exile), and make a real luxury car for a competitive price. I'm not sure they have it in em.
People in CA were plenty upset at his Twitter takeover and trashing of employees.
It has been said that the laws of physics limit his wild excursions in product businesses, whereas the "social media" business is largely the wild west thanks to Section 230 carried to extremes, and the capitalist dream of "self regulation", which never works.
In the unbridled worlds of social media and politics, the worst tendencies come out, such as racism [0] and unintended "move fast and break things" consequences, such as not knowing that that DOE cuts affect the nuclear stockpile [1]
[0] The Shadow of Apartheid South Africa in America. (FT)
[1] Trump administration officials fired more than 300 staffers Thursday night at the National Nuclear Security Administration — the agency tasked with managing the nation’s nuclear stockpile — as part of broader Energy Department layoffs, according to four people with knowledge of the matter. (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/14/climate/nuclear-nnsa-firings-...
Considering how important brand is to Tesla, it’s ridiculous to think someone could pretend they can evaluate it without that factor.
The change in attitude on this very board since 2018 is strong evidence of that.
It’s Kind of funny to watch the Tesla owner shift from proud liberal to frugal suburban dad, like Prius did.
When I bought a Ford I didn't stop for a minute to think about the politics of it's CEO. What's ridiculous is that anyone ever thought they could. What they should be saying is "the marketing around my car brand is important to me even after the sale." That just sounds churlish so I guess people deflect to make themselves sound more serious.
> to watch the Tesla owner shift from proud liberal to frugal suburban dad,
It's kind of funny to watch people in here talk about their comparisons between an M3 and a Tesla. As if this board is anywhere /near/ a representative sample of the people who live in this country or their typical financial outlook.
Anyways now that the honeymoon is over perhaps the crowd will be willing to do an _honest_ evaluation of what has always been a substandard manufacturer of vehicles. We've been trying to tell you for a decade now.
Exactly. The fact that people imagine themselves interacting with Elon directly when doing business with Tesla is a product of marketing, which is not a part of Ford’s brand.
Trust in the quality of the product: The car quality is spotty. A coworker bought an early Model 3. It didn’t even make it 1 night before the main electrical harness shorted and the car failed to power on in the morning. the panel alignment is a notorious issue.
Trust that the company won’t assassinate you in the court of public opinion. Tesla has 2 types of responses when a Tesla car has a high profile crash: quiet and VERY VOCAL about it being the driver’s fault (because they send data to their servers even though I ostensibly own the car). I don’t want my car manufacturer snitching me out to my insurance company, no matter who is at fault.
Options for service: Teslas are not cheap to service (I understand why) and (my information is quite dated), but 3rd party repairs are quite limited or non-existent. I have no option but to trust the manufacturer. There is a lack of competition in repairs/service, so costs are high and wait times are too.
The situation with Musk + Gigafactory Nevada security team framing a worker (IIRC their stance was that he was a leaker and was stealing corporate secrets) and then pressuring the local police to arrest him was suspect. But when the deputies found the man, they found no reason to arrest him.
The extraordinary crash test ratings that “were so high they broken the rating system”, but were later revised much lower were suspect.
The incident where the GigaFactory was found to be improperly disposing of factory byproducts such that they are/could leech into the surrounding environment was ironic for a company that markets itself as “green”.
The dickhead in charge. I get that he’s only a small part of the company, but he’s still a lying (or very reality-challenged) shitposter who moonlights as CEO of a few large companies. Incidents like “Pedo guy”, the Pelosi attacker conspiracy theory, him pumping shitcoins, lying about earning top rankings in 2 popular video games, now deleting federal departments like the same Dept of Energy that invests in innovative companies like Tesla and that does national security work like nuclear inspections. Link to the RationalWiki to remind us about all of the other incidents: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Elon_Musk
I don’t know when I soured on the company, but I know I had a neutral-to-positive view in 2016. Maybe Musk was still on his meds. Maybe all of these issues existed, but I was blissfully unaware.