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Comment by cratermoon | Hacker News Reader

Will Tesla be remembered as the DeLorean of the 2020s, or more like the Edsel?

Almost certainly neither.

The DeLorean was a stupidly-expensive car that had a lot of maintenance problems, decided to use an unpainted stainless steel exterior and had corrosion issues as a result, but is remembered despite all of this engineering mediocrity due to its unusual stylistic choices.

I'm guessing Tesla's cybertruck will be the DeLorean of the 2020s.

The delorean is only remembered the way it is because of Back to the Future.

Without that movie, it would be a pub trivia question.

Is anyone going to make a generation defining movie that features the Cybertruck? God I hope not, I can't take such powerful satire right now.

Maybe a remake of Idiocracy?

(Last night I rewatched Radio Free Albemuth and it seemed too relevant to the current mood in the USA. PKD was truly a prophet of the modern age).

If you want to restrict the discussion to just the Cybertruck, it's more like the Edsel - an embarrassing failure from a dominant manufacturer. The Delorean similarities are largely skin-deep.

Also probably 99% of people here are familiar with Deloreans and stainless steel.

In what world is Tesla a dominant manufacturer? The company's market share peaked at 4.31% in 2023. That's behind GM, Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, Stellantis (Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep), Honda, and Nissan-Mitsubishi. Only VW, Subaru, and BMW had a smaller market share.

They sure as hell dominated EV sales for quite a few years. Their valuation is absolutely dominant compared to any of those brands.

Regardless, they're closer to Edsel-era Ford than DMC.

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