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Comment by jbm | Hacker News Reader

Please eliminate the glass roof. Why do EV companies keep making this customer hostile decision?

On my 2019 Model 3, a stress fracture showed up overnight and everytime I look up I see a 3000$ fix for a car that is worth 10k max.

I have no idea who wants it. It is hot in the summer, cold in the winter and you can have a sudden bill related to a rock on the street.

Somehow everyone, from Tesla to Ferrari has this insane design decision and for something that only makes sense in a very small part of the world.

Please stop.

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To each their own, I really enjoy my 2018 Model 3 glass roof. Although a stress fracture from no where would really annoy me.

For what its worth I've had a crazed man preach from on top of my Model 3 roof and it still looks brand new :)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Sbne4ATVZgD74Hon7

I read the comment, and then I had to look at the photos, and now I have to come back and ask wtf?!

The guy car-jacked a teenager and managed to hit ~7 cars by plowing through a red light.

He was clearly off his meds or something. Preaching about "people following him", that he "was a man of god", and that we needed to believe him.

The cops then dragged him off the car (as per one of the videos!).

> Why do EV companies keep making this customer hostile decision?

Because it eliminates the headliner and insulation, which allows the roof to be an inch shorter while maintaining the same interior headroom. The has a direct impact on frontal area, which, in turn, has a direct impact on aerodynamic drag.

Reduced drag means greater range (or the same range with a smaller, less expensive battery).

Did you guys see how Tesla nerfed the least expensive Model Y by keeping the glass roof _and_ covering it from the inside with the headliner so it _looks_ cheaper?

I love panoramic sunroofs.

Natural light makes the driving (and passenger) experience much more pleasant for me.

Where exactly do you think the light in vehicles without glass roofs is coming from?

Isn't Tesla the only one that made it mandatory?

Hyundai, Ford, etc have it as an option.

I see this on all sorts of non tesla cars and it makes no sense. I saw it even on brands like Fisker (although that was a solar panel that apparently didn't work).

Just a nice metal roof that won't make me expend more electricity for nothing would be nice.

Yes, but which cars other than Tesla don't give you the choice?

(Never heard of Fisker).

My 2008 Audi A3 had it and I loved it. First, the roof was black so it breaks down the shape (mine was white/black). Second, it makes the car feel more airy. Yes, it got hot when parked, to each beholder his own.

Tesla is an outlier in that the car is designed only with a glass roof. It's not a hole in the existing roof panel like other cars. The lower trim Tesla Y bizarrely has a glass roof that's covered on the inside with a headliner.

Everyone with Teslas around where I am recently discovered that this is super inconvenient when a nasty hail storm happens. I mean, all of our cars got totaled anyway, but they had the added insult of no longer having a roof and needing to tarp more of the car until insurance could do their thing.

With the cost of the bespoke glass, damage to it basically means the car is guaranteed to be totaled even in a less extreme scenario.

> Tesla is an outlier in that the car is designed only with a glass roof. It's not a hole in the existing roof panel like other cars.

Lots of cars have followed Tesla's lead: Ioniq 5, Mach E, etc.

I'm claiming that Tesla is an outlier in that they're not giving a choice. With the Ioniq 5 and Mach E, you can choose whether you want the glass roof or not.

You can't in the Ioniq 5 (US). You have to give up many useful features if you do not want the roof because the roof is part of the Limited trim. Luckily, I like the roof.

On the Polestar2 (and other models) it's not mandatory, but you can't get other imperative things -- like the heat pump (major efficiency concern) -- unless you get the Plus package that has the glass roof.

No, Volvo has it mandatory as well. Probably others.

I don't like it, but that was often the first thing people mentioned liking when the got in.

They can't afford buttons in the console, yet they can afford a massive piece of useless glass. Sometimes I think we're not getting the real story.

You are in charge of this. Just don’t buy a vehicle with one.

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