Comment on Tesla Slumps Below 50% Share of California's Electric Car Market
proudblond@lemmy.world 1 week agoI guess I see what you’re saying about not trusting Elon Musk because he had promised something that thus far had not been delivered. And you’re right, we didn’t trust him and didn’t purchase the option. But we thought the car was still okay. I still like the car, for the most part. Does that make sense? The car and the full self driving option were two separate purchases, one of which we did not make.
poopkins@lemmy.world 1 week ago
I understand your rationale, that makes sense.
Perhaps my priority is different, as I don’t make a habit of making investments with companies that have well documented track records of misleading and lying to customers. I didn’t buy a Tesla then, and I wouldn’t now, and the only thing that has changed is the public perception. That, for me, is secondary to the trustworthiness of the company.
proudblond@lemmy.world 1 week ago
I get that. I had already been burned by VW with the TDI scandal, so I was pretty frustrated with car companies in general. Are any of them truly ethical or consumer-focused? We saw that Tesla was at least trying to make the electric car thing work and we wanted to support that movement—not because we think electric cars are the endgame solution, but because we think they’re a step in the right direction and we wanted to encourage the market to follow their lead.
And buying a car is not an investment. It’s not like we own Tesla stock.
One thing I did really, really like about buying a car from Tesla is that they don’t use a dealership model. What a breath of fresh air! I never want to buy from a dealer ever again if I can help it. But I think the next time we’re in the market, we’ll buy used anyway.
poopkins@lemmy.world 1 week ago
That’s completely relatable. I was in the market for a new car in 2019 and ironically chose for VW despite the emissions scandal.
For me, buying a car remains a multi-year investment, because I bought it to serve a purpose over an extended period of time. I ran the numbers for 10 years between different manufacturers, each with different base prices, but also prices for subscriptions, service and repairs, and contrasted against long term costs of alternatives like public transportation. What exactly defines an investment is somewhat of a grey area and I guess the same logic would disqualify a home as an investment. The only real difference is that a car is always a bad investment (unless you take Elmo at his word).
It’s unfortunate that the dealership situation has weighed in to your decision, as Tesla abused their position as a new entry into the market to be exempt from state franchise laws. Most other car manufacturers have been selling cars longer through the conventional dealership model and are literally forbidden from adapting. Some states have maximum market share requirements which were put into place after the popularity of Tesla took off, effectively squeezing new entrants like Rivian out of state markets like Washington. This issue is more about state regulations and how Tesla uses and abuses its power to increase their profit margin.
I’m not at all arguing in favor of dealerships—don’t get me wrong. But the fact that Tesla doesn’t have them is not because of any innovation, but an unfair competitive advantage.