Why do people still buy Teslas? Serious question
I’m only answering because you sound sincere in your desire for the opinion of others. I’m not a Musk fanboy (years ago I was, admittedly). I’m not looking for a fight. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, here is mine because you asked for it:
Other EV brands are shockingly (no pun intended) behind in technology or implementation. Most other EV manufacturers are making cars today that are closer to what Tesla was making 5 or 10 years ago, including lots of design or construction mistakes with those other manufacturers. Add to that, I know the idea that Tesla cars are expensive in still in most people’s minds, but Model 3 (available now at $31k USD) is one of the least expensive EVs on the road today with the tax credit from its fully domestically built battery. Non-Tesla charging infrastructure (in the USA, and even in Canada) is a joke to try to depend on it. Its also nice to be able to buy a car that supports the American workforce. A Tesla (bought in the USA) is the most American car you can buy! The top 4 “most American made cars” are Y, 3, X, and S. The number 5 slot is the Honda Passport.
Lastly, at least in the USA, buying a car from any other brand (except maybe Polestar now) means having to go through a local dealership, which is a horrible and exhausting experience. Buying a Tesla is refreshing in how transparent and low pressure the sales process is. No surprise fees, no dealer markup, no high pressure extended warranty or service plan sales.
I despise Musk’s childishness and politics, but the product and buying experience tops every other EV on the market today. The other brands have need to mature very quickly. However it doesn’t appear that Tesla is slowing down its growth either.
TLDR; Tesla makes the cheapest, most domestically produced, highest performance, most charging supported, best buying experience, most advanced mass market EV on the road today by a large margin.
Zehzin@lemmy.world 1 year ago
They don’t know better
Status symbol
Weird obsession with Elon
paraphrand@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It use to be this was excusable. But there are a lot of options now, no?
paintbucketholder@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yeah. Wanting a Tesla 5 years ago is very different from still wanting a Tesla today, in 2023, after Elon has told everyone, in public, exactly who he was.
fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Elon was pretty out and out an asshole back then too. He just wasn’t in the news 24/7 for being an asshole, just once every week or so.
dojan@lemmy.world 1 year ago
There are so many options. Manufacturers that have been in the market basically since the inception of cars, and have decades upon decades of experience designing and building them all have EVs. You can easily get a higher quality EV for much less.
paraphrand@lemmy.world 1 year ago
As someone who does not follow cars. What’s a budget EV considered these days?