Regardless of Musk, Consumer Reports, a respectable publication, still has good things to say about the Model 3, if not about any of the other models.
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Whether or not you’re “on board” with being called a MAGA supporter, the first thing we all think when we see a Tesla now is that Musk has gone full QAnon – not what a great friend to the environment/early adopter you are. If you bought a Tesla before it was evident Musk was a fascist, you might get some sympathy but it will require a “I bought before Elon revealed himself” bumper sticker. If you bought after you knew what a monster he is, then that’s on you.
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That’s the thing, we like to pretend these aren’t good cars, but they are. Tesla sells them as fast as they can make them, and while they did indeed have a lot of problems scaling up production, and it’s still pretty shitty, their 2022 rankings actually have them above Volkswagen, Volvo, Audi and Chrysler. So yeah, it’s fun to call them crapwagons but they’re just “middling-wagons” like a lot of other brands at this point.
What is pretty valid though is a lot of other companies have caught up and the competitive advantage their performance and charging network offers is rapidly diminishing.
I bought a new car this year, and I really wanted to go electric (especially because I intend to go solar here in Florida anyway). My shortlist was actually similar to what @jaded posted above, however, all the cars I was interested in where massively back ordered (and I had to give up my existing car so I couldn’t wait), but the Teslas were ruled out mostly because their cost is still higher than the rest, and their interiors, while initially novel, are really being bested by the contemporary manufacturer’s new offerings thanks to the second-mover advantage of seeing how real-world Telsa interiors were received and how they could be improved upon. And this was all long before the current shenanigans.
In the end, I went gas-guzzler for one more cycle, but I expect this will be the last one. And I also expect even if Tesla ousts Musk and focuses on competition, that they will have a very very hard time differentiating themselves come 2026 or whatever from the rest of the offerings, and those cars will be more reliable. So I think the writing is on the wall at this point for them.
That being said, I’m heading back to Toronto for the Holidays and did indeed rent a Model Y for that trip so I can at least say I road tripped one around the GTA for a week and have some hands-on experience to relate to for my next purchase. 
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Fully agreed. I got a used Model S a few years ago because for the price, it was the best option available, but it was really close - Volvo in particular, if they had a full electric sedan or wagon, would have easily been where I went. Polestar doesn’t count since I couldn’t actually test-drive one, since apparently selling electric cars in Seattle wasn’t a high priority for them for some reason.
Most of the ‘innovations’ Tesla has done since being top of the market are dumb as fuck. The new Model S steering yoke is a nightmare, full size touchscreens instead of controls are stupid, etc. The years of Tesla just being the best option are long gone at this point.
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Agreed; there’s a lot I really like about my Tesla, although there’s a few things that are pretty dumb. But still, they’re not where they were like six years ago, where they really stood head and shoulders above the crowd. Lots of traditional auto manufacturers are making great cars, and unless Tesla ousts Musk and hires…I dunno, someone really respectable to replace him, AND can manage to top what other brands are doing, my next vehicle won’t be a Tesla. I’m kind of keeping an eye on the VW Microbus they’re doing, because that would be rad, and would carry a sheet of plywood (probably, haven’t done the math yet).
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“Backordered” isn’t the only way to buy an EV.
When people order a vehicle that far in advance, sometimes their circumstances change. So once the car arrives at the dealership it turns out they can’t (or won’t) close the deal. The dealer then has another car available to sell.
We’ve been on a waitlist for the Bolt since August (an estimated 4-8 months), but absolutely nothing has happened so far. Last week my wife got tired of waiting, and she started looking online. She found this car at a dealer on the East Coast. It had our exact set of options, and it was even the right color! So we set up the deal over the phone, flew out and signed the obligatory papers, then spent the weekend driving it home.
If you’re willing to make some small compromises on options or colors, and don’t mind a learn-all-about-EVs-as-you-go trip, I’d bet you could find a couple of dealers that have some in stock today.
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We’ve had a base model Chevy Bolt for 4-5 years now. Love it. At the time, cheaper (and actually available!) than the Model3. We are in line for a battery replacement (oh, what’s that? a free battery after five years? well OK!) But otherwise we’ve only rented an ICE car mb three times in those 4-5 years to drive to Portland. Enkwife and I loaded my ocean kayak and her SUP onto the roof rack and drove to south of Santa Cruz for a camping trip. Charged it in Watsonville for 45 minutes at a DC fast charger and that lasted until we were ready to drive home. Which required another 45 minute charge. nbd
Out here in CA, I’d wait until the next set of vehicles have V2X or at least V2H or V2G (subsidies pls!). Car batteries can charge during the day and help w the duck curve from 4-9PM. And car batteries are MUCH larger than Tesla powerwalls. We buy 100% clean green all renewable energy to power it (from our level 1 charger plugged into a beefy extension cord - it works).
Currently I don’t put money in rich Eholes pockets if I can help it. Seems the Tesla board might oust the Chief Twit if he can’t put his big boy pants on and stop f’ing around with fascists (also, stop taking calls or enjoying a youthful blood bag with Peter Thiel! creepy. Same for Putin! stfu about shit you have no business yapping about! grumble grumble). Phony Stark… LOL
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I just did the exact same math on which EV to buy. It was an extra car for us with a kid getting the old gas car. Which also means, for long trips I can take the gas car back. That pushed us into the EV instead of a hybrid or plug-in hybrid and we got a Bolt EUV Premier.
It was $15,000 less than just about all the other options. Probably more, since we ordered it and got it for MSRP without any marketing adjustment that all the others or a Bolt on the lot had at time. We’re not using it for trips, see above, so the Tesla charger network didn’t matter. If we have to charge more than once each direction on a trip, we’ll probably take the gas car.
I read posts about people waiting months and months for orders all the time. All I can think is they need to find a bigger dealer, one that moves more cars. From order date to delivery, ours was 11 weeks exactly. Ordered it on 8/8/22, have about 1,000 miles on it now I think, maybe a little less. It was only 4 weeks between order submitted and on the way to production. If it had been longer, I would have been calling more dealers and putting in many more orders. They’re all refundable after all.
PS: The Bolt is super fun compared the to the CVT vehicles we also drive. Best that the teenager doesn’t really drive it. It’s also a conundrum of premium and cheap features mixed together too.
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He just sold a bunch more stock. ($3.58 billion)
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Aw rats. I thought we were going to talk about actual, for real Battery Powered Maga Hats. I found the concept quite hilarious.
I am disappoint.
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naw. MAGAt hats are powered by teh very large brain of a certain ‘stable genius’.
so, batteries not included.
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No propellor beanies?
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he’s wearing velvet pants.
sorry. can’t pass an opportunity to post this song.
returning to our regularly scheduled topic.
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At this point Tesla is, like, his ATM.
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Surely cutting into Tesla operations and planning.
Oops! There goes 2025 R and D funding.
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