I’ve read a lot of bad things about Teslas, but they are popular. Half the EVs around where I live (20 miles west of Oxford in the UK) seem to be Teslas. I think that’s partly because there is a particular Tesla look, and Tesla only make EVs, so you can recognise them very easily.
There’s actually a lot of EVs from conventional companies like Nissan, Renault and Volkswagen in the area. They aren’t as noticeable because they are mixed in with the large herd of ICE cars from the same makers.
I think there’s a danger that Chinese manufacturers like Volvo and BYD are going to eat everyone’s lunch. If they brought in a culture of rapid change battery packs, it might actually be a good thing.
To address the topic, people have different wants and needs with a rental car than with their own car at home. Typically you want to do a lot of driving in unfamiliar areas in a short time. This isn’t what EVs are good at, given the current charging infrastructure. In another 10 years, when public chargers outnumber petrol pumps, it will be a different matter.
