this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2023
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This makes a lot of sense. Tesla is a slightly higher-end car, and it's not surprising that it attracts people from the engineering fields.
People who work in engineering/tech would be slightly more inclined to buy cutting-edge products.
The funny thing is that it’s objectively not a higher end car. It’s just a cheap Corolla with a big computer in it. Tesla’s build quality is also complete shit, as easily seen in the panel fitment (or anything fitment).
“ The funny thing is that it’s objectively not a higher end car. It’s just a cheap Corolla”
I don’t know if I can agree with that, lol. Teslas are incredibly fun to drive, are the safest cars ever made, drive themselves on the freeway (how well is a debate, but still), cost very little to fuel etc etc.
Very different than a Corolla, and I love me a Corolla!
Depends on if you define “high end.” Most people consider the build quality as a major factor in what makes a car “high end.” Tesla’s are notorious for some of the worst, if not THE worst build quality in the industry. The materials are cheap in quality and QA is seemingly non-existent, with cars frequently being shipped that are duds or begin to literally fall apart (like steering wheels coming off mid drive) extremely quickly.
A friend of mine bought a new Model 3 at launch here in Germany. He had to drive a couple of hundred kilometers to pick it up in a city with a port. When he arrived, he was escorted to a warehouse with 100s of Teslas in it. His was actually outside in the parking lot. He was told that he could inspect the car for one hour to find potential faults like panel gaps, scratches in the paint or runny paint (it had been raining the night before and the car was still wet lol).
He found two fault which were going to be sorted out for him no charge. He told me this while we were sitting in the vehicle and I said "oh, so stuff like this scratch in the dashboard here?" and he looked at it and said "... I haven't even noticed that one -_-"
All in all a very strange way to sell a car and pretty unheard of, especially here in Germany and with a brand new car.
Tesla is weird here in they don’t have “regular dealerships”. You buy direct from the manufacturer, instead of a private owner dealership chain. Idk how Tesla deliver cars specifically but every time I’ve bought a car you test drive it, then you look it over. You see if it’s missing anything like floor mats or they are adding something like clear vinyl or CarPlay they give you basically an IOU for those thing. Also, if you notice anything like a ding or scratch you get that in writing too. I usually don’t take delivery until everything is there/fixed so I don’t have to go back and forth 10 million times. It sounds like your friends experience was pretty similar.
I have however been inside their service center and know quite a few Tesla mechanics. That’s run quite differently to other dealerships service depts I’ve been in.
I’ll never own a Tesla because the surveillance sketches me out, but their “cheaper” models can do 0-60 in like three seconds with full torque. That’s preeeeeeeeetty higher end.
Virtually all electric cars go 0-60 in under 6 seconds, with most around 4 seconds.
But even so, I didn’t dispute the performance of the Tesla in terms of driving power, just commenting on the poor build quality and how some people may exclude it from being considered high end because of that.
That’s fair! For the cost my friend paid for his, I would say it’s a much higher end car than any other cars in that bracket, features-and-performance-wise. It’s been a few years now and nothing feels shoddy, the interior isn’t crazy impressive but nothing is broken!
The surveillance is one of the features I like. Built in dash cameras that surround the car and work non-stop, even when parked? Hell yes. If someone ever fucks my car up in a parking lot and takes off, I'll have something more substantial than just a dent or busted mirror to show the insurance company and possibly take action against the person who did it.
I love the idea of those features, but not to a placed dialed into a headquarters 24/7 transmitting all of my data to a private Corp. SUPER convenient and awesome features, but Tesla was already busted sharing what were supposed to be private videos around the office of people driving in their cars.
Yeah that part I agree with. I like the idea of the cameras and understand why they are needed for the self driving; but I want it all self contained. I don't want any of that data to leave the car unless I pull it out from a thumb drive or otherwise physically connected device.
Fast doesn’t equal high end. Fit and finish and overall build quality and reliability do. If you look at a Bentley or Rolls (so so not my type of car, but I respect what goes into one), you can instantly tell the workmanship and quality product that went into the car. You look at a Tesla and you could easily be on a Toyota or Chevy lot.
Also, pretty much all electric cars are that fast off the line. That’s the beauty of electric vehicles.
I'm curious about the "safest cars ever made" claim?
https://thedriven.io/2023/01/23/tesla-model-y-wins-2023-safety-award-with-near-perfect-safety-rating/amp/
Comma.ai will let you add driver assistance to most cars almost as good as Tesla and with OTA updates. Under $2k too so cheaper than FSD.
We’ll see! They’ve been saying that for a long time. My point is Tesla is the most advanced you can buy currently, and that appears unlikely to change anytime soon. They have more cars on the road collecting data and improving their systems than anyone. It’s not even close..
They are behind in their tech. They almost certainly can’t overcome this without changing everything. And the tech is what makes everyone desire a Tesla. There are actually higher end cars with the same or better tech now.
They have some of the worst build quality in the industry. Shit, even musk agrees they have shit build quality.
While they may rate high in safety ratings, I personally don’t like my car spontaneously combusting and/or locking me inside because some dipshit defaulted it to locked when the battery dies. Who the fuck decided on that!?!?!?
If you strip away the big screen and the (now) inferiors gadgets, you’re left with a Corolla with really bad fit and finish.
I’ve been in my mate’s model S*, and lemme tell ya, 0-60 in three seconds is hilariously NOT “objectively not a high end car” lawl
Find me a Corolla that can do that
Edit: I was wrong, it’s the standard model, not the S! I forgot the midrange one, but it’s below an S. It still has two motors and launch… go fast, though!
motorcycle != car
Also the torque on the motorcycle would feel completely different. I’ve never felt acceleration like that, it was AWESOME.
I'm no Tesla fan but suggesting that the existence of motorcycles nullifies the speed differentiator is an asinine argument.
Higher end S even does sub 2 second times
I can’t even imagine what that feels like.
As I said to someone else, speed doesn’t equal high end. Nor does a price tag. Fit and finish, and build quality and reliability do. Look at a real high end car and then look at a Tesla and tell me they are even in the same league.
That person was also me hahaha
I get where you’re coming from, but as a person who loves Corollas, a Tesla is in another world from sitting in one. It’s nothing like a fancy Bentley or whatever, but at its price point it feels fancy enough to be in and it demolishes everything else performance-wise. I wouldn’t say it’s not high-end, but everyone can have their own opinion.
I don’t think you know what “objective” means. At least define your criteria more broadly to make a hyperbolic claim like this.
The interior is not on the level of Mercedes but the whole package counting performance, drive and features is luxury.
People fall over themselves to talk down Tesla since Elon is a prick but let’s please try to stay rational here vs knee jerk reddit like reactions.
I'm in the market to replace my current EV, having looked at the M3 and Y, locally here in New Zealand the panel gaps look perfect although these might be the Chinese made models?
Panel gaps were mostly an early model issue afaik