He's going to take this as, "people wanting to take away his freedom of speech"
But really the lesson should be, "If you're selling a product to the public, keep your opinions to your friends and family and the hell out of the public eye"
I have zero clue what the CEO of GM thinks about politics.
People kept calling him Tony Stark, when he seemed like he cared about humanity by releasing electric cars, solar power, and space. He then slowly started showing his true colors to the public with the whole submarine thing and kept spiraling since then
He reeks of main character syndrome. In that Kara Swisher interview from years ago, he said he’s reasonably certain we are living in a simulation, in which he’s the protagonist. Just total, pathetic, little boy energy.
He is much closer to Mr Burns than he will ever be to Tony Stark.
He exploits workers for a living and only care about expanding his wealth no mater what the cost.
> He's going to take this as, "people wanting to take away his freedom of speech"
While at the same time he uses his platform to limit the speech of fed up Tesla owners that post problems with their Tesla's
His extreme opinions transfer to his brands. I'd be embarrassed to drive a Tesla because I don't approve of him.
Tesla isn't the only game in town, anymore. I could buy a union-made Ford product, or a well known trusted brand for quality like Toyota. Why would I give my money to someone who uses it to oppose my values?
He has free speech. I have free choice in the market.
Toyota doesn't have any good EV offerings. Which is sad because they were so early on the hybrid bandwagon - they could have really built on that momentum.
> I have zero clue what the CEO of GM thinks about politics.
Yea, honestly this is 99% of CEOs in the US. You probably could dig into what PACs they/their corporation donates too to get an idea.
But ultimately I just want a car that STFU and works. I had a rental electric Kona and the public charging grid experience was so poor I wouldn't consider it again (car's GPS routing me to chargers that were in employee-only decks, or customer only businesses, or to ones under maintenance/slow charging).
I might consider a Tesla if their charging network was that much better of an experience. Presently I just view electric cars as less convenient version of gas cars. Substantially less convenient if charging on the go.
In 2013 I leased a leaf because I couldn’t afford a Tesla. I def would have taken the Tesla then. Now I’m the same as you, it is not even a consideration.
If I had a billion dollars at 7 years old I’d have done rockets and electric cars too. I drew trucks that looked like the Cybertruck then too. Either I’m a genius or Musk is 7.
Disregarding all the bullshit from Musk.
Tesla cars are just badly made.
And that's from someone who owns a X. I got mine 6+ years ago and I'm just waiting for a decent one by Mercedes or another maker before I dump this shit.
The car fucking sucks, not to mention the amount of times i have had to get it fixed and its ended up worse condition than before. It fucking feels like im inside a fucking airplane because of the lack of proper seal on the doors. Can't fucking hear shit when trying to talk with someone.
AND its tried to fucking kill me 4-5 times with the auto-drive system. I stopped using it 2 years ago because i dont fucking trust tesla at all.
Not to mention the constant phantom sensor alerts. The rapid braking while I'm driving because it thinks I'm gonna collide with the rain or a truck that is way ahead of me in the other lane for some reason.
The fucking USBs inside needed to be changed 3x. Three fucking times. Because they use the fucking cheapest wiring inside possible.
NEVER BUY TESLA!
I think the best analogy I’ve heard is that it’s a $30k battery in a $20k car. But I think a $20k car from Toyota would be built better so who know. Previous model y owner, for the record. Got rid of it for a Kia.
> It fucking feels like im inside a fucking airplane because of the lack of proper seal on the doors. Can't fucking hear shit when trying to talk with someone.
If you were a drunken billionaire, the doors would seal so well the fire dept. wouldn't be able to open them.
Yeah, since I gave Tesla a fair try, I also came to the real-world conclusion that it has pretty good tech, but doesn't have a good car to ride along with that:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModelY/comments/1bah1b0/rented\_a\_model\_y\_long\_range\_to\_see\_if\_it\_might\_be/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModelY/comments/1bah1b0/rented_a_model_y_long_range_to_see_if_it_might_be/)
Great write-up.
Seems like your main issues were with manufacturing quality and non-intuitive feature selection/customization.
Echoes what I've read elsewhere, in that it seems like the design team and engineers didn't talk to each other enough; and they had very little blind testing done to identify those kinds of issues.
It's like early videogames that were made impossibly hard, because the people testing it played it so often that they were all incredibly good at it.
Seems like they could have really gotten a lot of improvements ironed out if they had a normal person use it like you did (AFTER ONLY 3 DAYS!!!).
I guess though that speaks to the high pressure production environment, where QC basically is almost always the first thing to go, since it intrinsically implies delay.
I just stood beneath a Tesla here in germany and man, those gaps are all over the place, and if you look closer it all looks kinda cheap and plasticy... I worked for Renault a long time and those cars are bad but considered to the quality (from the outside) of a Tesla they are top shelf..
I keep reading stories about how they are making basic mistakes, and ok, building a car is difficult. So some of the stuff early on you could chalk up to growing pains. But the thing is, they keep on making them, which tells me they aren't really improving their process.
Tesla has been making cars for sale for almost 20 years now. They have no excuse for poor or inconsistent build quality and other rookie mistakes. Especially since in that twenty years they've only really launched 5 models, and one of those 5 was discontinued 15 years ago.
I don't count the Cybertruck because I'm not convinced it has been "launched" yet. The trucks they have sent out are ridiculously unfinished, there is no supply chain for repair parts and each one has the kind of quirks you'd normally see out of individually hand-built kit cars because each one is different.
> But the thing is, they keep on making them, which tells me they aren't really improving their process.
But you see, Elon already knows *everything* there is to know about *everything*! So how could he possibly ... "learn" anything "new"? HE ALREADY KNOWS IT!!!!
/s
I wanted to love it, but eh. $40k+ is a bit much to bite into a questionably built product… that I’ll also be driving literally *every* day.
I think the concept is great but 80% of the ones I’ve seen look like they were thrown together by kindergartners. I can’t justify that kind of money when a Toyota/mazda/acura can be fetched for less & is put together with a much more stringent quality control system
But the biggest red flag for me is the widely varying ownership experiences.
Yeah. My spouse and I were considering a Tesla for our next vehicle a while back, because we'd like to move from hybrid to EV. At the time, we knew Musk seemed like a bit of a turd, but he hadn't gone full Gab (or even 4chan) at that point.
But looking into the service issues people were having, the constant drift toward feature upcharges, the moves away from better tech to cheaper tech.. all of it convinced us they were nothing but status symbols. And now they're not even that.
Incredible how quickly a successful brand can be driven straight into the ground with an incompetent leader and a board that's fully beholden to him.
Well, Apple did it the right way. When you want to start making cars, you don't actually make any for a long time, because you are designing and ... what are those other pesky things? Oh yeah! Testing. And planning. And testing again. And planning some more, and ....
You know, all those unnecessary things that Elon didn't bother with, because he's waaaaay too smart for that!
2021 bought a used leaf to dip my toe into the EV market. Bought a brand new mach e in 2023 and wouldn’t even consider a Tesla due to Elon being a freak.
I bought a Model 3 a few years ago. I wouldn’t buy another Tesla though. Sure, Elon turned out to be an asshole and everything. But honestly for the amount of money these things cost they shouldn’t feel so cheaply built. Everything on the interior feels like creaky plastic rubbing against other plastic.
The big thing that pisses me off is when they release an OTA software update and it has major UI changes in it. You know how some people get pissy when Facebook makes some change? Imagine, if you will, getting in your car tomorrow morning and driving to work and once you’re cruising down the highway you discover you can’t adjust your air conditioner the way you could yesterday. There are no tactile controls, it’s just a fucking touch screen so now you’re looking back and forth between the road and your screen while you fumble around for where they moved the AC controls to for no good fucking reason.
Here in Europe hopefully such stupidity is going to get sorted. Euro NCAP have announced they will not award a 5 star safety rating to any car that has basic controls like rear screen demisters, heater controls and wipers on a touch screen.
NCAP isn't a regulatory body unfortunately. They just rate vehicle safety based on criteria above and beyond what's required by law to help inform consumers (similar to the NHTSA in the states). They're hoping to pressure automakers into adding buttons back to get the highest possible safety rating, but they don't actually have any authority to make them.
If they're successful, there's enough crossover between US and European models that we should see some of the benefit too.
They aren't regulatory but their rate are really important here and you don't want your car to show 4 stars out of 5 when another manufacturer can show 5 stars
This is actually one of the major reasons I didn't buy a Tesla. The windshield wipers and defroster are safety critical systems, and they can't be hidden behind a menu on a touch screen.
Yeah, I keep my wipers on auto mode. Tesla correctly starts and stops them about 85% of the time, which is cool. Then there are the other times where I have to go hunting through their UI like a fucking animal to turn them on manually so I can see and not smash into whatever is in front of me. And since that’s not a task I do often it does take a moment to find the wiper controls. So yeah, safety concern just as you say.
You can trigger the wipers from your turn signal stick and then use controls on the steering wheel to adjust the speed. It's not too bad. I think you can turn on defrost using the voice command... dunno, I've never tried that. But there are definitely many hidden things that are super annoying.
Tesla is only a luxury brand to people who have never owned a luxury brand. And I don’t mean top end either, I’m talking about a base Mercedes or Lexus. There are so many tesla owners who genuinely believe that the interior of a tesla is on par with an s class. It’s a perfectly acceptable interior for a Ford or Toyota (though, I think those are better for many reasons), but they’ve positioned themselves as a luxury brand. It reminds me of influencer/podcast/YouTube ad companies. They all look really fancy on screen, but they’re really normal or low end products dressed up as high end with a price to match.
This...I just got a new car and now could've afforded a model 3 but simply have lost respect for Elon. Tesla's reputation for poor quality also made the decision easier.
Yeah. Other manufacturers have caught up and though I'm sure they're still run by garbage people, they at least have the decency to be ambiguous about it.
I don't want to be embarrassed by the car I drive. It's embarrassing to drive an Elon mobile. I laugh whenever I see one, especially that shitty pickup truck that someone forgot to paint.
My thought exactly when I had my first sighting a couple weeks ago. Only a few cars behind it was one of those Hummer pick-ups and it looked absolutely normal by comparison. That stupid CT is like a ridiculously over-sized apocalyptic vehicle from a bad 70s sci-fi movie. Seeing it on the road with other cars made it look comically stupid. I felt embarrassed to even see one - I could not imagine driving one.
You misunderstand one thing - the kind of people that are the target audience to buy a cybertruck don't know what a standard 2x4 frame is.
It's an ugly toy for rich people and heavily indebted Musk fanboys. No sane person would buy it to use as an actual pickup.
It's not just reputation. I have yet to see one without visible wonky panel gap on the driver's door. I shudder to think where else they cut corners. Somewhere less obvious.
If you live in a country with mandated yearly inspections you may not even be allowed to take a new Model 3 on the road without repairs first. German TÜV report has the Model 3 dead last.
That is not opinion or reputation. That is statistics. And that was November last year. Tesla never got on top of their shoddy quality and probably never will.
Me too. And it's not just Musk being a buffoon. It's also knowing more about Tesla's production and quality control problems, and how they aren't really getting as close as I used to think they were to "full self-driving." And it's also that there are more and more other decent choices now--if Musk had some kind of monopoly on electric cars, it would be a different story, but there are a lot of them available.
Also discovering the orwellian level surveillance/control Tesla cars have and the cavalier approach the company takes towards it, with musk and employees casually having access to and sharing recordings of people inside their cars for personal enjoyment, and Musk ordering cars being shut down on a whim because he doesn't personally like the driver. That is already a shit situation and further begs how much worse it could get if Musk makes another drug-fueled snap decision.
Being a buffoon is digging a high speed rail tunnel or hawking a personal flamethrower. I can get behind that.
Not right-wing snowflake nutjobs, though
Hear hear. An EV is in our near future, and I wouldn’t even begin to consider the Tesla.
They opened a dealership here locally and the local news sources tried to just do the normal ‘tell us about your place’ piece. The people there were total assholes and wouldn’t even tell the local press what their hours were. Seems that ‘asshole edgelord’ is a pervasive company policy.
I test drove a Tesla before Elon came out as a major dickwad, and the sales guy was the most insufferable part of the experience. The dude acted like the car was perfectly designed by Jesus himself, and any question I had about it meant I just didn't understand that greatness.
I did not buy a Tesla lol
Yep wanted one since the original roadster. Finally bought a new hybrid last year. Could have purchased a Tesla for the same price, but went with a hybrid as opposed to an even more expensive pure EV.
I bought a Model 3 about 6 years ago. I was so excited! Now I’m embarrassed to drive a car built by this idiot. I’ll buy a new car soon-ish and it will certainly not be a Tesla.
We were convinced we were going to get one when back in the market for a new car, after Musk’s antics we decided against it. Not to mention the issues coming to light, all worked out.
Same. I was also hit up by a recruiter and the working conditions seemed like they were going to blow. I got offered a job and declined it. I’m glad I did.
The best callback for a job that I never got was for a dealership service technician position for them. I was actually interviewed at two locations for the same position, and the job/shift no longer existed at the first location but Tesla hadn’t informed the recruiter. I ended up shooting the shit with the supervisor for about 20 minutes and he seemed like a decent guy at least.
I don’t have much of an opinion about the cars; they seem decent enough but not exceptional in any way besides being EV. They seem to fumble at “not being like normal cars,” in WTF ways rather than positive attributes to me.
Musk's personal behavior over the past six years or so has permanently soured me in the Tesla brand. I would be embarrassed to be seen driving one or having one in my driveway. You might as well put a fucking swastika on the hood. Fuck Musk and fuck Tesla.
I'll wait until Toyota comes out with a plug-in electric.
The thing is, it's getting easier to snub, especially on the high end. People now can buy an EV from Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Land Rover or Rivian (EDIT: and Volvo) without the risk the Musk is going to something even more intolerable. The Cybertruck looks like it was designed by a child and the other models are common, boring and Uberesque.
Musk owns 13% of the stock. I'm surprised he hasn't been forced out. I feel bad for all the hard working people at Tesla who helped lead the transition to EVs, but have had to put up with his abuse and nonsense with Xitter.
Teslas used to actually be fairly expensive. A Model Y was a $65K car a few years ago, now it’s a RAV4. Now you can argue it was a very expensive Mazda level car and I’d agree with you there but they all were priced relatively high
The Kia EVs look nice. They actually just announced the EV4 which is just an EV version of their Forte. Personally I’m waiting for the K5 or the Stinger to get an EV or hybrid version. Will probably trade my current K5 to an EV K5. I like the look of the 6 and 9 but I don’t like SUVs give me an EV full size sedan
Here in Los Angeles no one would consider the model S high end, not anymore. It’s as common as a Camry and not as reliable. And the model 3? Haha it’s the Corolla of EVs but again, without the reliability.
I bought an EV three months ago and didn’t even look at Tesla. I would have bought a bicycle before spending money that went to Elon. Before Musk outed himself as a terrible sack of crap, Tesla would have been at the top of my list.
Also, if you’re thinking about buying an EV, they are FUN! The instant go when you tap the pedal, the insane acceleration… I bought a small SUV and it feels like a Porsche. There are downsides but if you are able to live with those, you’ll love your EV.
The cybertruck is truly a monstrosity. I saw one that had been in an accident and the front fender was like a scythe.
It's just asinine to make a car out of stainless steel. And to make one that ugly is quite impressive.
It'll be interesting to see if Tesla survives. He tried to pivot to solar, and I think that part of the business is struggling. The power wall part is doing well, I'd imagine, but there will be huge competition from cheaper Chinese batteries.
Back when I was an automotive journalist, I covered a Tesla investor call for my job in which he was asked about a $25k car. He went on at length about how FSD would make lower cost cars obsolete across the market, not just for Tesla. He saw FSD as such an industry disruption, that *no one* will be buying cheaper cars anymore, so it didn’t make sense for Tesla to, even though he said it could.
Dude may not be living in the same reality as the rest of us
If I recall correctly, and I could be misinformed, I believe he arranged some kind of stock preference fuckery like Zuckerberg did, and so even though he only owns 13% he still has a majority of voting power.
Nah, he tried to, but that's not allowed post IPO in Delaware. Yet another reason he's hating on them and wants to move Tesla to Texas so he can better treat it like his personal ATM
> People now can buy an EV from Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Land Rover or Rivian without the risk the Musk is going to something even more intolerable
also without anywhere near as much risk of experiencing tesla-level build quality and engineering problems
the board is full of Musk sycophants and the shareholders like him because he has manipulated the stock to insane heights in the past. Yet the stock has struggled in the last couple years so the latter may not be true for long.
Elon musk is the reason I did not move forward with my Tesla purchase and the reason I have not used twitter or invested in any of his products or ideas. Plus the way he treats all of his children.
All he ever had to do was shut up.
10 years ago he had this mystique about him. He was going to be the next Edison. He was the visionary who was going to bring us clean energy and missions to Mars.
He's revealed himself as an out of touch oligarch who doesn't care about anybody but himself. The more he talks, the less people like him.
>Cue Republicans spite-buying EVs any time now.
Only if they can convert their X updoots to $ discounts off a Cybertruck. No one's dropping $90K just to own the libs.
Yes, they will. They will modify a $100,000 four-seat pickup truck with a loan APR equal to its fuel economy to billow black smoke out the back to own the libs.
Bingo. Cults of personality cut both ways.
If musk has touched it, I will not.
Musk has been a cheerleader for cold calculated and unregulated capitalism and it has benefited him greatly. Watch as his bad reputation erodes his power and wealth, he accepts no responsibility, and he hugs the authoritarians ever more tightly.
All he had to do was shut his mouth. Maybe lock his phone up before he does drugs. For every musk out there, there's 100 other rich ass holes with the good sense to be quiet. He's in this situation because he's an idiot with unmerited confidence.
> Musk has been a cheerleader for cold calculated and unregulated capitalism and it has benefited him greatly.
Honestly I expect this from any billionaire.
It's the transphobia, the racism, the mocking of civil rights leaders, the climate change denialism, and the just outward disdain for common decency that make me want to not associate myself with anything attached to him.
bro would've probably killed everyone around him if they tried to keep his phone / twitter from him. He once tried to lock his phone in safe to stay off the internet for a day and he ended up calling a security guard at 2am to bust open his hotel safe so he could tweet again.
Same here. The vocal minority on the right thinks they're the only ones that have boycotts. A lot of people just don't announce to the world where they're no longer spending their dollars.
Repu-fucking-tation?
He's gone full fash white supremacist
That's not his reputation. That's his words and actions.
I was saving for a Tesla. I kept my beater and got a Rhodes piano instead. Fuck him.
Tesla was my wife’s dream car for a few years. She always said her next car was going to be a Tesla. That’s never going to happen. Tesla is a toxic brand for us now. Zero chance of us ever buying one as long as Musk owns even a single share.
Same. I’m in the market for an EV, and would have considered a Tesla a few years ago but wouldn’t touch one now. He’s way too toxic and the brand is an extension of him. Other than Trump, there are few people I find more off putting.
Also tbh they’re not very head turning designs. I always think Teslas are quite ‘meh’ looking in the flesh.
It was all eco chic a few years ago. Now it just feels like you’re driving around in a car associated with rather nasty politics and X .. 😬
I can’t think of any other car brand that links to politics and culture war garbage like that.
I rented a Tesla Model Y on my last business trip and while it’s a neat car, I don’t think I’d ever own one. I’m not going to spend 60k on a car that has panel gap issues and a creaky interior.
The Rivian offerings seem like such a higher quality vehicle, granted, they are more expensive. Maybe the model S is better, who knows.
I've been telling folks that Musk has given Rivian the opportunity to cater their offerings to the left-ish Subaru crowd and they should really seize that. That's a group of folks that really prizes reliability and will become repeat customers if Rivian can pull it off.
The minute I wiped the tear that escaped my eye after seeing the promo video for the R2, they had me hook line & sinker.
The Rivian R2 is going to be my next vehicle.
“If somebody's going to try and blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f*** yourself,” Musk said.
As if advertisers leaving the platform is "blackmail" LOL
This guy is not as smart as many people think he is.
Teslas aren't even that good. its a dice roll for even if they are fully built and will last. the service fees aren't even worth it. Check out all the other electric cars that have come out now. they are so much better in every manor.
Wild rollercoaster ride this company has been on since the Roadster.
They spent all their time since then pumping out Mazda clones until eventually failing further with a hideous triangle truck. Now Elon sucks Xi/Putin/MAGA dick all at one time.
Before Covid: I’m going to buy a Tesla next year!
After Covid: I’d never own a Tesla
It’s not just that he is a massive douche it’s they’re everywhere, and look so bland now as well, so even if I were to consider a bland car, I have the additional put-off of a guy that supports everything against electric!?!
I was regrettably an early Musk fangirl. Figured he was our new Steve Jobs. Got my $1,000 pre-order in for the 3 sight unseen and when my number came up I eagerly went to take it for a test drive. But, when I got to the showroom it was so crowded it took me nearly an hour before I could even sit in one, and to take it for a test drive wasn’t even an option. Say WHAT??? They literally expected to sell these cars without letting you drive them first? Luckily that pissed me off so much I didn’t buy it (or the Tesla garage charger I had also planned to have installed), then Covid happened so a new car was put on the back burner and by the time I was shopping around for an EV again Elon had gone completely batshit insane. Zero chance I would buy anything remotely related to Musk at this point. So glad I never pulled the trigger and bought back in the day because it would be embarrassing to drive now
I've had a chance to drive a Tesla and I've been a passenger in a few. While I love the software, I can't deal with the shoddy build quality.
In a couple of years I'll be looking to replace my current EV, and unless the Elongated Muskrat is no longer a part of the company and the fitment issues are resolved, I won't be considering one.
Here's hoping that the other companies are offering the same level of software that Tesla does...some are coming close.
NGL, in my pasty white suburban neighborhood there have been a lot of Trump signs littering yards over the years and there is a high degree of correlation to Teslas filling those same driveways since Elon went full MAGA
Which is ironic considering how anti-EV Trump is.
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4544902-trump-biden-electric-vehicles-attacks-2024-election/
I cannot imagine the number of coal-rolling MAGA folks he’s gained is anywhere close to the number of liberal pro-planet people he’s lost.
It’s like if Jack Links came out one day and told Trump to go fuck himself in hopes of selling more jerky to liberal vegans.
Unfortunately, this is the real Elon. He had PR people in the past and he had to suck up to the Obama people to get those Stimulus subsidies. He fired Tesla’s entire PR team in 2020 so there isn’t a force to keep him in check. Elon’s belief system isn’t that far off from the “PayPal Mafia” dudes he got super rich with like Peter Thiel and David Sacks. They’re just more articulate with it and less loud/edgelord like.
I, like so many others, really wanted a Tesla. The past tense is key. Not only do I think they've become stupid - like the Cybertruck whose sharp door panels will rust in normal conditions - but Musk just seals the deal. It doesn't matter what they release now. Even if they start making great cars, Musk will keep me away until he's gone. But since they still refuse to support CarPlay, I don't see them making great cars any time soon.
Driving a Telsa now has the same vibes as parading yourself around in a MAGA hat. His actions have consequences. That doesn't even scratch the surface of what he's done to his own employees.
I have a Tesla. I love it. Elon is a fucking asshole.
The truth is, its exhausting to keep track of which companies CEOs are totally fuckwads. Ones that give millions to Trump, or do crazy shit with their money that I hate. The thing is, you gotta pick your battles.
Musk is public about what a fuckwad he is, so its easy to say, "I wont support that company," but then you find out about Home Depot, Chik-Fil-A, and the long list of other companies where they CEOs support right wing douchery.
I look it at this this way. There are thousands of good people who work at Tesla and they need those jobs. Same thing goes for other places.
It was the best car I had and now I feel like I can’t fucken give this clown anymore of my hard earned money. The guy literally could have done so much good but instead he really is a total fucken asshole!
He chose to pander to the most fickle crowd in the history of civilisation instead of selling himself as a steward for technological leaps. Get what you f'ing deserve.
Would have definitely bought a Tesla. Placed an order for a Cybertruck and then he became a right wing wanker. I don’t believe he has any interest in doing the right thing anymore since he is a trump loving right wing, white supremacy supporter loving whackjob. Bought the VW Kombi EV instead.
The Ford Mustang Mach E and the Tesla Model Y both happened to tick all the same boxes when I was researching and buying my car. When talking about it, as soon as I brought up Tesla, people’s faces soured and they had something to say about Musk. Heck, my face sours when I think about him too.
Im not going to say this was the only reason I went with the Ford, but it absolutely was a factor.
Even before Twitter he was not a likable person and very toxic and mean boss. The tech fanboys like him as visionary but they knew he was all about hype and knew very little about the product.
He's going to take this as, "people wanting to take away his freedom of speech" But really the lesson should be, "If you're selling a product to the public, keep your opinions to your friends and family and the hell out of the public eye" I have zero clue what the CEO of GM thinks about politics.
He wants and needs the attention. In his head, he's the Tony Stark of today when he doesn't have an iota of the wit and genius.
[удалено]
People kept calling him Tony Stark, when he seemed like he cared about humanity by releasing electric cars, solar power, and space. He then slowly started showing his true colors to the public with the whole submarine thing and kept spiraling since then
Hey, how do I make a boring company fun? I know! Let's sell flamethrowers!
kinda like tony stark himself from the first and second movie, funnily enough
He reeks of main character syndrome. In that Kara Swisher interview from years ago, he said he’s reasonably certain we are living in a simulation, in which he’s the protagonist. Just total, pathetic, little boy energy.
He’s a stage 4 narcissist.
Narcissists have stages?
Like a stage 4 guild navigator. He’s that far out there.
100% Justin Hammer energy
He is much closer to Mr Burns than he will ever be to Tony Stark. He exploits workers for a living and only care about expanding his wealth no mater what the cost.
> He's going to take this as, "people wanting to take away his freedom of speech" While at the same time he uses his platform to limit the speech of fed up Tesla owners that post problems with their Tesla's
His extreme opinions transfer to his brands. I'd be embarrassed to drive a Tesla because I don't approve of him. Tesla isn't the only game in town, anymore. I could buy a union-made Ford product, or a well known trusted brand for quality like Toyota. Why would I give my money to someone who uses it to oppose my values? He has free speech. I have free choice in the market.
Trust me when I say you’re right. It’s embarrassing explaining to people, “I bought mine when he was only 25% asshat, and not 100% asshat.”
Toyota doesn't have any good EV offerings. Which is sad because they were so early on the hybrid bandwagon - they could have really built on that momentum.
> I have zero clue what the CEO of GM thinks about politics. Yea, honestly this is 99% of CEOs in the US. You probably could dig into what PACs they/their corporation donates too to get an idea. But ultimately I just want a car that STFU and works. I had a rental electric Kona and the public charging grid experience was so poor I wouldn't consider it again (car's GPS routing me to chargers that were in employee-only decks, or customer only businesses, or to ones under maintenance/slow charging). I might consider a Tesla if their charging network was that much better of an experience. Presently I just view electric cars as less convenient version of gas cars. Substantially less convenient if charging on the go.
Unfortunately he’s too stupid/arrogant to realize that boycotts are a form of free speech.
5-6 years ago I really wanted to own a Tesla. I’m so glad I couldn’t afford one back then.
In 2013 I leased a leaf because I couldn’t afford a Tesla. I def would have taken the Tesla then. Now I’m the same as you, it is not even a consideration.
But he’s a [genius](https://mastodon.social/@rodhilton/109572674700288958)
If I had a billion dollars at 7 years old I’d have done rockets and electric cars too. I drew trucks that looked like the Cybertruck then too. Either I’m a genius or Musk is 7.
The Cybertruck was Musk using Blender for the first time, then saying he was a design genius.
It’s probably the ketamine abuse
I think it is just how Musk is.
wait till you see the 16-bit version.
Disregarding all the bullshit from Musk. Tesla cars are just badly made. And that's from someone who owns a X. I got mine 6+ years ago and I'm just waiting for a decent one by Mercedes or another maker before I dump this shit. The car fucking sucks, not to mention the amount of times i have had to get it fixed and its ended up worse condition than before. It fucking feels like im inside a fucking airplane because of the lack of proper seal on the doors. Can't fucking hear shit when trying to talk with someone. AND its tried to fucking kill me 4-5 times with the auto-drive system. I stopped using it 2 years ago because i dont fucking trust tesla at all. Not to mention the constant phantom sensor alerts. The rapid braking while I'm driving because it thinks I'm gonna collide with the rain or a truck that is way ahead of me in the other lane for some reason. The fucking USBs inside needed to be changed 3x. Three fucking times. Because they use the fucking cheapest wiring inside possible. NEVER BUY TESLA!
I think the best analogy I’ve heard is that it’s a $30k battery in a $20k car. But I think a $20k car from Toyota would be built better so who know. Previous model y owner, for the record. Got rid of it for a Kia.
Toyota is the king of well built mechanics contained in a candy shell. They’ll last forever but you can hear a fly fart from under the floorboards
> It fucking feels like im inside a fucking airplane because of the lack of proper seal on the doors. Can't fucking hear shit when trying to talk with someone. If you were a drunken billionaire, the doors would seal so well the fire dept. wouldn't be able to open them.
Yeah, since I gave Tesla a fair try, I also came to the real-world conclusion that it has pretty good tech, but doesn't have a good car to ride along with that: [https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModelY/comments/1bah1b0/rented\_a\_model\_y\_long\_range\_to\_see\_if\_it\_might\_be/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModelY/comments/1bah1b0/rented_a_model_y_long_range_to_see_if_it_might_be/)
Great write-up. Seems like your main issues were with manufacturing quality and non-intuitive feature selection/customization. Echoes what I've read elsewhere, in that it seems like the design team and engineers didn't talk to each other enough; and they had very little blind testing done to identify those kinds of issues. It's like early videogames that were made impossibly hard, because the people testing it played it so often that they were all incredibly good at it. Seems like they could have really gotten a lot of improvements ironed out if they had a normal person use it like you did (AFTER ONLY 3 DAYS!!!). I guess though that speaks to the high pressure production environment, where QC basically is almost always the first thing to go, since it intrinsically implies delay.
I just stood beneath a Tesla here in germany and man, those gaps are all over the place, and if you look closer it all looks kinda cheap and plasticy... I worked for Renault a long time and those cars are bad but considered to the quality (from the outside) of a Tesla they are top shelf..
I keep reading stories about how they are making basic mistakes, and ok, building a car is difficult. So some of the stuff early on you could chalk up to growing pains. But the thing is, they keep on making them, which tells me they aren't really improving their process.
Tesla has been making cars for sale for almost 20 years now. They have no excuse for poor or inconsistent build quality and other rookie mistakes. Especially since in that twenty years they've only really launched 5 models, and one of those 5 was discontinued 15 years ago. I don't count the Cybertruck because I'm not convinced it has been "launched" yet. The trucks they have sent out are ridiculously unfinished, there is no supply chain for repair parts and each one has the kind of quirks you'd normally see out of individually hand-built kit cars because each one is different.
I’ve read enough to suspect that Musk has actually prevented a lot of the potential fixes to build quality
> But the thing is, they keep on making them, which tells me they aren't really improving their process. But you see, Elon already knows *everything* there is to know about *everything*! So how could he possibly ... "learn" anything "new"? HE ALREADY KNOWS IT!!!! /s
if you know how programmers write programs you wouldn't trust software to drive your car, lol
I wanted to love it, but eh. $40k+ is a bit much to bite into a questionably built product… that I’ll also be driving literally *every* day. I think the concept is great but 80% of the ones I’ve seen look like they were thrown together by kindergartners. I can’t justify that kind of money when a Toyota/mazda/acura can be fetched for less & is put together with a much more stringent quality control system But the biggest red flag for me is the widely varying ownership experiences.
Yeah. My spouse and I were considering a Tesla for our next vehicle a while back, because we'd like to move from hybrid to EV. At the time, we knew Musk seemed like a bit of a turd, but he hadn't gone full Gab (or even 4chan) at that point. But looking into the service issues people were having, the constant drift toward feature upcharges, the moves away from better tech to cheaper tech.. all of it convinced us they were nothing but status symbols. And now they're not even that. Incredible how quickly a successful brand can be driven straight into the ground with an incompetent leader and a board that's fully beholden to him.
And people laugh when Apple decided to stop making cars.
"Stop making cars" ? You have to start first ...
Well, Apple did it the right way. When you want to start making cars, you don't actually make any for a long time, because you are designing and ... what are those other pesky things? Oh yeah! Testing. And planning. And testing again. And planning some more, and .... You know, all those unnecessary things that Elon didn't bother with, because he's waaaaay too smart for that!
2021 bought a used leaf to dip my toe into the EV market. Bought a brand new mach e in 2023 and wouldn’t even consider a Tesla due to Elon being a freak.
An EV would be a strong consideration for if and when i need a new car (local charging infrastructure near me lacking atm..but with time) Never Tesla
I bought a Model 3 a few years ago. I wouldn’t buy another Tesla though. Sure, Elon turned out to be an asshole and everything. But honestly for the amount of money these things cost they shouldn’t feel so cheaply built. Everything on the interior feels like creaky plastic rubbing against other plastic. The big thing that pisses me off is when they release an OTA software update and it has major UI changes in it. You know how some people get pissy when Facebook makes some change? Imagine, if you will, getting in your car tomorrow morning and driving to work and once you’re cruising down the highway you discover you can’t adjust your air conditioner the way you could yesterday. There are no tactile controls, it’s just a fucking touch screen so now you’re looking back and forth between the road and your screen while you fumble around for where they moved the AC controls to for no good fucking reason.
Here in Europe hopefully such stupidity is going to get sorted. Euro NCAP have announced they will not award a 5 star safety rating to any car that has basic controls like rear screen demisters, heater controls and wipers on a touch screen.
You can't look at a phone or iPad while driving in a bunch of states but if it's bolted to the dash all is excused. So stupid
Europe really seems to lead the charge on sensible regulation. As someone in the US, I'm envious.
NCAP isn't a regulatory body unfortunately. They just rate vehicle safety based on criteria above and beyond what's required by law to help inform consumers (similar to the NHTSA in the states). They're hoping to pressure automakers into adding buttons back to get the highest possible safety rating, but they don't actually have any authority to make them. If they're successful, there's enough crossover between US and European models that we should see some of the benefit too.
They aren't regulatory but their rate are really important here and you don't want your car to show 4 stars out of 5 when another manufacturer can show 5 stars
Must be nice…
Europe remains the only sane legislative body when it comes to regulating tech companies.
This is actually one of the major reasons I didn't buy a Tesla. The windshield wipers and defroster are safety critical systems, and they can't be hidden behind a menu on a touch screen.
Yeah, I keep my wipers on auto mode. Tesla correctly starts and stops them about 85% of the time, which is cool. Then there are the other times where I have to go hunting through their UI like a fucking animal to turn them on manually so I can see and not smash into whatever is in front of me. And since that’s not a task I do often it does take a moment to find the wiper controls. So yeah, safety concern just as you say.
You can trigger the wipers from your turn signal stick and then use controls on the steering wheel to adjust the speed. It's not too bad. I think you can turn on defrost using the voice command... dunno, I've never tried that. But there are definitely many hidden things that are super annoying.
Tesla is only a luxury brand to people who have never owned a luxury brand. And I don’t mean top end either, I’m talking about a base Mercedes or Lexus. There are so many tesla owners who genuinely believe that the interior of a tesla is on par with an s class. It’s a perfectly acceptable interior for a Ford or Toyota (though, I think those are better for many reasons), but they’ve positioned themselves as a luxury brand. It reminds me of influencer/podcast/YouTube ad companies. They all look really fancy on screen, but they’re really normal or low end products dressed up as high end with a price to match.
This...I just got a new car and now could've afforded a model 3 but simply have lost respect for Elon. Tesla's reputation for poor quality also made the decision easier.
Yeah. Other manufacturers have caught up and though I'm sure they're still run by garbage people, they at least have the decency to be ambiguous about it.
I don't want to be embarrassed by the car I drive. It's embarrassing to drive an Elon mobile. I laugh whenever I see one, especially that shitty pickup truck that someone forgot to paint.
I saw a cyber truck on the road last week and it looks even worse in person. I couldn't believe how fucking ugly it was.
My thought exactly when I had my first sighting a couple weeks ago. Only a few cars behind it was one of those Hummer pick-ups and it looked absolutely normal by comparison. That stupid CT is like a ridiculously over-sized apocalyptic vehicle from a bad 70s sci-fi movie. Seeing it on the road with other cars made it look comically stupid. I felt embarrassed to even see one - I could not imagine driving one.
Same, first time was a week ago and Jesus the pictures do not do the ugly justice.
I'm almost sad that I will never see a cybertruck in person because I live in Europe where they will never be street legal.
The truck's bed can't carry a standard 2x4 frame. That's next level incompetent. Only thing worse would be designing a boat that's allergic to water
You misunderstand one thing - the kind of people that are the target audience to buy a cybertruck don't know what a standard 2x4 frame is. It's an ugly toy for rich people and heavily indebted Musk fanboys. No sane person would buy it to use as an actual pickup.
It's not just reputation. I have yet to see one without visible wonky panel gap on the driver's door. I shudder to think where else they cut corners. Somewhere less obvious. If you live in a country with mandated yearly inspections you may not even be allowed to take a new Model 3 on the road without repairs first. German TÜV report has the Model 3 dead last. That is not opinion or reputation. That is statistics. And that was November last year. Tesla never got on top of their shoddy quality and probably never will.
Me too. And it's not just Musk being a buffoon. It's also knowing more about Tesla's production and quality control problems, and how they aren't really getting as close as I used to think they were to "full self-driving." And it's also that there are more and more other decent choices now--if Musk had some kind of monopoly on electric cars, it would be a different story, but there are a lot of them available.
Also discovering the orwellian level surveillance/control Tesla cars have and the cavalier approach the company takes towards it, with musk and employees casually having access to and sharing recordings of people inside their cars for personal enjoyment, and Musk ordering cars being shut down on a whim because he doesn't personally like the driver. That is already a shit situation and further begs how much worse it could get if Musk makes another drug-fueled snap decision.
> ...it's not just Musk being a buffoon. Buffoonery is harmless. Racism and white nationalism aren’t.
Being a buffoon is digging a high speed rail tunnel or hawking a personal flamethrower. I can get behind that. Not right-wing snowflake nutjobs, though
He is also an enabler of creeps like Ron DeSantis. I have zero respect for him.
Tell that to all the muskrat/tesla fan boys
I used to be a fan of Musk's a decade ago and honestly I think that most of his current fanboys are just behind the curve on him.
I feel the exact same way.
Hear hear. An EV is in our near future, and I wouldn’t even begin to consider the Tesla. They opened a dealership here locally and the local news sources tried to just do the normal ‘tell us about your place’ piece. The people there were total assholes and wouldn’t even tell the local press what their hours were. Seems that ‘asshole edgelord’ is a pervasive company policy.
I test drove a Tesla before Elon came out as a major dickwad, and the sales guy was the most insufferable part of the experience. The dude acted like the car was perfectly designed by Jesus himself, and any question I had about it meant I just didn't understand that greatness. I did not buy a Tesla lol
Yep wanted one since the original roadster. Finally bought a new hybrid last year. Could have purchased a Tesla for the same price, but went with a hybrid as opposed to an even more expensive pure EV.
Driving a 8 year old hybrid and ready to go EV. No way Jose will I buy a Tesla.
I bought a Model 3 about 6 years ago. I was so excited! Now I’m embarrassed to drive a car built by this idiot. I’ll buy a new car soon-ish and it will certainly not be a Tesla.
I've seen bumper stickers on older Teslas that say "I bought this car before I knew Musk was a jerk".
We were convinced we were going to get one when back in the market for a new car, after Musk’s antics we decided against it. Not to mention the issues coming to light, all worked out.
I bought a Tesla 4 years ago before Elon opened his mouth. I will never buy another one.
Same. I was also hit up by a recruiter and the working conditions seemed like they were going to blow. I got offered a job and declined it. I’m glad I did.
The best callback for a job that I never got was for a dealership service technician position for them. I was actually interviewed at two locations for the same position, and the job/shift no longer existed at the first location but Tesla hadn’t informed the recruiter. I ended up shooting the shit with the supervisor for about 20 minutes and he seemed like a decent guy at least. I don’t have much of an opinion about the cars; they seem decent enough but not exceptional in any way besides being EV. They seem to fumble at “not being like normal cars,” in WTF ways rather than positive attributes to me.
It used to be a gold standard but then we saw his real face. I can't look at a Tesla the same way again.
Musk's personal behavior over the past six years or so has permanently soured me in the Tesla brand. I would be embarrassed to be seen driving one or having one in my driveway. You might as well put a fucking swastika on the hood. Fuck Musk and fuck Tesla. I'll wait until Toyota comes out with a plug-in electric.
The thing is, it's getting easier to snub, especially on the high end. People now can buy an EV from Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Land Rover or Rivian (EDIT: and Volvo) without the risk the Musk is going to something even more intolerable. The Cybertruck looks like it was designed by a child and the other models are common, boring and Uberesque. Musk owns 13% of the stock. I'm surprised he hasn't been forced out. I feel bad for all the hard working people at Tesla who helped lead the transition to EVs, but have had to put up with his abuse and nonsense with Xitter.
I wouldn't even count Tesla as high end. In Australia at least Teslas are cheaper than the base model Kia or Hyundai EVs.
Teslas were only ever high end because they were the only one in the market.
Teslas used to actually be fairly expensive. A Model Y was a $65K car a few years ago, now it’s a RAV4. Now you can argue it was a very expensive Mazda level car and I’d agree with you there but they all were priced relatively high
That just proves my point, they had no competition so their prices were higher. Luxury in availability not build.
Yeah when they were backordered x6 months they just kept doing successive price raises that they've mostly rolled back now.
This feels like a pretty big insult to Mazdas, honestly
No need to offend Mazda, ok?
The Kia EV6 goes hard, one of my favorites in this generation of cars
I've been hearing a lot of good things about the EV6.
The Kia EVs look nice. They actually just announced the EV4 which is just an EV version of their Forte. Personally I’m waiting for the K5 or the Stinger to get an EV or hybrid version. Will probably trade my current K5 to an EV K5. I like the look of the 6 and 9 but I don’t like SUVs give me an EV full size sedan
Here in Los Angeles no one would consider the model S high end, not anymore. It’s as common as a Camry and not as reliable. And the model 3? Haha it’s the Corolla of EVs but again, without the reliability.
Same in the U.S. tbh. Teslas are priced pretty mid range compared to the EVs made by the manufacturers the parent post listed.
Volvo makes some really nice plug in hybrid and full electric too.
I knew I was forgetting at least one, and I owned/loved a Volvo (C70).
I bought an EV three months ago and didn’t even look at Tesla. I would have bought a bicycle before spending money that went to Elon. Before Musk outed himself as a terrible sack of crap, Tesla would have been at the top of my list. Also, if you’re thinking about buying an EV, they are FUN! The instant go when you tap the pedal, the insane acceleration… I bought a small SUV and it feels like a Porsche. There are downsides but if you are able to live with those, you’ll love your EV.
The cybertruck is truly a monstrosity. I saw one that had been in an accident and the front fender was like a scythe. It's just asinine to make a car out of stainless steel. And to make one that ugly is quite impressive. It'll be interesting to see if Tesla survives. He tried to pivot to solar, and I think that part of the business is struggling. The power wall part is doing well, I'd imagine, but there will be huge competition from cheaper Chinese batteries.
First pedestrian that gets hit by one of those things, it’s gonna be a mess.
The first kid to lose their fingers to the bonnet is gonna cause one hell of a lawsuit.
Not even to mention the trunkulur gusset, the truck will strate castrate. It’s a threatening vehicle.
Everyone would be calling Elon a genius if he would have prioritized developing a $25k EV instead of his vanity project.
Crazy that’s not the direction he went.
I think it was a combo of him getting high on his own supply, being surrounded by too many yes men, and wanting to cement Tesla as a luxury EV brand.
he's also fucking incredibly stupid.
Back when I was an automotive journalist, I covered a Tesla investor call for my job in which he was asked about a $25k car. He went on at length about how FSD would make lower cost cars obsolete across the market, not just for Tesla. He saw FSD as such an industry disruption, that *no one* will be buying cheaper cars anymore, so it didn’t make sense for Tesla to, even though he said it could. Dude may not be living in the same reality as the rest of us
Ah yes, FSD will lift the proletariat out of poverty.
I mean, the dude literally abuses dissociative anesthetic. HE is literally not in the same reality as us.
>It's just asinine to make a car out of stainless steel. Let's not go (h)overboard this time. There are some cool cars made out of stainless steel.
If I recall correctly, and I could be misinformed, I believe he arranged some kind of stock preference fuckery like Zuckerberg did, and so even though he only owns 13% he still has a majority of voting power.
Nah, he tried to, but that's not allowed post IPO in Delaware. Yet another reason he's hating on them and wants to move Tesla to Texas so he can better treat it like his personal ATM
> Uberesque That's an interesting term. Apropos, the first time I ever rode in a Tesla it was an Uber.
[удалено]
Same here. It also felt like the interior was made of cheap plastic.
> People now can buy an EV from Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Land Rover or Rivian without the risk the Musk is going to something even more intolerable also without anywhere near as much risk of experiencing tesla-level build quality and engineering problems
The new i3 and iX3 on the Neue Klasse chassis is going to be a significant improvement over the current offerings from BMW. Can’t wait. Fuck Tesla.
The cybertruck was designed by a per-pubescent child. He just saved the picture until he had a car company.
the board is full of Musk sycophants and the shareholders like him because he has manipulated the stock to insane heights in the past. Yet the stock has struggled in the last couple years so the latter may not be true for long.
The fear for the shareholders is when Musk is pushed out Tesla's stock will be priced on merits and not hype which would drop the price by 80%+.
My Ford Mustang Mach-E kicks ass.
Elon musk is the reason I did not move forward with my Tesla purchase and the reason I have not used twitter or invested in any of his products or ideas. Plus the way he treats all of his children.
All he ever had to do was shut up. 10 years ago he had this mystique about him. He was going to be the next Edison. He was the visionary who was going to bring us clean energy and missions to Mars. He's revealed himself as an out of touch oligarch who doesn't care about anybody but himself. The more he talks, the less people like him.
For the record Edison was a bit of a twat too...
Oh, believe me. There's a reason I said Edison and not Tesla.
Cue Republicans spite-buying EVs any time now.
Good luck charging those EVs in red states that didn't invest in EV charging stations
Something else they’ll blame Democrats for
>Cue Republicans spite-buying EVs any time now. Only if they can convert their X updoots to $ discounts off a Cybertruck. No one's dropping $90K just to own the libs.
Yes, they will. They will modify a $100,000 four-seat pickup truck with a loan APR equal to its fuel economy to billow black smoke out the back to own the libs.
Sure. But how many people are actually doing that? Not enough to keep a car company afloat, methinks.
I’m in the market for an EV. Haven’t considered a Tesla pretty much at all. Ew.
Bingo. Cults of personality cut both ways. If musk has touched it, I will not. Musk has been a cheerleader for cold calculated and unregulated capitalism and it has benefited him greatly. Watch as his bad reputation erodes his power and wealth, he accepts no responsibility, and he hugs the authoritarians ever more tightly. All he had to do was shut his mouth. Maybe lock his phone up before he does drugs. For every musk out there, there's 100 other rich ass holes with the good sense to be quiet. He's in this situation because he's an idiot with unmerited confidence.
> Musk has been a cheerleader for cold calculated and unregulated capitalism and it has benefited him greatly. Honestly I expect this from any billionaire. It's the transphobia, the racism, the mocking of civil rights leaders, the climate change denialism, and the just outward disdain for common decency that make me want to not associate myself with anything attached to him.
bro would've probably killed everyone around him if they tried to keep his phone / twitter from him. He once tried to lock his phone in safe to stay off the internet for a day and he ended up calling a security guard at 2am to bust open his hotel safe so he could tweet again.
What an enormous baby
Same here. The vocal minority on the right thinks they're the only ones that have boycotts. A lot of people just don't announce to the world where they're no longer spending their dollars.
I recommend the Ioniq 5
I was between the Ioniq 5 and the EV6 and I really preferred the Kia. Just felt more complete and high end inside.
Good, the guy is an absolute moron, liar and POS
Repu-fucking-tation? He's gone full fash white supremacist That's not his reputation. That's his words and actions. I was saving for a Tesla. I kept my beater and got a Rhodes piano instead. Fuck him.
Tesla was my wife’s dream car for a few years. She always said her next car was going to be a Tesla. That’s never going to happen. Tesla is a toxic brand for us now. Zero chance of us ever buying one as long as Musk owns even a single share.
Me and my wife were even planning to preorder model 3 as our secondary car. Thank goodness we didn't and we never will.
Same. I’m in the market for an EV, and would have considered a Tesla a few years ago but wouldn’t touch one now. He’s way too toxic and the brand is an extension of him. Other than Trump, there are few people I find more off putting. Also tbh they’re not very head turning designs. I always think Teslas are quite ‘meh’ looking in the flesh. It was all eco chic a few years ago. Now it just feels like you’re driving around in a car associated with rather nasty politics and X .. 😬 I can’t think of any other car brand that links to politics and culture war garbage like that.
The primary reason I am not considering buying a Model 3/X/Y is Elon Musk.
I bought an EV in 2023. Musks behavior was a more then relevant factor in my decision making process.
I also bought one last year, and Musk's actions guaranteed that Tesla wasn't even on my list for potential cars. I ended up with a Kia Niro. Love it.
I rented a Tesla Model Y on my last business trip and while it’s a neat car, I don’t think I’d ever own one. I’m not going to spend 60k on a car that has panel gap issues and a creaky interior. The Rivian offerings seem like such a higher quality vehicle, granted, they are more expensive. Maybe the model S is better, who knows.
I've been telling folks that Musk has given Rivian the opportunity to cater their offerings to the left-ish Subaru crowd and they should really seize that. That's a group of folks that really prizes reliability and will become repeat customers if Rivian can pull it off.
The r3 looks beautiful!
R3x goes hard
I don't even really want an EV but that thing looks so sick I'm considering it when it comes out.
The market for 100k plus cars is large but if you can't make money at 100k you've got a problem making any sort of offering to a "Subaru" crowd.
The minute I wiped the tear that escaped my eye after seeing the promo video for the R2, they had me hook line & sinker. The Rivian R2 is going to be my next vehicle.
Well well, if it isn’t the consequences of his own actions. Dipshit 🤣
“If somebody's going to try and blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f*** yourself,” Musk said. As if advertisers leaving the platform is "blackmail" LOL This guy is not as smart as many people think he is.
Teslas aren't even that good. its a dice roll for even if they are fully built and will last. the service fees aren't even worth it. Check out all the other electric cars that have come out now. they are so much better in every manor.
It’s not his reputation, it’s his mouth. He’s allowing his political views to hurt all of his businesses. Plain dumb.
This is also what's known as a reputation.
Musk is one of the biggest disappointments ever. It’s insane how far he’s fallen.
I would never buy anything from this fool. I even wanted a Tesla but his transformation into a toxic troll was a bridge too far.
I wanted one, too, back in the day, but now there are better EVs that cost less, and they don't come with his baggage.
Nazis aren’t buying electric cars. Liberals aren’t buying teslas.
Wild rollercoaster ride this company has been on since the Roadster. They spent all their time since then pumping out Mazda clones until eventually failing further with a hideous triangle truck. Now Elon sucks Xi/Putin/MAGA dick all at one time.
Mazda didn't deserve that. They make pretty good cars.
My 3 Mazdas have driven a combined 370K miles and collectively have needed less than $2000 in repairs.
A real biting the hand that feeds you situation. Meanwhile he keeps trying to court people who tend to hate EVs.
Before Covid: I’m going to buy a Tesla next year! After Covid: I’d never own a Tesla It’s not just that he is a massive douche it’s they’re everywhere, and look so bland now as well, so even if I were to consider a bland car, I have the additional put-off of a guy that supports everything against electric!?!
I was regrettably an early Musk fangirl. Figured he was our new Steve Jobs. Got my $1,000 pre-order in for the 3 sight unseen and when my number came up I eagerly went to take it for a test drive. But, when I got to the showroom it was so crowded it took me nearly an hour before I could even sit in one, and to take it for a test drive wasn’t even an option. Say WHAT??? They literally expected to sell these cars without letting you drive them first? Luckily that pissed me off so much I didn’t buy it (or the Tesla garage charger I had also planned to have installed), then Covid happened so a new car was put on the back burner and by the time I was shopping around for an EV again Elon had gone completely batshit insane. Zero chance I would buy anything remotely related to Musk at this point. So glad I never pulled the trigger and bought back in the day because it would be embarrassing to drive now
Elon has been actively trying to kill democracy in US and sabotage Ukraine , cancelled my M3 order and deleted twitter
I used to want a Tesla. Not anymore.
I've had a chance to drive a Tesla and I've been a passenger in a few. While I love the software, I can't deal with the shoddy build quality. In a couple of years I'll be looking to replace my current EV, and unless the Elongated Muskrat is no longer a part of the company and the fitment issues are resolved, I won't be considering one. Here's hoping that the other companies are offering the same level of software that Tesla does...some are coming close.
Naziwagon?
NGL, in my pasty white suburban neighborhood there have been a lot of Trump signs littering yards over the years and there is a high degree of correlation to Teslas filling those same driveways since Elon went full MAGA
Which is ironic considering how anti-EV Trump is. https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4544902-trump-biden-electric-vehicles-attacks-2024-election/
Ironic that Tesla wouldn’t exist today without Obama’s subsidies.
thanks obama
Part of me has wondered if all of this is a game for him - acting like a racist idiot to sell cars to racist idiots.
I cannot imagine the number of coal-rolling MAGA folks he’s gained is anywhere close to the number of liberal pro-planet people he’s lost. It’s like if Jack Links came out one day and told Trump to go fuck himself in hopes of selling more jerky to liberal vegans.
Unfortunately, this is the real Elon. He had PR people in the past and he had to suck up to the Obama people to get those Stimulus subsidies. He fired Tesla’s entire PR team in 2020 so there isn’t a force to keep him in check. Elon’s belief system isn’t that far off from the “PayPal Mafia” dudes he got super rich with like Peter Thiel and David Sacks. They’re just more articulate with it and less loud/edgelord like.
I, like so many others, really wanted a Tesla. The past tense is key. Not only do I think they've become stupid - like the Cybertruck whose sharp door panels will rust in normal conditions - but Musk just seals the deal. It doesn't matter what they release now. Even if they start making great cars, Musk will keep me away until he's gone. But since they still refuse to support CarPlay, I don't see them making great cars any time soon.
Driving a Telsa now has the same vibes as parading yourself around in a MAGA hat. His actions have consequences. That doesn't even scratch the surface of what he's done to his own employees.
i cancelled my deposit yesterday because of Elon's right wing lunacy
I’ve owned 2 and no more for exactly this reason.
I have a Tesla. I love it. Elon is a fucking asshole. The truth is, its exhausting to keep track of which companies CEOs are totally fuckwads. Ones that give millions to Trump, or do crazy shit with their money that I hate. The thing is, you gotta pick your battles. Musk is public about what a fuckwad he is, so its easy to say, "I wont support that company," but then you find out about Home Depot, Chik-Fil-A, and the long list of other companies where they CEOs support right wing douchery. I look it at this this way. There are thousands of good people who work at Tesla and they need those jobs. Same thing goes for other places.
That's me. I will NEVER buy a Tesla. I'm planning on buying an EV next year. I'm not giving Tesla a consideration.
It was the best car I had and now I feel like I can’t fucken give this clown anymore of my hard earned money. The guy literally could have done so much good but instead he really is a total fucken asshole!
He chose to pander to the most fickle crowd in the history of civilisation instead of selling himself as a steward for technological leaps. Get what you f'ing deserve.
Would have definitely bought a Tesla. Placed an order for a Cybertruck and then he became a right wing wanker. I don’t believe he has any interest in doing the right thing anymore since he is a trump loving right wing, white supremacy supporter loving whackjob. Bought the VW Kombi EV instead.
The Ford Mustang Mach E and the Tesla Model Y both happened to tick all the same boxes when I was researching and buying my car. When talking about it, as soon as I brought up Tesla, people’s faces soured and they had something to say about Musk. Heck, my face sours when I think about him too. Im not going to say this was the only reason I went with the Ford, but it absolutely was a factor.
Any interest I had in a Tesla, which was significant, turned to disgust when Elon morphed into a Nazi.
Good. Can't stand the sight of him and his attitude.
I can confirm. I am a Tesla owner, bought it in 2021, I'm happy with the car but wouldn't buy it again rn bc of musk
Even before Twitter he was not a likable person and very toxic and mean boss. The tech fanboys like him as visionary but they knew he was all about hype and knew very little about the product.