Tesla losing steam in Ca

[Supratachophobia]

I test drove an S when it first came out. The wife and I opted not to buy one because we felt it was a poor value because the interior felt so cheaply made and poorly engineered.
On the other hand, we love our starlink Internet.

We're not social media people (no Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) and don't know Elon personally, so it is kinda fascinating to be online and see such strong opinions on someone that we've only evaluated from a "is this a good or bad product" perspective. Tesla seems to be doing fine and growing here in Georgia and we haven't heard anyone complain about his companies in person.

The problem arises when his personality becomes the company identity. It's one of the few CEOs that most of us know by name and it's because of how polarizing he is (and it was his hubris that made the S interior so cheap, btw). I mean, think of Boeing, PNC, Kroger, Wendys, who are their CEOs? No idea.

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[DynamoLA]

I saw this bumper sticker on a Tesla the other day.

Had no idea it existed but I guess you can get it for $5.99 on Amazon.

And we bought our Model Y in 2021 so this hits close to home.

 

[BigSkies]

I get tired of the people that say they don't like Tesla because of Elon Musk. Whenever someone says that to me, I ask them what brand of car they are driving. Then I ask if they know who the CEO of that company is (they never do). I then ask how they know what the political views or other views are of that person are (they never do). People buy products every day from companies with extreme views in both directions. This is a stupid argument.

This is somewhat fair. We shouldn’t care. Most people couldn’t even name the CEO’s of the other car companies. That’s part of the difference.

On a personal level, I have no problem if people vote different than me or have different political beliefs. Heck, a lot of our social challenges would become a lot more manageable if we all got out of our groupthink social media bubbles and engaged with a broader range of opinions.

However, when it comes to someone whose family was mostly okay with apartheid South Africa becoming politically active around things like the great replacement theory, I start to have questions about fundamental values and what my money is indirectly supporting.

 

[Robin]

Hard pass on following all that stuff. Work is stressful enough. Daily yardwork, kids activities, and meal prep leaves only enough downtime to veg out with the kids and watch cartoons/play some Madden or watch a show with my wife (which invariably involves some housewife that's trying to kill her spouse).

?

 

[Robin]

I saw this bumper sticker on a Tesla the other day.

Had no idea it existed but I guess you can get it for $5.99 on Amazon.

And we bought our Model Y in 2021 so this hits close to home.

???

 

[Robin]

Well, I don’t like Tesla and will never buy one so long as Elon Musk is running it. I have a Subaru and don’t know who runs it, but I’m pretty sure he or she is not a right wing crazy troll who is likely to destroy the company and abuse its workers.

I also plan to get a Rivian. (I am waiting on the refresh!) RJ seems like he cares about Rivian and its customers. I don’t think he’s a narcissistic, half-crazed, power hungry wanna be who mistakes his wealth for value as a human. That matters to me. I know others make different choices and I’m okay with that. You may think I’m stupid, but I’m okay with that too. I know that while my purchase would be a drop in the bucket, I could never actually enjoy a Tesla because of Elon. Just like my carbon footprint is a drop in the bucket but I choose to minimize it because I feel that’s the right thing to do.

???

 

[evguy]

Some of this was inevitable. Real competitors finally arrived, and they are gaining EV market share while Tesla loses some. A good chunk of the early adopter crowd is moving away from Tesla now that they have more options. I'm an example of that - we got a R1S without even considering a Model X/Y, and the R3 will probably replace my Model 3 by the end of this decade. Rivian and other competitors seem keenly interested in exploiting the next wave of EV adoption - more mainstream buyers - while Tesla now seems indifferent at best. Tesla wasted years on the Cybertruck, when they could have brought the "Model 2" to market instead. An enormous missed opportunity in my view. Maybe I'll be proved wrong if Elon's AI/FSD/robotaxi/robot bet actually pays off, but he's lost too much credibility with me.

 

[MXA121]

I think the dip in sales is temporary. Lots of contractions in the marketplace due to current recession vibes, but this is also causing people that have gas guzzlers to reconsider an EV, and Tesla has some of the best values out there.
A Model 3 Performance is such a a bargain compared to nearly any performance ICE sedan. What's the point of a 4 cylinder BMW or Audi anymore? You might say, build quality, but as a Model 3 owner I don't think that holds much water. A base German sedan isn't exactly a posh experience. Time will tell, but I still believe Tesla is holding an edge in the marketplace.

 

[evhelphub]

Some of this was inevitable. Real competitors finally arrived, and they are gaining EV market share while Tesla loses some. A good chunk of the early adopter crowd is moving away from Tesla now that they have more options. I'm an example of that - we got a R1S without even considering a Model X/Y, and the R3 will probably replace my Model 3 by the end of this decade. Rivian and other competitors seem keenly interested in exploiting the next wave of EV adoption - more mainstream buyers - while Tesla now seems indifferent at best. Tesla wasted years on the Cybertruck, when they could have brought the "Model 2" to market instead. An enormous missed opportunity in my view. Maybe I'll be proved wrong if Elon's AI/FSD/robotaxi/robot bet actually pays off, but he's lost too much credibility with me.

Watching the cybertruck being driven on stage for the first time was when I started questioning things. Then, they had the dancer in a robot outfit.

The cybertruck was fantastic for marketing and PR, but the actual product was never going to live up to the specs.

Maybe the robot becomes useful someday in 10 years, maybe not.

FSD is such an obvious and admirable vision to go after, but it's expensive and Elon has to continue to find ways to make excuses for extending the timeline, which probably isn't that close tbh.

But he needs money to do it and he certainly can't come out and say, sorry, it's going to be done in 2030 instead.

A cheap model 2, 800v charging, and continuously increasing efficiency feel much more impactful and achievable.

The current offering of vehicles haven't seen a real improvement to range or charging performance in 4 years. They've just been stagnant.

I think the dip in sales is temporary. Lots of contractions in the marketplace due to current recession vibes, but this is also causing people that have gas guzzlers to reconsider an EV, and Tesla has some of the best values out there.
A Model 3 Performance is such a a bargain compared to nearly any performance ICE sedan. What's the point of a 4 cylinder BMW or Audi anymore? You might say, build quality, but as a Model 3 owner I don't think that holds much water. A base German sedan isn't exactly a posh experience. Time will tell, but I still believe Tesla is holding an edge in the marketplace.

I agree. The economy is not in a great place and interest rates are nuts. I don't think Tesla will or should maintain their current market share in the long term, as we need quality competition from domestic automakers like Rivian.

 

[s0ysauce]

I can only speak for myself, but that's one of the reasons I did not choose a Model X even though we already had a Model 3. The guy is so toxic, that non car people are turned off by his brand. My Wife wants to sell our Tesla and be done with the clown show. She initially said she wants to replace it with an R3, but I don't know if she will wait that long or pull the trigger on a Polestar or BMW.

 

[Fmc]

Model 3 and R1S owner:
Model 3 is a very efficient car, great for 3-6 hour drives and the SC network makes it even better. I love my R1S but cringe driving more than 300 miles. Depending on efficiencies and price the R3 or even the R2 will replace the model 3. Your first EV should be a Tesla otherwise you may despise the EV experience. I could not imagine if I had to rely on EA or EVgo. I would probably be in an ICE or hybrid swearing off EVs

 

[emoore]

Model 3 and R1S owner:
Model 3 is a very efficient car, great for 3-6 hour drives and the SC network makes it even better. I love my R1S but cringe driving more than 300 miles. Depending on efficiencies and price the R3 or even the R2 will replace the model 3. Your first EV should be a Tesla otherwise you may despise the EV experience. I could not imagine if I had to rely on EA or EVgo. I would probably be in an ICE or hybrid swearing off EVs

No issues here with my first EV being an R1T. Even had good experiences at EA. Next EV will probably be an R2.

 

[Mathme]

Let's see...Tesla has one [ugly] new product in the past four years that's available in small numbers, one small refreshed sedan that's not really selling yet, one small refreshed SUV that may be out sometime in the future, and two large vehicles that are about a decade old. All of this with a very polarizing CEO who changes course on his whims of the day and prices that so much consumers are now trained to wait as there will likely be a price drop again in the near future.

Meanwhile in the other corner, there's a plethora of new contenders with new products in the pipeline without all the CEO drama. It's the other corner of competition for the win.

Plain and simple.

 

[EarlyAdptr]

All of this discussion sounded familiar to me.. historically. So I did a search on what happened to Ford's Model T when competitors introduced greater variety. It's a similar story (Ford and GM mostly) to what is happening today with Tesla (Elon) and other new EV models. If Tesla doesn't change their ways they may continue to fall behind.

Here's the link

Some snippets from the article:

• But the same free market that contributed to Ford’s success allowed other industrialists to challenge his prominence.
• And whereas Ford Motor Company long remained focused on a single product line, GM introduced a wide array of subsidiary companies and models: Oldsmobiles, Cadillacs, Buicks, Plymouths, and, most prominently, Chevrolets, GM’s most affordable model. Nonetheless, in 1921, GM controlled less than 13 percent of the U.S. auto market.
• Alfred Sloan (GM) was ready to make changes to car manufacturing and sales that Ford would not. Ford forced other shareholders out of his company and decided he knew what was best for consumers, famously saying that “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.” (He had discovered that black paint dried the most quickly on his assembly lines.) To Henry Ford, time was money, and money saved could be passed on to consumers in the form of lower prices.
• But not everyone wanted a car that was black. Not everyone wanted a Ford or a Model T. Not everyone wanted to take orders from one man at the top of the corporate pyramid.
• Sloan also pioneered what became known as “planned obsolescence” by creating a different model of each GM brand each year.
• In the 1920s, GM charged forward while Ford stood still. Henry Ford refused to innovate or respond to consumer demand, and by the mid-1920s, many people were buying GM cars instead of Fords. Ford’s company was falling behind the times – and fast.

 

[Redline]

I can only speak for myself, but that's one of the reasons I did not choose a Model X even though we already had a Model 3. The guy is so toxic, that non car people are turned off by his brand. My Wife wants to sell our Tesla and be done with the clown show. She initially said she wants to replace it with an R3, but I don't know if she will wait that long or pull the trigger on a Polestar or BMW.

A LOT of people are like this as well. They far outnumber the Twitter Tesla Cult bros.

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