EV sale are slumping more because of cost to buy than anything else. The great unwashed masses, like you and me, simply can’t afford to make the purchase. Even used EVs are more expensive a use ICE vehicle.
GM had it right with the Bolt. An EV with good range, 260 miles or so, and a far more affordable entry price for us commoners to swallow. It just died because the battery manufacturer screwed it up. But there is hope the Bolt comes back with GMs new Ultium battery that is supposed to be cheaper and better. They know it can be done and they can do it. And BYD could sell a lot of EVs in the same price range as a base level Bolt very easily.
I’m sure Musk knows Tesla’s days are numbered. The large manufacturers are now in the process of pivoting and they will eat Tesla alive. This is why he’s trying to get that big payout from the Tesla Board of Directors and has now also been caught in alleged insider trading. He’s going to suck all the cash out of Tesla he can before running clear of the collapse.
The point about price sums it up perfectly. I have a german car from 2009, it’s really solid, fun to drive, technologically exactly where I want it to be and - perhaps most importantly of all - it does not fucking spy on me.
You can get the spy part with any newer vehicle. My 2015 Jeep Patriot and Dodge Ram pickup can both be hacked to the point of the driver no longer having control of the vehicle. It’s been proven and actually done. Maybe your German car is old enough, maybe it isn’t. But the spying is everywhere now.
It’s not so much hackers I’m afraid of, but rather the invasive spying done by modern cars. Mine is old enough to not have any of that, but new enough to have all the things I do want to have.
They can do it now as it is. Even ICE vehicles can track your acceleration, braking, speed, and even lane weaving, (and yes it can/could affect your insurance rates). There are a few that do so now. They have ‘Black boxes’ like airplanes that can have data accessed in real time if it’s wanted. The tech is simple and cheap and it’s been around for a while.
People are sick of Elmo. And Tesla’s designs are stale.
Who knew pissing off leftist people by being a douchebag when your company sells electric vehicles that are typically championed by said leftists could hurt your sales? So mysterious.
Yep. I was unironically going to buy a Cybertruck… then Elon came out of the fascist closet while Tesla’s QC/CS problems escalated… now there is no way I will ever touch anything Tesla or related to Musk.
Waiting for Aptera now, but would also consider Rivian in a pinch.
How are a cybertruck and an aptera your two contenders? They’re complete opposites.
Fair question. The answer is timing.
I was a huge fan of Aptera the first time around, in the mid 2000s. I was crushed to see them fold simply because the government yanked funding for any vehicles that didn’t have 4 wheels (funding that Tesla did get, which is why they survived).
The Cybertruck was announced in 2019, while I heard about Aptera’s resurrection only in late 2021. Until recently, Aptera’s second attempt was looking really tenuous, too. The only just secured full funding to enter full scale production.
Basically, I like practicality. When it was announced, Cybertruck sounded like it would be very practical… rough, tough, indestructible, and electric. We know better now.
Aptera is a very different kind of practical, sure… but for a car I’d use for light commuting a couple times per week (in SoCal), there’s a chance I may never even need to plug it in. That beats out any and all other considerations, in my book.
Well, that and the cybertruck is a piece of garbage
I didn’t know at the time, years ago. I was just like “OMG Delorean truck!”
Bullet dodged.
The delorean was notoriously a lemon as well
Most of its issues were fixed by vin 3000 or so (out of about 9000 total). It was 90% brilliant, but the last few details and forced design changes just killed it.
For what it’s worth, I love my R1T. The build quality is miles ahead of the Teslas I’ve driven.
I just wish it weren’t such a sad-Pokemon homely looking little thing, especially from the front. Definitely better than the Cybertruck, though.
The EV bubble is well behind us. People are looking for cheap reliable EVs that meet their daily needs. Very few can afford a new Rivian or Tesla, and even fewer now are willing to take out loans to finance one. More fancy EV companies will go bankrupt and dissolve unless they change their priorities.
Companies like GM, Ford, and Stellantis are going to start producing more utilitarian EVs. Meanwhile BYD is doing well, why? Because they build utilitarian barebones cheap EVs that get the job done.
It’s almost like for the majority of people a car is a tool and not a personality substitute, despite what car maker’s CEOs would like to believe.
When I was younger, I loved exotic sports cars and wanted something like a Porsche, though realistically expected to get something a bit cheaper but still fun like a WRX, Miata, or an S2000.
Now that I can afford something like that (well, assuming I’m willing to give up a lot of disposable income for it), I don’t really care as much. I can drive cool cars in Gran Turismo or maybe I’ll rent a supercar one day for a short time just to feel the acceleration for real.
But between climate change and the shitty direction car design is going in these days, even those moments that I get weak and think about how a new car would be nice don’t last very long.
What I want is a basic EV with just battery, motors, heater, AC, power windows, power locks (that require a button press), and a sound system would be nice. I’d maybe go for smart cruise control and reverse cam. I’d prefer an analog speedometer that overrepresents my speed by like 5km/h but could live with an accurate digital one (or let me add an offset). Cloth seats (not even sure why leather is so popular, cloth is comfortable in pretty much any temperature, leather gets cold or hot), sedan (or hatchback body with a frunk), spare tire, jack, and wrench (though I could maybe be upsold on tires that don’t ever need surprise changing, if such a thing exists in the consumer space). I don’t need it anymore, but car seat mount spots because they are trivial to add to a design. If it gets updates through the internet, make it via a phone app that does the downloading and then through USB because the car itself has no wireless connectivity other than AM/FM radio (and maybe Bluetooth, I’m neutral on that one). Another big thing I’d care about is how the drivetrain is set up (ie, how many motors and how are they usually engaged), because I’d want something capable of fast acceleration when needed but also efficient for general driving. I like having decent power still when driving around the speed limit so that I know I can pass quickly at that rate. Windows, wipers, mirrors… I think that about covers the main things I care about in a car these days. Oh also make the body aerodynamic and not stupid looking, and design it to be easy to do maintenance work.
I’m definitely interested in the Equinox and Bolt. I do wish GM didn’t lock people into their shitty infotainment platform though. I also wish they had a NACS charger instead.
I would never consider a Tesla.
Take a look at the Ford Mustang Mach-e too. Despite the Mustang name, it’s closer to a wagon or small SUV. I just got one and love it so far.
I can’t afford an EV, but if I was in the market for one, my search would start with something like “anything but Tesla”.
Can’t imagine why they’re struggling, lol.
Used EV prices have come down quite a bit. There’s a solar EV startup called Aptera that’s making a super efficient EV that the base model will sell for around $26k before tax incentives, so a new one could theoretically, potentially be under $20k.
I’ll belive it when I see it
