ABATTBQ11 said:Fizban said:ABATTBQ11 said:
Their issues with quality control would say otherwise, and the jury is still out on the long term reliability of a Tesla (200k+ miles) not just for the drive train, but the entire vehicle. Suspension, brakes, wheel bearings, electronics, interior finishes, paint, lights, etc. I know my Tacoma or a Camry or Accord will last that long and probably longer. Hell, there are multiple Tundras that have hit the million mile mark and still look pretty new inside and out. There are a lot of brands with proven longevity of every aspect of the vehicle.
Does Tesla? Many of them suffered infotainment screen issues, and continue to, because musk decided that automotive grade screens were overkill and he wanted something really big, which simply wasn't made. They went with the next best thing that meet his size demands and it didn't hold up long. It's those kind of decisions, that will not be apparent for a long time, that would keep me from buying one and raise the question,"Do they make good cars, or do they make good batteries, motors, and software?"
This is standard FUD. Tesla is not that new a company at this point. You can find plenty of examples of Teslas with hundreds of thousands of miles on them and most have performed extremely well from a maintenance/reliability standpoint.
Meanwhile Tesla owners almost without exception love their cars.
I remember the first time I picked up an iPhone. I distinctly remember thinking that every other phone I had held up to that point seemed old fashioned in comparison. Driving a Tesla is a similar experience.
On the surface it does the same thing as any other car, just as the iPhone's critics contended when comparing it to Blackberry, but the Tesla is just a better experience.
Take a look at this survey Bloomberg conducted: https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-tesla-model-3-survey/?srnd=graphics-v2
No doubt you will focus on the (mostly minor) defect rate, but scroll down to what the owners actually think.
Essentially every single owner surveyed stated they were "very satisfied" with the Model 3 from a "driving enjoyment" standpoint.Quote:
Notwithstanding its initial flaws, Tesla owners raved about their cars. This is something of a paradox found repeatedly in the Bloomberg surveymany of those owners who dealt with defects in their new Model 3 gave the electric sedan high overall marks for satisfaction. They gave their highest ratings to its design, performance, and some of the unusual software features that help define Tesla's brand. A nearly unanimous 99.6% of respondents said the Model 3 is a pleasure to drive, the kind of consensus rarely reached by any consumer product.
Consider the implications of that. That is a level of satisfaction that BMW would kill to achieve. The exact same owners that reported all those defects love their cars. If you don't have experience driving a Tesla I don't think you can get it.
As one survey respondent put it:
"The car feels like the future, I can never go back."
Here's the thing about this, though...
Model 3 owners are mostly, at this point, people who were willing to put down deposits on a car before they even test drove it or knew much of anything about it other than proposed specs. Then, they literally waited years for actual production and delivery.
Those people are bought into the idea of driving a Tesla and bought into the brand. They're going to be satisfied no matter what. Paint problems? Screen degradation? Water in tail light assemblies? Poor body alignment? WHO CARES?!?!?! IT'S A TESLA!!!!!!!!!! This is like asking churchgoers if God is great. Now go sell him to everyone else.
They could very well put out great cars, but Tesla is still, relatively, a new company. Tesla delivered their first vehicle 10 years ago, and that was essentially a proof of concept. The S, a production vehicle, has been in production for only 7 years. Toyota, Honda, Subaru, and other car companies have been putting or high quality vehicles for decades. Toyota alone produces in a quarter more twice what Tesla has produced in its entire lifetime. Would I consider a Tesla as my next vehicle? Sure, but I don't plan to be in the market until my truck hits 250k-300k miles in about 10-15 years.
They ran through the initial wave of reservations a long time ago. When I bought mine I had no reservation and it was delivered only a few weeks after I ordered... and that was a year ago.
This whole, "Tesla is a cult, sure they all say they love the cars, but they don't really, you can't trust them," business needs to be retired at this point.
They are great cars, period. Their customers love them and are the biggest part of Tesla's marketing and sales effort.
