This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
I shamefully admit I almost pulled the trigger on a Tesla Model S Plaid back in 2021 or 2022. Flush with a shit ton of cash, but fortunately I was reading reports of production build quality issues, many recalls, and ultimately pulled back my deposit.
Looking back at it. The one decision I have no regrets on.
That's the part I never understood. Even if you weren't a Musk fan boy and before Musk showed his true colors, Telsa has always, ALWAYS been shit quality. I remember back in 2015, or so, there was a video of someone finally getting their Telsa and it had a massive crack running the length of the driver side A-pillar, yet they just ignored it.
I'll have to be honest and admit back when I was in high school or so, I was enthusiastic about electric cars and his seemed like some of the best. He was also opening up the charging standards so that there could be a mixed playing field. Back then, I was likely ready to dismiss small critiques as the retaliation of the fossil fuel industry.
God I hate old me.
You're always supposed to hate or be embarrassed by the old you; that means you learned. It means growth. It's a good thing.
Who knew that being a publicly facing cunt makes people not want to buy your product. Shocking discovery.
These people literally live in reaffirming social bubbles they have created. On and offline both. They don't see that they are overplaying their hand.
This article should bring you joy.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/03/elon-musk-human-meme-stock/682023/
The brand is forever damaged. Sell while you can.
I feel bad for Nikola Tesla having his name associated with all this nonsense. Not even death let him escape from rich assholes taking credit for the work of others.
Elon is getting slapped by the invisible hand.
fun fact: the people who originally coined the phrase 'invisible hand of the market' called it 'the invisible hand of providence' which basically means 'gods inscrutable will'. capitalism-at least market capitalism-is literally a religion.
and its god is smiting his favorite special boy. so sad.
Carvana bought mine at a decent price. I imagine the coming glut will have them refusing to buy Teslas outright. Other enraged Tesla owners should unload theirs asap.
For its part, Tesla has been trying to boost its image with the help of President Trump. On Monday, the president took to the South Lawn of the White House to promote Tesla's cars, apparently buying one despite having campaigned on an explicitly anti-electric vehicle platform.
Somehow, I don't think MAGA cult will buy electric vehicles in quantities needed to offset even a fraction of people who used to buy Tesla.
Imagine the CEO of Browning or American Rifles helping Joe Biden pick out a new gun from a display in the state dining room.
The difference is Biden is a gun owner. So at least it would be buying a product he actually has. There has been incidents referencing him and his wife having at least a shotgun (so 2+ guns)
With Trump hating on electric cars like he had for so long, and not knowing how to drive, it's a bit different.
Half of them are broke as fuck and the other half are heavily invested in oil company stocks. Elon made a poor choice of allegiance.
A portion also associate EVs and their ilk with environmentalists, and would probably not buy one even if their very lives depended on it.
Well if they make a Cybertruck 2 that's lifted and looks like the Dildozer, they might have a new market. It'll get 50 miles per-charge, but it'll intimidate their neighbor's kid, so it's worth the $380,000 price tag (financed, of course).
Same people proudly claiming the market is self regulating shocked when the market responds to them being openly fascist cunts.
spacex and starlink need to be the next to go.
Space X should be nationalized
Who will service those when Tesla goes out of business? Where will you get parts? Yeah, it's time to jump ship
For its part, Tesla has been trying to boost its image with the help of President Trump.
Yeah, that's part of the problem, Elon.
I’m so glad that I lost my job in 2016 and had to cancel my Tesla Model 3 reservation. When I eventually got a better paying job in 2017 I played it safe -assumed I could lose it at any moment- and bought a Chevrolet Spark which has served me well.
Honestly? Might not be a bad idea to consider buying a used Tesla after they tank in value.
No money goes to Elon in that exchange, so you're not supporting the fascist prick. They made their money off the first buyer.
It's environmentally friendly to buy a used vehicle, rather than a new one, as you extend it's life and reduce it's carbon footprint
Since everybody is abandoning them, they're cheaper than other options.
My only reservation is that I'd be driving around a Tesla still, so if I did something like this I'd have to de-brand the hell out of it somehow to make it appear as a generic "an car".
Your heart's in the right place but this is bad advice.
Teslas are still wickedly expensive to repair and there's only the dealership who can do those repairs.
And the parts break way too often, even parts that shouldn't break ever, like the door handles that only Tesla can replace. The cost of that can apparently be over $1k. For a door handle.
It'd be a money pit after the warranty period runs out. You're still going to be better off with a run of the mill beater car
Until Tesla allows other shops to do repairs, those swastikars will never be economical even if you ignore the Nazi part
Your point about buying used being better for the environment also applies to older gas powered cars too, which will be easier and cheaper to repair
I've owned a Tesla and I'd say your wrong about pretty much everything here.
The whole point of buying an EV is that it stops polluting after it's been manufactured (ignoring tires) and specifically that you stop polluting your local environment, making it out like used gas powered cars are just as good as used EVs is disingenuous at best.
Obligatory fuck elon before I write the rest of the comment.
I have had a Tesla for 4 years now and as a car they are quite good (newer models got worse).
Super cheap to run, no oil, no filters other than cabin air, no yearly dealership maintenance to keep the warranty. And you charge it at home, super cheap and convenient. (yeah, same applies for any other electric car).
Repair costs (had a few fender benders) are comparable to my old BMW, maybe a bit lower. A door handle never broke on mine, but I just looked and found one on ebay for 15 EUR in case it breaks in the future. Can't say it's unreasonable. There's simply less mechanical things to go wrong with the car, and over time the 3rd party shops can do almost everything, for a similar price to any other car. And if/when the battery ages (8 years warranty), you can still use it at home.
Fun to drive, too, and quite efficient, more than most electric cars.
Nowadays I would never buy one new, and even used it somewhat does rise the price of other Teslas, but I'm not planning to sell mine, I would lose quite a lot of money to end up with a similar car. I am in the market for a second car and it's definitely going to be electric, but no chance for a Tesla.
Teslas are still wickedly expensive to repair and there's only the dealership who can do those repairs.
Where are you getting that from? There are plenty of 3rd party shops that can and do service Teslas. They even made their repair manuals public and sell the OEM components online.
The cost of that can apparently be over $1k. For a door handle.
That's a door handle on a $100k+ car.
Ill give you $200 for the battery, the motor, and some chonky relays if you scrape the branding off.
I saw pics of someone that rebadged their model 3 I think it was with an Audi badge, and if you knew nothing about cars it looked believable.
Sure am glad I couldn’t afford one of those things back when I wanted one.
Right? Who knew that making a product that half of the population wants to buy and then making your brand based around the exact half of the population that lives in contempt of this product instead was a bad idea?
