“Six figures.”
Can we retire this phrase? A lot of these people are earning multi-hundred-thousand dollar salaries. And many of them live in expensive areas where $100k is not some magic number that means you’re rich.
It’s just such a cringey phrase. Not specific enough to be useful, and loaded with economic misconceptions.
Agreed. Between my wife and I we gross close to 200k. With a house in a Boston Suburb and 2 kids, it’s solidly middle class. Certainly a far cry from rich.
I think that’s far from Tesla money. I drive a 10 year old VW (Passat) and she drives a 4 year old Honda (Odyssey).
The use of “six figures” as a measure of affluence goes back to at least the 60’s… if we use 1970 as a baseline, a salary of $100,000 then is $800,000 today, accounting for inflation.
Inflation isn’t the whole picture , but helps to demonstrate how dated the phrase is.
This makes a lot of sense. Tesla is a slightly higher-end car, and it's not surprising that it attracts people from the engineering fields.
People who work in engineering/tech would be slightly more inclined to buy cutting-edge products.
The funny thing is that it’s objectively not a higher end car. It’s just a cheap Corolla with a big computer in it. Tesla’s build quality is also complete shit, as easily seen in the panel fitment (or anything fitment).
“ The funny thing is that it’s objectively not a higher end car. It’s just a cheap Corolla”
I don’t know if I can agree with that, lol. Teslas are incredibly fun to drive, are the safest cars ever made, drive themselves on the freeway (how well is a debate, but still), cost very little to fuel etc etc.
Very different than a Corolla, and I love me a Corolla!
Depends on if you define “high end.” Most people consider the build quality as a major factor in what makes a car “high end.” Tesla’s are notorious for some of the worst, if not THE worst build quality in the industry. The materials are cheap in quality and QA is seemingly non-existent, with cars frequently being shipped that are duds or begin to literally fall apart (like steering wheels coming off mid drive) extremely quickly.
Overall, not surprised.
Couple of points I noticed were missing:
These are their most affordable models, so I’m reading this article in terms of the Model X & Model S, and not every owner. The data did say that the Model 3 was predominantly male-owned, and I expected nothing less from a car marketed as a sports car.
A state that was once identified as “Camry California”, the Model Y exceeding Camry sales in the state is a big enough deal to include that data to qualify an article that describes all Tesla owners.
This is true for me, I have an S.
I'll also never buy another tesla again but I'll drive this until the wheels fall off. It's 5 years old now.
Always refreshing to see somebody who owns one of these cars and hasn't immediately forgotten all expectations of build quality from an automotive manufacturer. I've seen intelligent and analytical people just turn their brains off at the suggestion that these cars aren't perfect, when the procedure for getting one repaired reads like it's from Apple.
How is the battery holding up? All Tesla owners I know sold theirs before the 2 year mark worrying that they might need to replace the battery for the price of a new car, always sounded like a misconception to me.
Even for all that is correct to criticize about Tesla's build quality, the batteries do hold up a while;
Even Tesla's warranty cites 70% capacity after 8 years / 120k miles, which roughly tracks with real world results.
Although I'd never buy one, the battery seems to be one of the least issue prone areas; usually people cite interior/exterior build quality, a total lack of serviceability and software issues as the main things when it comes to Teslas.
The thing gets me about the "$XX,000" battery replacement figure is that people are talking about the dealer quote for a battery replacement. If your vehicle is in warranty (and Tesla has an 8 year battery warranty), then the dealer replaces the battery for free. If it's not under warranty anymore, there's no reason to get your battery replaced at the dealer. Third party shops will do it for a fraction of the cost.
If I were rich I would like an EV based on the fact that I hate gasoline.
But I dont trust my road safety on a billionaire crybaby who gets triggered by the word "cisgender"
When our current car dies, I'd like to replace it with an EV - but 0% chance it'll be a Tesla.
Lots of better options out now. And in 5 years, Tesla may be the worst of them, given how bad their quality control is.
I just wish it wasn't their charging network that manufacturers were moving to, but I have to admit that it is better than the alternatives. And we do need a single standard like gas.
I bet most new car owners are in the same demographic. New cars are expensive as shit these days.
I for one am shocked.
The only Tesla owner I know is a Musk-loving, ancap, STEM-bro who probably makes around $160k.
As an engineer, I often find being surrounded by engineers to be exhausting lol
Teslas are now the more expensive finance bro Patagonia vests, but on the road I’m seeing more polestars and other Ev’s.
In DFW its mostly indians and asians that drive teslas, especially in Plano and Frisco. Its completely replaced the fully loaded honda accord and toyota camry as THE car to get.
This seems more about demographics than tech. Just sayin
I'm a white man who falls into that category, I'd never own a Tesla, they're too fucking expensive. Maybe I'll get an EV some day, but it won't be a Tesla. For now, I'll stick to my 6 year old car that still runs well and didn't cost me a second mortgage.
As a white man, making six figures with a stem job is love to have a Tesla. My 200 year house and it’s wiring disagree however. 😔
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
