Why would I get one of those to save fuel? I mean isn't that the whole point of going EV?
There are MANY reasons... And probably zero of them apply to everybody.
Vegan? Well, yeah, I guess, Teslas are even "Vegan" right now as they don't use animal leather on the interiors. And now I feel like I need to go eat some bacon to make up for that.
Environmentally friendly? Yeah, if they last at least a year, in theory.
Quiet? Yup.
Smooth? Yup.
Powerful? Well, to varying degrees, just like ICEVs... Not a whole lot of daily driver soccer-mom-mobiles that do 0-60 in 4 seconds or less though.
Fun? Again, yes, to varying degrees.
Convenient? IMO, very much so. Someone who does frequent 500+ mile road trips while peeing in Gatorade bottles to make good time may not think so. For most people, the increased convenience of not having to go to the gas station (especially in cold weather!) all year long will balance out the slight inconvenience of spending a few extra minutes at their stops when they do take a road trip.
American? Tesla is more so than most vehicles - The Big Three are viewed as "American" but are they really? I actually got some hate for not buying an "American" car when I had a Honda, and my reply was "Which is more American, your Ford that was built in Mexico or my Honda that was built in Ohio?" Tesla is an American company that builds all of their cars for the western hemisphere in the USA (Batteries near Reno, NV; Cars in Fremont, CA and soon to be Austin, TX).
So there's plenty of reasons... And if you have reasons to go elsewhere, so be it.
Personally, I first got one because there was a good deal going on the plug-in hybrid version of the Fusion, such that it was cheaper than the regular one. So I went, "Sure, I'll give it a try" and quickly found that I much preferred it.
Some wag has made the point that “I wish I had less range” is something said by no one ever.
On the other hand, that "Always buy the longest range model" is what kept me from buying a Tesla for several years, and I wish I'd done it sooner - Preferably before the suffering that the poor ergonomics of GM caused me.
Yes, if you can swing it, great. But that's a $10,000 option and that makes a material difference to many people, and as with airplanes, it depends on the mission. I don't do a whole lot of road trips - That's why I have an airplane. So the standard range is fine for my mission, and if I need to do a road trip I still can, just not quite as conveniently as if I'd gotten a long range. But for $10K I'll suck it up and deal with a few minutes of charging here and there.
We’re new at this, and gradually learning how to get a handle on range anxiety. Other Tesla owners say it’s something you get over pretty quickly once you establish good charging habits.
Yup.
Not if it's Apple, Tesla, or Mooney!!!
Ed, I don't need to say anything about the shortcomings of Apple, Tesla, or Mooney when you're around, so I don't.
Yes, they all have shortcomings. I'm annoyed that Apple hasn't put a little more energy into HomeKit. The Mooney is really loud because the construction isn't stressed-skin like other planes so it transmits noise into the cabin more readily, so ANR is a must. Tesla's software could be better - But in the grand scheme of things, it only annoys me because it's usually so good that the imperfections stick out. Certainly, Autopilot and FSD need work though, and my experience so far has been 99% joy and glee, and 1% swearing and yelling at it.
But yeah, with haters like you in the world, I don't need to focus on shortcomings - I just attempt to correct the ones that are somewhat misinformed.
Another thing that makes me laugh is how the fanboys treat Musk and DeLorean like gods. Don’t say anything bad about them or they’ll jump all over you.
People like Musk, DeLorean, Jobs, Bezos, etc., are smart, driven people but they didn’t do it own their own. They had an idea, in some cases not even their own but were smart enough to sell that idea and put the right people in place to bring it to market.
They aren’t (weren’t) saints either.
That's fer damn sure. Jobs was a real jerk to work for in his first stint with Apple, and was certainly quirky throughout his life. He paid for it, too - Everything I've heard is that he could have survived his cancer had he attempted real medical intervention earlier instead of homeopathic stuff.
Musk is... Well, the guy is incredibly smart and works very hard. But he seems to be kind of a jerk, sometimes very much so, and says some crazy stuff.
I think that when someone is as smart, visionary, and driven as these guys, that other parts of their brains suffer because they often tend to also be whackjobs in certain areas.
