So you’ve just proved your brother’s point? Motor Trend Car of the Year for an $8-$10K discount paid for by some SUV owner? Seems like that’s a lot smarter than waiting around to see what Musk is going to charge you on what the pro reviewers say is now a weaker product. Doesn’t sound like he’s wrong, to me.
GM advertises in Motor Trend, Tesla does not.
And I don't think the Bolt is a bad car by any means. But, it's not a Tesla either. When it comes to EVs, the traditional automakers have some MAJOR disadvantages:
1) The dealers don't want to sell EVs. They don't really make money on new cars, they make money on maintenance and EVs are darn near maintenance free. Replace the tires and wiper blades every so often, and that's practically it. Tesla recommends you come in for a once-a-year checkup, but plenty of their owners have never done it at all and have been fine doing nothing but tires and wiper blades for 100K+ miles. No oil changes, and much rarer brake jobs thanks to regen, and many fewer moving parts is what allows that to happen. But, it means the dealers' profit would tank so they don't do it. It's not always purposeful, but they're certainly not investing in training on how to sell them except some rare cases.
2) Charging infrastructure. The Bolt is not a road-trip car unless you're on the coasts, and even then it's iffy. Tesla's Supercharger network is spread throughout the country quite evenly, while the third-party fast chargers that work with the Bolt are generally concentrated in cities. If I were to try to drive to the Twin Cities in a Bolt and started fully charged, I would have to drive the first 80ish miles, then charge all the way up to full (which would take 1-2 hours), then go the rest of the way... And that's only if the weather is good and I don't have to run the HVAC. In that case, it'd mean another several-hour stop at a slower charging station (which are few and far between already). Basically, an all-day ordeal to go around 300 miles. And then I'd have to figure out a way to charge it up for the return trip - 3 hours at a CCS charger, or a day or two on a 240V charger.
Nationwide SAE-CCS chargers:
In the longer-range Model 3, I could charge fully at home and go the whole way. If it was cold and/or I needed HVAC, I could stop for 20-30 minutes in Madison, Mauston, or Eau Claire. I could use one of the Superchargers up there for 1/2 hour to "gas up" for the return trip and make another 20-30 minute stop halfway back. Done.
Nationwide Tesla Superchargers:
3) Charging speed. The Superchargers are currently 120kW while most of the SAE-CCS chargers are theoretically 50kW but the most I usually see when I use them is about 35kW. That means that the Tesla can charge from zero to 80% in 1/2 hour and get on down the road, while the Bolt, which already has shorter range, will take a couple of hours.
4) Updates. The large touchscreens and always-connected nature of the Teslas allow them to continue delivering new features so the car gets even better over time. That's huge - Even the oldest Model S cars got new features recently.
But, bottom line, saying Tesla sucks gets you clicks, and clicks get you money. Plain and simple. What I'm hearing from real owners is that they are elated, and it's the best car they've ever had.
Since you have inside insight to GM's strategies and plans, riddle me this- Why would GM spend so much money and resources on the Bolt if all they wanted was a CARB compliant vehicle? They already had the Spark EV and was fully compliant. They could have just kept building them.
Because it doesn't get you an EV credit unless someone actually buys the thing.
But there is more to it than that. Tesla is a threat to them all. For years they've been telling CARB that "Nobody wants these electric cars! We can't sell them! You can't require us to sell something that people won't buy!" and such. Then, Tesla comes along and makes an electric car that people really want, and proves them wrong. So, the more they can do to slow Tesla down, the better it is for them. "We're better at this than Tesla is, we were first to market, you should listen to us, Tesla is nothing but hype," yadda yadda yadda.
Just because GM hasn't announced plans to turn all their cars and trucks into BEVs, doesn't mean that GM doesn't want to sell EVs. They just don't have the luxury of losing money quarter after quarter like Tesla does.
Au contraire. GM can lose money on EVs all day long and not care about it, because they can make it up by selling big gas guzzlers. If Tesla loses money on EVs, Tesla loses money, period. And Tesla can't be in the red for too much longer - Nate is right about that. But it sounds like Elon is not going to try to raise funds at all, and is only going to reinvest the actual profits from Q3 and Q4 this year, to prove that they can make money.
I think you are right about the proportion of short range vs. long range. Tesla buyers are wealthy people and what's an extra $9000? Why not get the range?
Meh... That $9,000 is a large part of why I'm on the fence about actually converting my Model 3 reservation into a car. I think I'd prefer something that depreciates less, like solar panels on my house. I can get a used Model 3 later.
Elon Musk and Tesla are not interested in serving median income people. They want to make slick, pretty and luxurious things, not budget things.
Just like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and the rest of their real competition. (And Apple.)
Like I said, they will make a handful of the "$35,000" (Really $36,200 once you include the mandatory destination fees) just to save face and prove they are good on their word and then quietly discontinue it.
I don't think so - Even if they never build any, I bet it'll be there. They've sold plenty of 60kWh, 70kWh, and 75 kWh Model Ss and Xs. Just because I wouldn't buy one doesn't mean nobody would.
Motor Trend and other pro reviewers who’ve been reviewing vehicles decades longer than Tesla has existed, have direct quotes like “Musk should be worried.” in articles all over the place when reviewing the Bolt. Same people who’ve had early access to everything Tesla has done and have more miles in Teslas than all but the earliest Model S owners. 
