Tesla is off my list.
I want some recommendations. Something with tactile controls and no subscriptions.
1998 Toyota Tercel.
I drive the EV equivalent of this, a 2016 Nissan leaf.
It only cost 6k, 4kish with tax rebates, but it has a max mileage of like 70 miles. Perfect for our needs as a commuter car within the city.
There is a touchscreen, but that's just for audio since the gps and Pandora features stopped working after 3g cell service was phased out. There are tactile controls for audio as well.
Yeah not a single dime he will receive from me. I'm not going to support a Nazi.
I'm very happy with mine but to each their own. Musk is definitely a complete asshole to put it mildly and imo the worst part of having a Tesla is the association with him. It's certainly a valid reason to not want one.
There will always be tesla fanboys whenever the brand is talked down. Sadly, the points brought up by OP have been valid for years.
Stories of teslas not shutting down in crashes, leaving paramedics unable to assist, and doors locking while updating are still present for the cars, whereas nearly all other vehicles don't do dumb things like "escape cords" but just use mechanical locks that won't fail on a power outage.
If you say anyone who is enjoying their Tesla is a fanboy then you're doing the same thing as them, just on the opposite side. These criticisms can be levied at many vehicles and they are certainly valid if overblown. I personally think there are far bigger problems with the cars than these which are largely non issues. Prospective buyers should do their research carefully and make up their own minds.
Nearly all modern cars are a privacy nightmare. That is not a valid reason to avoid Tesla in favor of a different modern car.
All the other points are spot on, though. Fuck Tesla and fuck the nazi shitbag that pretends to run it.
So if all cars are privacy nightmares we'd have to pick the least bad option. Tesla is the worst option because you have a privacy nightmare plus it's ran by a guy who has a history of abusing his power by doing things like banning journalists on his "X" platform. Could he one day use the data collected by Tesla cars against someone he doesn't like?
Don't let your (justified) dislike of Tesla dull your senses towards other automakers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/technology/carmakers-driver-tracking-insurance.html
lol 10 years too late.
So which manufacturers should we look at? I'm in the market for a second EV right now. And this is my chain of thought.
My considerations are:
- Used cars only, I'm not paying 25% for the privilege of driving the car over the curb for the first time.
- No Chinese cars. They may be a good deal right now, but China is about to go do something stupid, like fight for the South China Sea or un-secede Taiwan. And then who knows what's going to happen with parts or if your car suddenly won't drive because it's a strategic advantage for China to kill as much infrastructure as possible. Besides some of the military installations (especially airbases) I visit already have areas, where Chinese cars aren't allowed in, if that becomes the entire installations I will have to walk around.
- No Teslas. I don't trust Musk to not revoke licenses or brick the car, and the QC is nonexistent. Besides I'd have to get one of those "I bought my Tesla before we knew he was an asshat" stickers.
- No Fords, that's just a rule of thumb for me.
- Range, I've had it with those stupid <50kWh battery packs. I'm not asking for much, just being able to go 300km at highway speeds. Going 90km/h and still have to charge every 150km sucks.
- Charging system must be CCS2 capable of 3 phases. Fuck Nissan and their stupid single phase type1/chademo solutions , there's no chademo chargers anywhere. And charging single phase at 3.3kW, when you're not at home, gets old fast.
I was looking at Renault Zoe, but after speaking with my local Renault dealer, who has a warranty order in for a simple spare reverse camera, and Renault for 6 months straight now, can't even tell when they'll be able to ship it. So Renault is out of the running.
So what else is there? Must be <5 years old, <20k€, and if it could have some warranty left it would be great. Hyundai Kona is starting to look pretty good right now.
Hyundai IONIQ (or the Kia EV# rebadges)?
Alternatively Volvo/Polestar, perhaps? Technically they’re partially Chinese owned - but at least a respectable International marque.
I’m a sucker for the neon-green Abarth 500e, but I’m going to wait a few years to pick one up second hand - as it’s hard to justify buying a Stellaris car new, given how quickly they depreciate here (Australia).
whats a good source of info for purchasing US-available, non-tesla evs?
Pretty much go for only Hyundais or Kias. They’re all in on EVs and they’re fantastic. I have an Ioniq 5 and while it does have issues, every car does, and it has a tenth the issues that teslas and others do.
Not in-depth, but a complete list with some specs to get you started. https://evadoption.com/ev-models/bev-models-currently-available-in-the-us/
If you are on the market now, I can recommend the BMW i4. They are desperately trying to get their name in the game and are offering ridiculous discounts, before the end of the year.
I recently leased a BMW i4 M50 and absolutely love it.
https://electrek.co/ is a decent source for EV news. Beyond that most of your typical car sites have a halfway decent reviews section.
Tesla is trash, no QC.
Yeah we know Tesla sucks
Are you actually asking for honest feedback or just upvotes?
If so, buying any used car is better. If you can get by with a 2008 accord, buy that. Better for the environment than any new electric. If you don't care about the environment and just want an electric for funsies, buy a used (whatever is well rated).
I'm not asking for anything. I just wanted to warn people so they are not stuck with a heap of junk from a company who's CEO endorses neo-Nazi political parties.
I don't have any data, but I'm surprised if a new electric is worse than a second hand ICE? What's your thinking behind that?
Reduce, reuse, recycle. Better to use a car that's already made then to make a new one.
The second hand ICE keeps you buying new fuel though. With the EV, depending on location, most of your "fuel" is wind and sunshine, maybe nuclear.
With cars, you can't really compare the production alone, they pollute way more after the fact.
That sort of makes sense, but then cars aren't stand alone things, they actively consume to travel. I guess it's a case of how much CO2 (I'm assuming we're ignoring other environment impact for now) is used in manufacture vs driving?
Better yet, buy a bicycle. Of course this doesn't currently work for everyone, but many people could live a better life with just a bike and don't even realize it. Deeply evaluate your own situation.
Better for the environment than any new electric.
Got any sources on that?
People will always blast me for this, but German cars have better ride quality, interiors and overall engineering. Durability too. What they're worse at is total cost of ownership, because of the occasional problem with absurdly expensive systems. But there's a reason people buy them even at the ridiculous prices they cost.
But there's a reason people buy them even at the ridiculous prices they cost.
One way bigger reason is they're fashion statements and status symbols for people who can afford them, having nothing to due with the other reasons you mentioned. Specifically BMW, Benz, Porsche.
Tell me you've never owned one without telling me you've ever owned one.
Plenty of young people want them as fashion statements, sure, but the primary buying audience for new German cars isn't really folks in their 20s.
The first point rings true, but the other points seem like cherry picking.
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Unreliability: https://www.kbb.com/car-news/consumer-reports-subaru-lexus-make-the-most-reliable-cars/ Tesla is below average on reliability, but unreliable Mainstays like Jeep still are lower. Other lists put Tesla in the middle of the pack, Cybertruck nonwithstanding. Still not great.
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Fatal accident rate: This comment explains why: "As for fatalities, neither the article nor the comments I've seen so far have raised the obvious points of mis-use or over-reliance on automated driving systems or the shock (as in a famous case in Texas a couple of years ago) of an inexperienced driver given access to, let's say a Model S Plaid, stepping on the accelerator and being thrown back against the seat and into a state of shock such that the foot remains pressed on the accelerator while the car runs off the road."
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Spying: Unfortunately, every single brand spies on you and your driving, as shown in https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/privacy-nightmare-on-wheels-every-car-brand-reviewed-by-mozilla-including-ford-volkswagen-and-toyota-flunks-privacy-test/
A note on the "Fatal accident rate" topic:
A car which uses touch panels for control and electronics for simple things like doors, and relies only on a camera to do self-driving (no lidar), is bound to be unsafe in multiple ways. Drivers make more mistakes because they aren't provided physical switches and levers, they make mistakes because they're distracted by light from screens, in emergencies there are issues with unlocking doors and finally, when machine vision fails, there is no backup to tell of a Big Old Obstacle right ahead.
A note on the "Spying" topic:
Mozilla compared privacy policies. They didn't actually take apart cars, intercept their comms or dissect manufacturers' apps. I wish there existed a review of actual behaviours, as opposed to policies.
A car's ability to actually spy on the user depends on its tech, not just the policy. So a very simple car (not a Tesla, obviously) with a very agressive policy of "we collect everything" would be safer than a smartphone on wheels with a modest policy. You can't spy if you haven't got sensors.
For recommendations, in the States, Porsche and Lucid are the best you can get. You have a lot more options for electric vehicles outside of the US, in say, Australia or the UK, because of Chinese brands.
Chinese brands are affordable because they pay their workers slave wages. Fuck off with that.
Yeah, I have to say, the Brazil BYD thing is pretty bad, there is no way around it.
I'm eyeing Lucid right now, but hoping for even more competition over the next couple few years.
I hate Elon. I want him to get Luigi'd, but my Tesla is paid off and costs me basically nothing now except shame. So I think it'd be wiser to drive it until it dies or something happens and it gets totaled out.
I agree though, don't buy a Tesla. I've told all my friends and family not to get one. Anyone who asks me how I like it I just say it sucks and to look at other brands.
I'd love an EV once I have the means. I plan on starting the conversation at the dealership with something akin to "what do you have that isn't a Tesla?"
Even if I was gifted a Tesla, I'd sell it ASAP. Fuck everything to do with Musk, to include his shitty cars.
Electric Vehicles
Electric Vehicles are a key part of our tomorrow and how we get there. If we can get all the fossil fuel vehicles off our roads, out of our seas and out of our skies, we'll have a much better environment. This community is where we discuss the various different vehicles and news stories regarding electric transportation.
Related communities:
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