I used to be a fan of Fully Charged but as electic cars have become more mainstream, there are better reviews on YouTube. I’m also not really sure who the show is aimed at these days with features on Chinese cars that will never make it out of China to the contents of batteries that won’t be interesting to the average viewer.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Fully Charged Show
- Thread starter adsheff
- Start date
It's gotten pretty repetitive, as others already said there are much shorter and depending on opinion, better sources. They seem to have also aimed it at a specific group of viewers, who are probably best described as not the majority of casual youtube viewers, which will hit their numbers if their videos don't appeal to a broad group.
Llama.
Lurking somewhere up North
The production quality is good, but the car reviews themselves aren't as good compared to other YouTube channels. Particularly since Jonny Smith left. I like Robert Llewelyn, but he's not a very focused presenter.
I think the expectation of viewers has changed over time as well as EVs have become mainstream. Before, Fully Charged was the best source of some information about clean energy etc. Now there is loads of competition from places like Carwow etc, that do direct EV comparisons in detail.
In comparison Fully Charged feels like a source of information for enthusiasts now.
I think the expectation of viewers has changed over time as well as EVs have become mainstream. Before, Fully Charged was the best source of some information about clean energy etc. Now there is loads of competition from places like Carwow etc, that do direct EV comparisons in detail.
In comparison Fully Charged feels like a source of information for enthusiasts now.
So who do people watch instead? For me it's
Carwow - Amusing but vacuous drag races, pretty well informed reviews, love the drive until they died
RSymonds - Watchable, but seems to be running low on content ideas recently.
TeslaBjorn - If you want stats and more stats, also Norway is awesome
EVM - Reasonably amusing and heartfelt, if you like Yorkshiremen.
MrEV - His wife makes it hilarious.
Daerik - Decent topic ideas
Tesla Gurus - Very occasional, but some good topics
Jack Massey-Welsh - Over quickly but can be amusing
One's I don't watch much anymore
SpawnPoint/Marc Brown/Tesla Torque - They are all the same! Useful before you buy but no value anymore
LateBrakeShow - I used to like Jonny Smith, but then watched the Smith & Sniff stuff and decided he was a plonker
James and Kate - A pair of amusing twits at first, but James is super irritating to me now
Electrified - Better than Fully Charged, but very much in the same 'Family TV' like category
Tesla Driver - I used to hate him, feel bad he's gone now, wish him well.
Carwow - Amusing but vacuous drag races, pretty well informed reviews, love the drive until they died
RSymonds - Watchable, but seems to be running low on content ideas recently.
TeslaBjorn - If you want stats and more stats, also Norway is awesome
EVM - Reasonably amusing and heartfelt, if you like Yorkshiremen.
MrEV - His wife makes it hilarious.
Daerik - Decent topic ideas
Tesla Gurus - Very occasional, but some good topics
Jack Massey-Welsh - Over quickly but can be amusing
One's I don't watch much anymore
SpawnPoint/Marc Brown/Tesla Torque - They are all the same! Useful before you buy but no value anymore
LateBrakeShow - I used to like Jonny Smith, but then watched the Smith & Sniff stuff and decided he was a plonker
James and Kate - A pair of amusing twits at first, but James is super irritating to me now
Electrified - Better than Fully Charged, but very much in the same 'Family TV' like category
Tesla Driver - I used to hate him, feel bad he's gone now, wish him well.
While not EV focused, Autogefühl do very in depth reviews and being German can sometimes get hold of cars before others do e.g. Mercedes EQS. The videos can be quite long, typical about half an hour, though you can skip bits you aren’t interested in (and no silly drag races either). Also worth checking out is Autotrader as they’ve roped in Rory Reid to do the reviews. Again not EV focused, but Rory is a fan of EVs so you don’t get the typical anti EV stance like other car journalists. Must admit I do enjoy the CarWow reviews, just not the drag race videos but guess as they support the channel, they help keep it going. Also worth a mention is Top Gear, which is actually the magazine side rather than the TV programme. They don’t post EVs very often but do have some interesting stuff like the electric Bentley S1, though still can’t decide whether that’s a good idea or sacrilege.
A lot of these are new to me, so thanks for the tips!So who do people watch instead? For me it's
Carwow - Amusing but vacuous drag races, pretty well informed reviews, love the drive until they died
RSymonds - Watchable, but seems to be running low on content ideas recently.
TeslaBjorn - If you want stats and more stats, also Norway is awesome
EVM - Reasonably amusing and heartfelt, if you like Yorkshiremen.
MrEV - His wife makes it hilarious.
Daerik - Decent topic ideas
Tesla Gurus - Very occasional, but some good topics
Jack Massey-Welsh - Over quickly but can be amusing
One's I don't watch much anymore
SpawnPoint/Marc Brown/Tesla Torque - They are all the same! Useful before you buy but no value anymore
LateBrakeShow - I used to like Jonny Smith, but then watched the Smith & Sniff stuff and decided he was a plonker
James and Kate - A pair of amusing twits at first, but James is super irritating to me now
Electrified - Better than Fully Charged, but very much in the same 'Family TV' like category
Tesla Driver - I used to hate him, feel bad he's gone now, wish him well.
I loved Johnny Smith's car reviews, but can't be bothered with his old petrol car stuff, so I just watch his EV episodes. The brummy guy off Carwow I do think is a great presenter, so I do watch a few of those from time to time. But I do really click with Robert Llewellyn - I like his style, his sense of humour and his stance on massive cars so I'll keep watching!
HenryT
Active Member
aside from those above, some of the channels I follow include
Battery Life - Another likeable Norwegian with an ID.3
Munro Live - Takes cars to bits and has much to say on design/development
Ryan Shaw - American, but no too much 'look at me' with his channel
Battery Life - Another likeable Norwegian with an ID.3
Munro Live - Takes cars to bits and has much to say on design/development
Ryan Shaw - American, but no too much 'look at me' with his channel
4yrs ago it was quite exciting. Even 3yrs ago it was novel and when i took mine out the odd young lad would shout cheerfully. Now they're all a bit 'meh'.
Not many Teslas out here in the sticks, but I saw a black m3 driving towards me through a village. If it hadn't been for the T on the front it was just another car. A conservative shape is necessary if the car is going to have a long duty cycle.
It follows that youtube has run out of anything new to say while waiting for another failed Elon promise...
Not many Teslas out here in the sticks, but I saw a black m3 driving towards me through a village. If it hadn't been for the T on the front it was just another car. A conservative shape is necessary if the car is going to have a long duty cycle.
It follows that youtube has run out of anything new to say while waiting for another failed Elon promise...
Say what you like about Roadster, Cybertruck or Semaye, but Model S, X, 3 and Y have all been far from failed promises. I think the 3 in particular has surpassed all expectations.
ACarneiro
Active Member
Also, I’d call them “delayed” rather than “failed”.
The cyber truck is an abomination, IMHO, but the Semi I think may have potential for being seriously exciting…
The cyber truck is an abomination, IMHO, but the Semi I think may have potential for being seriously exciting…
Not sure I understand the negativity - I always look forward to seeing a new FC video in my feed, and feel that my regular Patreon support is good value. Robert, Dan and their team have done an enormous amount to push sustainable living forward over the past 10 years or so. It can't have been easy to create compelling content over the last year or so especially.
To me, the fact that the videos are pitched at an accessible level, and neither completely car wonky (like a discount Top Gear), nor full of Youtube clickbait content ("can my girlfriend impersonate a traffic cone"), are features, not bugs. I can send an FC video link to anyone, knowing that they'll take something from it - whatever their knowledge level. There are other sources that cover every nuance of particular topics, if you want to seek them out.
I think they're going to appear on Amazon Prime Video, which will reach a much greater audience.
I'm not sure what's caused the drop in views.
Sure, he isn't a 'car guy'. But I hate 'car guys'!
To me, the fact that the videos are pitched at an accessible level, and neither completely car wonky (like a discount Top Gear), nor full of Youtube clickbait content ("can my girlfriend impersonate a traffic cone"), are features, not bugs. I can send an FC video link to anyone, knowing that they'll take something from it - whatever their knowledge level. There are other sources that cover every nuance of particular topics, if you want to seek them out.
I think they're going to appear on Amazon Prime Video, which will reach a much greater audience.
I'm not sure what's caused the drop in views.
He corrected this in a recent episode I think.I often watch the shows when I was researching EVs still occasionally view them. Although recently I have questioned the knowledge of Robert, in the last last show I watched they took a polestar 2 LR and M3 LR on a road trip and Robert mentioned that he couldn't use one pedal driving in his Model 3 like the polestar2. He has driven his Tesla for 40K+ miles and hadn't realised there's a setting that enables one pedal driving...WTF!
You mean Elliot Richards. For me his updates are one of the best bits. The look behind the scenes of BYD recently was great. Just seeing how China operates at a completely different scale is incredible.
Sure, he isn't a 'car guy'. But I hate 'car guys'!
MrBadger
Badger out
Whilst some of his comments were dubious (and many of his actions probably gave a false sense of AP capabilities to some), I found the continuity of testing each release and some of the scenarios interesting. We have unfortunately lost that. His disappearance coincided with early FSD beta and whilst I can see that FSD beta trumps anything we have, thats only half of the AP/FSD story and in UK and for the majority, not entirely relevant. I too wish him well and hopefully one day he will reappear with a compilation of missed releases.
Mark-R
Member
'Tesla Driver' also got a warning from the Police. I suspect he decided it wasn't worth the risk of being prosecuted...
Testing Tesla self-drive technology on Magic Roundabout is illegal, police say
Tesla Driver was super clickbaity. What happened to him? Did people stop falling for the tricks?So who do people watch instead? For me it's
Carwow - Amusing but vacuous drag races, pretty well informed reviews, love the drive until they died
RSymonds - Watchable, but seems to be running low on content ideas recently.
TeslaBjorn - If you want stats and more stats, also Norway is awesome
EVM - Reasonably amusing and heartfelt, if you like Yorkshiremen.
MrEV - His wife makes it hilarious.
Daerik - Decent topic ideas
Tesla Gurus - Very occasional, but some good topics
Jack Massey-Welsh - Over quickly but can be amusing
One's I don't watch much anymore
SpawnPoint/Marc Brown/Tesla Torque - They are all the same! Useful before you buy but no value anymore
LateBrakeShow - I used to like Jonny Smith, but then watched the Smith & Sniff stuff and decided he was a plonker
James and Kate - A pair of amusing twits at first, but James is super irritating to me now
Electrified - Better than Fully Charged, but very much in the same 'Family TV' like category
Tesla Driver - I used to hate him, feel bad he's gone now, wish him well.
I struggle to watch Jack Massey-Welsh for the same reason. I have a very low tolerance for really blatent gaming of the audience to service YouTube monetisation.
I tend to watch stuff like Daerik, Frugal Tesla Guy, etc basically anyone talking about a specific topic relating to Teslas or EVs that I'm interested in, rather than actively subscribing to their output.
Agreed, and clickbait in a 'look how bad this is' kind of way. Let me use AP in an entirely inappropriate way and then act shocked that is nearly (but didn't) crash!
I do really wonder why people think there are constant improvements in AP in the UK. I really don't think it's core motorway driving has changed since later 2019, since when Dev were clearly all focused on FSD beta. As far as I can tell it's same code, with the same abilities. I do drive using it every day.
Jack is less negative, but clearly a 'YouTube Personality' first and foremost, I don't mind that.
I still watch Fully Charged occasionally. The videos are well made with high production values. The subscription beg is a bit annoying.
As they invariably like the cars they test they seem to get early access to everything.
What I find a little strange (as a Tesla owner) is that they go through the usual stuff about ride quality, cabin noise, range etc. but don't emphasise Tesla's advantage with Superchargers, free OTA updates and autonomous ready hardware when reviewing other cars. Guess it would get boring for viewers after a while.
As they invariably like the cars they test they seem to get early access to everything.
What I find a little strange (as a Tesla owner) is that they go through the usual stuff about ride quality, cabin noise, range etc. but don't emphasise Tesla's advantage with Superchargers, free OTA updates and autonomous ready hardware when reviewing other cars. Guess it would get boring for viewers after a while.
ACarneiro
Active Member
Is there any suggestion that other manufacturer OTA updates are going to be paid for? I don’t see that as a Tesla USP, personally.
The only USP Tesla has, IMHO is the SuC network which is currently miles ahead of anyone else. It won’t be the case forever, mind you, but I suspect it’ll take years for other networks to get close to it.
The only USP Tesla has, IMHO is the SuC network which is currently miles ahead of anyone else. It won’t be the case forever, mind you, but I suspect it’ll take years for other networks to get close to it.
MrBadger
Badger out
Its behaviour is constantly evolving, for better or for worse. You only have to look at the new neural networks introduced in 2021.4.15.x and .4.18.x to see that underlying changes affect all aspects of the autopilot system irrespective of what functionality or operational domain you are making use of that it sitting on top. The quick fire 2021.4.15.x branch was non subtle step changes in behaviour irrespective of whether you were driving fully manually or on NoA but even regular releases containing only minor bug fixes and improvements can show quite different behaviour - more than you would expect with just changes in driving conditions. There are off ramps that the car now takes very well that 9-12 months ago felt like you were a a ball in a game of pinball - yet no 'we improved handling of off ramps' in release notes. I've had releases where the car has ping ponged me up motorway lanes and longed for the next release which sorted the issue - you then read that everyone else on the same release was complaining of the same behaviour. Again, undocumented underlying changes.
Similar threads
- Article