Gotta admit - I will shop around when Audi/Benz/BMW have long range EV's

[TaoJones]

Some charging infrastructure competition would be nice, but the ICEqueens will probably default to using dealership real estate and there will always be a conflict of interest until the day a tipping point is reached.

See the single throttled ChaDeMo installs at Nissan dealerships not available after hours. Their sales are already largely limited to the garaged class.

 

[calisnow]

My gut prediction tells me that I would rather consider an Apple or Faraday Future EV over a German EV; that's my bias for selecting innovators over traditionalists. So far, however, Tesla is the only one for me.

I think a large part of me will always have a big soft spot and nostalgia for the Germans because I bought them for so long - from track days with E36 M3's to big luxo-barge cruisers.

 

[TexasEV]

It's not going to happen. The German automakers aren't going to make a compelling long range EV because it would canabalize sales of their high margin ICE cars. Only a new automaker will make compelling EVs in any volume. The legacy manufacturers can't afford to as they have on much invested in ICE.

 

[SΞXY P100D]

I think a large part of me will always have a big soft spot and nostalgia for the Germans because I bought them for so long - from track days with E36 M3's to big luxo-barge cruisers.

Understood. I once had an Audi and it still is my favorite car. I miss it quite a lot! Although, I surely don't miss the headaches of car breakdowns and expensive maintenance with that thing.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Quit being a hoe and stay loyal to your Telsa.

 

[bkp_duke]

Some of that 100k+ cost goes into batteries, aluminum chassis, performance and doors. Therefore its all about priorities.

That should not be an excuse. The price of batteries is constantly going down, the cost of interior finish is not a major cost for any luxury car until you get in to Bentley-level luxury.

Bottom line - if Tesla wants to appeal to these customers (and not just us techs that LOVE the technology in the car), they need to improve fit and finish out. Otherwise, clients with big $$$ to spend will continue to go to ICE providers with supple interiors despite the obvious technical advantages of the Model S and X.

BTW, BMW and Mercedes have been all-aluminum or near all aluminum chassis for a couple years now in the price range we are talking about. That's a wash on these high-end cars.

 

[SΞXY P100D]

That should not be an excuse. The price of batteries is constantly going down, the cost of interior finish is not a major cost for any luxury car until you get in to Bentley-level luxury.

Bottom line - if Tesla wants to appeal to these customer (and not just us techs that LOVE the technology in the car), they need to improve fit and finish out. Otherwise, clients with big $$$ to spend will continue to go to ICE providers with supple interiors despite the obvious technical advantages of the Model S and X.

BTW, BMW and Mercedes have been all-aluminum or near all aluminum chassis for a couple years now in the price range we are talking about. That's a wash on these high-end cars.

I know people who steer away from Teslas because of their "plain" interiors. As much as I like Tesla a lot, I have to agree with that notion.

However, to Tesla's defense they probably kept the interiors plain due to priorities (I also concur with @Vitold's post). As a startup company with few sales of the Roadster it must have been difficult getting the right suppliers for parts. Maybe these were reasons why the Model S didn't have the basics such as cupholders, door pockets and a center console... Haven't done any research on this topic so I'm only speculating here.

Now that orders are going through the roof, I expect Tesla's designs (inside and out) to compete with the best out there. I'm not talking about having more buttons or knobs folks... I would like the Model 3 interior to resemble an iPhone-style device that makes others look like the old school Nokias and Motorolas of yesteryear.

 

[STbreaker]

As if that were a good thing, in this context.

It's kinda funny that by the time they come up with a full EV (if ever), we'll be talking about how Tesla has been doing full EVs well for years.

Indeed the lack of Supercharger equivalent is a daunting task to overcome for any serious attempts to compete at least in the US.

I agree with some others that this will ultimately slow/prevent a full EV from major manufacturers German or otherwise. Instead, they already seemed to have announced their development intentions for the near future at least, which seems to be plug-in hybrids. As we've seen with the i8, Porsche 918 hybrid, new NSX, etc, the performance aspect of it is going pretty well. Porsche and Mercedes also are using this technology in motorsport with the World Endurance Championship and Formula 1 respectively. If I were those companies, I would focus on making more affordable versions of this technology instead of a pure EV. For people that aren't married to the idea of a pure EV, their "Tesla killer" might be one of the plug-in hybrids with really great gas mileage and a great interior. Porsche is already saying the 918 gets around 80mpg. As a person who has already admitted to liking the A7, if they had a plug in hybrid version that got 80mpg, I would strongly consider it.

 

[Camera-Cruiser]

The point is, if you could by a Toyota, that was a Tesla, wouldn't you? Sign me up for an all electric Land Cruiser please!

 

[twonius]

Tesla needs to improve the fit and finish of the interior compared to the germans. It's improved over the years, but for 100k+ cars they are still behind Audi, BMW, and Mercedes.

Go sit in a first gen Cayenne.. Tesla is hardly the worst offender here.

 

[twonius]

The point is, if you could by a Toyota, that was a Tesla, wouldn't you? Sign me up for an all electric Land Cruiser please!

Isn't that basically the RAV4 EV?

It's really amazing how much they're skipping out on BEVs in favor of FCEVs. Considering their knowledge base with the Prius I'd figure an all electric Lexus LS would't bee too much of a stretch, and they'd probably lose less money on it than the LFA.

I've wondered if a lot of automakers just aren't interested as it's a threat to their core competency of engines/ transmissions. Without that and the moat of regulation around it they just become brands/systems integrators and are vulnerable to being outcompeted by their suppliers in the same way Dell was by Asus.

It's also a lot harder to differentiate your brand on an EV powertrain vs. an ICE with NVH and character.

 

[freeewilly]

The rumor is Mercedes is going to build a electric SUV, probably based on GLC or GLE.
How much is Mercedes going to charge the premium of a electrified SUV over ICE SUV. It's hard for the consumers to buy a electrified car when a same ICE car cost much less. They can sell some, but only small numbers.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

As someone who intends to buy up to a Model 3, I would certainly shop around, but I'd be looking to the mainstream, rather than luxury manufacturers.
Not much point avoiding Tesla's walled garden to go to another thorny garden.

 

[HyperMiler]

The customer will enforce a compatible charging infrastructure, similar to gas stations today providing energy to all types of ICE.

Public space in rest stops and similar will not be rented out to monopolist strategies eventually.

Considering this whole plug business is way overblown anyway, can't wait for that. If EVs had a cable attached, like an appliance, a simple CEE type socket would be all the wall box that is needed. At the end of the day, this is still in essence a two cable system... .

Fortunately for Tesla, there are many more USPs, ... , at this point. In fact, non-adoption of E mobility at a larger scale would probably be a larger threat than competing EV manufacturers.

 

[boonedocks]

I just want the seats and quietness from my 7L in my Tesla. LOL LOL

 

[Gizmotoy]

I have to admit I felt spoiled a bit by the interior of the rental Audi A6 that Enterprise gave me while my Model S was in the shop (still no loners, Tesla? Come on...). Not spoiled enough to buy one, but enough to make me lament the interior situation in the Model S.

... until I tried to get the navigation to work. No touchscreen, and you have to draw letters on a little trackpad to "type" like the car is a giant Palm Pilot from the 1990s? It was horrid. No thanks.

On the plus side, I could plug in my iPhone and listen to music. Something seemingly every car in the world besides the Model S can do.

 

[alloverx]

I am also waiting for interior/quality improvements plus in 2 years there might be a few more vehicle choices. My AWD 2006 Infiniti has ventilated seats and reverse camera with guidelines that move with the steering wheel. ACC, LDW (which I turned off). Headlights that move (novel but not that useful). Rear seats that recline. Grab handles on all seats. Drivers seat that moves back when you turn off car for easy exit. Plus a few other things. And yes I just hit 200K. I don't do much long driving anymore so supercharging is not important for me.

 

[RogerHScott]

Drivers seat that moves back when you turn off car for easy exit

Someone on one of these forums had a great suggestion that I've implemented: create a driver profile (mine's called "Exeunt")
that puts the seat back, and the steering wheel up and in. Works great.

 

[RDoc]

From what I can see, the other manufacturers are betting on SAE CCS upgrades to get a practical long range charging network. If so, based on the speed that SAE operates at, it will be quite a while before such a network gets built.

On top of that, is the political problem that the companies would have to cooperate to fund the network construction.

 

[3Victoria]

Don't you think the other manufacturers' plan is nopt to build a SC network, but rather to use their lobbying power to get the public/govt to pay for it? They will argue that the govt needs to "level the playing field" (Tesla has an unfair advantage), the "public expects the govt to do this for the public good", and any other spin they can think of, including "you can't afford to let us go bankrupt"....

Perhaps they will turn into assembly plants for others to hire.