I hate my Tesla! Don’t buy one!

[Dilly]

Well, rural USA is like 3rd world country (BTW I come from rural CA). Most people don't know or care about the rest of the world or anything new....

Bit like Norfolk then…

 

[15Peter20]

I Could be wrong, but I thought if you stopped and parked up for five mins, it would let you back into AP

Stop. Into ‘Park’ then ’Drive’ and it will have reset.

 

[alangold]

My 2020 M3P must be a lemon - a Friday afternoon car because my car is completely different to what others say regarding build quality, paint, rattles.
Admittedly my car has only 7K miles on the clock but I don't have any panel gap issues, no dodgy paint work - its machine polished, paint corrected - so no swirls and no paint is peeling, thin or falling off - it absolutely gleams. Inside the car no matter what the road I don't have any rattles or squeaks at all and so far no issues with the car - it all just works perfectly.
I have had the recall notice regarding the coaxial cable to the rear camera -about 6 months ago and waiting for Tesla to give me a date to have a look at it but no issues with the camera, and just yesterday I noticed the rear spoiler has peeled away from the boot lid on the nearside so I used the app for the first time for a ranger visit - which today was available but taking the grandkids away so scheduled for the 28th.
I do love my car but as time goes on I'm beginning to hate Tesla and their sneaky penny pinching cost savings - and I see in the USA they have deleted the ranger visits in one state - just little bits here and there to save a few bob. Tesla has changed from trying to produce the most futuristic and best car they can to optimising their profits by shafting their customers by covert value engineering.

The model 3 is still selling fantastically well and although there have been changes, the car is fundamentally a 5 year old car and a substantial refresh will be needed soon - somehow I don't see Tesla retaining "best EV" title for much longer as the others are making great strides in producing from the ground up EV designs with more features and options, similar performance and range and better assembled vehicles. Tesla are sitting back on their haunches and allowing their USPs to diminish - indeed even embracing that. Elon has always been critical of Bezos but they are morphing into to being the same - and it isn't Bezos changing at all.

Yes tesla is becoming cheap as they get even larger - dropping charger cords - opening the superchargers to all EV and offering faster deliver for upgraded models - but so far the other companies can’t catch up w Tesla styling -I do wish teslas had better blind spot system - like my Lexus es350

 

[mikeyg_ev]

I Could be wrong, but I thought if you stopped and parked up for five mins, it would let you back into AP

You just need to put it in park for a second, so if you came off at a junction with a roundabout you could pause at the roundabout to stick it in park and back in drive and then get straight back on the motorway. May slightly annoy the driver behind but if it's another Tesla they'll know what you're doing

 

[Adopado]

You obviously don't follow the Munro teardown information that appears via Youtube (for casual interest) or via detailed reports that other companies buy from them. They reverse engineer and analyse cars from all different manufacturers. They are frequently amazed at the speed of development taking place in Tesla design and manufacture. The body shell may look the same but it's quite clear that the Model 3 is not a 5 year old car under the skin. There are multiple battery pack revisions, suspension revisions, motor revisions, heating/cooling revisions, not to mention continuous software revisions. Tesla change things so quickly they don't even try to follow the standard "year model" pattern ... you're as likely to get a change with the next car delivery! (To the extent that it becomes quite confusing which cars contain which revisions.)

For @GlynG or anyone else interested in whether or not Tesla is developing the Model 3 and Y ("old design") this presentation on the transformation of production design and manufacture gives some remarkable insights ... Munro had given Tesla a huge amount of feedback on the early production models ... incorporating plenty of criticism and advice on ways to improve ... they are used to manufacturers dragging their feet over adopting new approaches so they are amazed at the speed of progress being made!

 

[GlynG]

I think I'm being misunderstood or perhaps the way I phrased my comment wasn't clear. When i say its fundamentally a 5 year old car I do understand the continuing development going on under the surface, however, compare the first model 3 to the very latest and from the outside they are remarkably the same.
Most customers only see the exterior - what is the kerb appeal.
For Tesla fans we can see immediately the differences (indeed even the differences between models of the same year) but to others the model 3 is still the same, and to attract new customers the aesthetics have to move forward because so many people like to have new designs. From an owners point of view, the visual impact being the same means no matter what year car you have it remains "current" and therefore value wise its holding well.

I think my problem is probably understanding too much - The car is brilliant but Tesla as a company has moved away from producing the stunning to checking out just how much they can get away with - like removing data from the ports, whipping out the passenger lumber support, supplying new cars with the old reflective headlamps - and keeping Schtum about it, even changing the bottom section of the door cards to hard plastic - like a Fiesta, charging £1300 more for white interior (same material just white) and fitting the same door cards as black interior - those little white accents on the door cards are important if the customer is prepared to shell out £1300 for it. Take the power boot lid from 2021 onwards - only one powered strut on the left and bung on a standard strut to the right - every aftermarket power kit has two powered struts and they don't do that because its just nice to do, In my opinion Tesla managed to add that feature for probably less than £20 in total and saved a shed load more than that by removing Chrome. oh I could go on.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

I think it’s potentially a problem for buyers who watch a video, then see a year old car that looks the same and think they’ll be the same. You see the odd question like ‘how do I turn on the heated steering wheel’ only to find their car was built 2 weeks before the change, but the car was only a few months old.

I’m not sure that the continual, pretty much ever quarter, changes to the car are good or bad as a result. I imagine there’s a group who don’t realise, and there’s a group who are all over the changes, but there will be a group who are casually informed but not well enough.

I watched a video last night about buying used and it was the first thing they mentioned.

 

[robmcm]

I think it’s potentially a problem for buyers who watch a video, then see a year old car that looks the same and think they’ll be the same. You see the odd question like ‘how do I turn on the heated steering wheel’ only to find their car was built 2 weeks before the change, but the car was only a few months old.

I’m not sure that the continual, pretty much ever quarter, changes to the car are good or bad as a result. I imagine there’s a group who don’t realise, and there’s a group who are all over the changes, but there will be a group who are casually informed but not well enough.

I watched a video last night about buying used and it was the first thing they mentioned.

Seems common in the US, they always talk about the car model with a year number, and add minor features year on year. In Europe we seem to get longer between facelifts. I do agree it is very confusing when a car that looks identical could be very different inside and under the hood.

 

[12Pack]

Indeed Tesla's updates are quite different from the norm. My current Raven Model S looks for all the world to be the same as my previous one - but is very different "underneath" with a different motors, an adaptive suspension and of course V11 software. It has more power AND is more efficient. It drives like a totally different car. My Plaid will be even more so.

 

[GlynG]

My Plaid will be even more so.

You lucky lucky bugger.

 

[alangold]

I think I'm being misunderstood or perhaps the way I phrased my comment wasn't clear. When i say its fundamentally a 5 year old car I do understand the continuing development going on under the surface, however, compare the first model 3 to the very latest and from the outside they are remarkably the same.
Most customers only see the exterior - what is the kerb appeal.
For Tesla fans we can see immediately the differences (indeed even the differences between models of the same year) but to others the model 3 is still the same, and to attract new customers the aesthetics have to move forward because so many people like to have new designs. From an owners point of view, the visual impact being the same means no matter what year car you have it remains "current" and therefore value wise its holding well.

I think my problem is probably understanding too much - The car is brilliant but Tesla as a company has moved away from producing the stunning to checking out just how much they can get away with - like removing data from the ports, whipping out the passenger lumber support, supplying new cars with the old reflective headlamps - and keeping Schtum about it, even changing the bottom section of the door cards to hard plastic - like a Fiesta, charging £1300 more for white interior (same material just white) and fitting the same door cards as black interior - those little white accents on the door cards are important if the customer is prepared to shell out £1300 for it. Take the power boot lid from 2021 onwards - only one powered strut on the left and bung on a standard strut to the right - every aftermarket power kit has two powered struts and they don't do that because its just nice to do, In my opinion Tesla managed to add that feature for probably less than £20 in total and saved a shed load more than that by removing Chrome. oh I could go on.

I agree with some of your issues and haven’t even got my M3 delivery yet - yes everything is about money to Tesla - I don’t think you will see a front driver display in a model 3 or Y - mr musks reply is just spend more for a S or X. If you miss your standard gauges - by offering only a middle screen there are cost savings to use the same dash components for both right and left -steering- for US and overseas
Alan g

 

[Adopado]

Some aspects of the discussion above shows how successfully the marketing departments of vehicle manufacturers have established a pattern of expectation. Many years ago they discovered that by changing the appearance of cars in some noticeable way every few years they could make their model seem obviously newer… and their previous production look older… so increasing the likelihood of people buying a new car.

1950s adverts played on the notion of being one up on you neighbour! Often there was little or no change to the vehicle itself. Poor quality that was almost encouraged seemed to peak in the 1970s when new cars almost deteriorated before your eyes.

There is little justification for frequent external design change. If customers are simply not buying a model because of its appearance then fair enough… but Tesla is selling every car it can make! All this is despite the fact that there is a greatly increased choice of EVs with a raft of new models from other manufacturers that stick more closely to customer expectations of car design.

I don’t change my car every 2 or 3 years and I am therefore happy that my car isn’t artificially made to look “out of date” for no good reason. I am also encouraged by the rate of “under the skin” development going on at Tesla such that newer cars incorporate all manner of improvements that will potentially benefit new first time buyers… or me if I do buy a new car.