It's.... complicated. Kansas has a very red legislature. But the governor tends to flip about every 8 years, and the Supreme Court is almost unanimously liberal (it's kind of like the opposite of what has happened at the federal level). The Supreme Court has interpreted a sentence in our state constitution as giving it the power to decide if education funding is "adequate" and - surprise - it usually isn't. As a result, we are now spending over 50% of our state budget just on education. The state is also horrifically inefficient in terms of counties (105!!), school districts (309!!), and miles of road (142k). All are toward the top of national rankings on a per capita basis (6th, 8th, 6th, respectively). So, the spending grows every year, and we've got to pay for it somehow. High taxes. At least property values are relatively low, but property tax, sales tax, income tax, it adds up to a lot of tax for a "red state." There are a lot of Teslas in Johnson County and Douglas County, Kansas. Johnson County is the western suburbs of Kansas City, and one of the most affluent counties in the midwest. Explosive growth there. Several Superchargers, dealership, etc. Douglas County has Lawrence, KS (our version of Boulder) where Kansas University is located. So lot of green everything there. I think the city recently tried to pass an ordinance banning fossil fuels LOL. Not so many Teslas in Wichita where I am. Plenty of Model 3s. Less so of the X or S. Seen very few Ys actually. Had to do my test drive up in KC.
Oklahoma - okay! Taxes in some "Red" states are higher than in CA. There are fewer regulations though. Also, if Teslas have to do anything with politics, I don't understand why Teslas are so popular in California. It's an American car built by an anti-union company owner by the richest (or second rich) person on the planet who hates government regulations and taxes to the tune of moving from California to Texas. In the past several months the number of Model Y in my area multiply as rabbits.
Elon is not totally against regulations. Just wants reasonable ones. IE have a carbon tax (even for spacex). Have government be a referee but not a player. Oversee AI development.
The great reviews may need to be updated. On the mache forum there are 4 cars exhibiting signs of failed 12v batteries. People are getting stranded and talking about DIY battery heater blankets to fix the as yet unidentified problem. https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/mme-strands-me-in-a-blizzard.3494/ And then there was this from a while back. He may be onto something with the "consigned to history" part, but I'm thinking its not going to be the battery... RT
Yes, that's what we are digesting here on several last pages.... Here is an example of that experience enjoyed by new happy Mach-E owners: https://www.macheforum.com/site/data/video/16/16542-2ee495e1d9c9155bd2939008f04ca927.mp4 Also notice 115 miles range at 97% SOC.
What is very interesting is not a single EV site has highlighted these issues for the MME. Not one! If this was Tesla it would be front page. Even today there is a "window issue" video of a Tesla, but no mention of stranded MME owners in winter, recall, loss of propulsion at an intersection, people drilling holes to access the 12v battery...nothing. No Twitter, no Reddit, no EV sites. Very strange.
there are many external reasons for every tesla fault being highlighted on web sites and the media. tesla is the top dog in the EV game, tesla stock is one of the highlighted stock plays the last few years and the coverage is extensive because of that. you hear little about the other players in the EV game because their sales are nowhere near what tesla's is. as the EV market evolves and the "majors" enter the game with worthy competing offerings things will change a lot. competition spurs innovations, brings costs down and benefits all.
Just a courtesy post, if anyone does have a MME, you really need to be careful in the cold. Someone got stranded in the cold, then car started but died again a few minutes in, then Ford Roadside took 4 hours (and then did a no-show). "I had this exact same issue in Minnesota yesterday. Couldn’t get the car to start on Monday night so I had to leave it at the restaurant I was at, but did get it to start yesterday morning. Got it about halfway home (I only live 3 miles from where the car was at) and it completely died will driving. 4 hours of waiting for Ford Rodside later, and finding out that the tow service had canceled the request without telling me, I finally got somebody to tow the car on my own. It’s back at the dealership getting looked at right now. Very disappointed in Ford Roadside, and hope that they can figure out the issues with the car in the cold."
So why was this the case 8 years ago too? and you did and still do hear about the great EV .... coming 2012 Etron? I mean cars are finally actually coming from 'mainstream' makers but they are all highlighted so much more than Tesla! I guess because the OEM are trying so hard (advertising) and Tesla is just doing what they do
Oh don’t I know it. The tradeoff is supposed to be low cost of living. To some extent that’s true, and to some extent it isn’t. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I sure wish Kansas was more like Oklahoma or Nebraska.
To be fair, if I left my car out overnight in -20 degree weather, it wouldn’t start, either. I have virtually zero concern about this issue because (1) it seems to be happening to a small group of people in very extreme circumstances, and (2) I’m confident Ford will fix it. I am more concerned about the driver’s screen coil whine because I have no idea if my MME will have it, or if Ford will fix it. The issue appears to vary from car to car and owner to owner. It’s minor - not nearly as important as my car exploding or the roof flying off or doors being misaligned (ok, calm down) - but if I hear it I’m gonna not be able to unhear it.
I think it is important for general prospective owners to know the truth about the Mach-E before spending 50+k. People like Zachary Shahan should be publishing stories about this right now.
Oh, now you speak as a true Tesla fanboy! Add to this that it seems highway toll transponders seem to be not working in the Mach-E; there are multiple reports of that. Maybe not an issue in KS, but OK has a lot of toll roads and that would be a real deal breaker for me.