Nightmare! (Supercharger queues)

[Sean.]

Don't forget Tesla increased all their prices to reduce demand around May last year because the factories could not keep up and wait times were "too long". Now the production is better than ever they are dropping the price. Tesla still ramping up Berlin factory and planning yet another factory.

They can churn out as much product as they want, but a bit more quality wouldn’t go astray. Just a touch

 

[FastLaneJB]

Quality is improving, maybe not as quick as hoped but it is getting better. I quite like their approach with these mega castings as that's got to improve the quality of their car structures quite nicely. And no doubt is also a cheaper approach as otherwise, I doubt they'd bother.

The bulk of the population do not buy new cars in general, there's what 70M people now in this country and only 1.6m new cars a year. Tesla buyers are people that are currently/previously buy new Audi/BMW/Mercedes/ect, for which Tesla's sales don't even get close to reaching. Audi/BMW/Merc are outselling Tesla by a long shot but as Tesla only sells two models, it looks like Tesla is doing great. There are plenty of people able to afford an EV, even in this economy.

If I wasn't already a two Tesla household, I wouldn't even consider buying a Tesla at the moment - not because of the price but because the supercharger network hasn't got the capacity to support Tesla's (and now other evs using the network). Same goes for other EV's for the time being unless there's a serious pace change of ultra rapid charger installation. Which gets us to one of Tesla's bigger mistakes which is opening up the network to non Teslas, that's another big dent in the sentiment part of Tesla demand. One of the bigger selling points removed at the most of Tesla owners.

Yeah I guess my point is plenty of people that could afford one but doesn't mean they think it's a good time to buy is all. Obviously the thought here is that this is a Tesla specific issue because they have had to drop their prices due to over supply. They've been a little unlucky that they have new factories come online just as demand is weakening.

This could be affecting other car brands also, the only difference is most of them seem to have 6 month to 12 month wait times which aren't maybe so much demand-driven but issues with obtaining semiconductors is slowing down their production. Could be they might hit the same issue if things haven't improved by the time they can maybe chew through their backlogs.

Wife is the electric car driver so at the moment I stick ICE for mine as don't fancy two electric cars to avoid the charging issue when we do longer journeys. I ain't half tempted by a new PHEV Range Rover for instance but if I ordered one now I'd have to take a stereo downgrade because they don't have parts for the top model but they seem to have not lowered prices. I'd also likely not be able to get Pixel LED headlights, Cabin Air Purfication System, Advanced Off-Road Pack, 24 way heated, cooled, hot stone massage seats, convenience pack, activity key, etc. etc. Not saying I'd order everything but I do tend to option up my cars close to full. Couldn't do this to myself and order now as impossible to get the car as I'd want it. Oh and I'd have to wait over 1 year also to get it. I'm sitting this out until the situation improves or something else takes my fancy.

 

[pgkevet]

It'll be interesting to see what mega casting does to insurance rates..

 

[qwickshot]

It'll be interesting to see what mega casting does to insurance rates..

Nothing, if there is frame/chassis damage, it’s highly likely an insurance write off in the U.K.

All the mega casting does is replace a bunch of smaller parts that are welded together to make a bigger part in the factory. Once they are welded together they are essentially one part.

To repair, the affected section has to be cut out and a new piece welded in. I can’t see why that process would be any different where the original piece was a mega casting.

But yeh, it probably wouldn’t be repaired either way and most people wouldn’t want it back as they never go back to get her again as they did previously, hence the write off.

 

[Strategium]

There's absolutely no point appealing to the common sense of the parking company, they have none.

Well now, that is a sad, cynical view of the world and of a soulless corporate machine out to crush us hapless victims of faceless bureaucracy!
As a postscript to my previous post, this morning I received the prompt reply from the car parking company in response to my polite appeal against the fine for exceeding a 2 hr parking limit while waiting in.a queue to access the service station superchargers. I am pleased to report that that have agreed to cancel the fine, with no arguments or quibbling.
So I hope this story of an ordinary Tesla M3 driver vs EvilCorp helps restore your faith in the 'audacity of hope' (as Obama would put it) and helps you take just one small step out of the bubble of prejudice and into a brave new world of optimism, lubricated in your journey by the milk of human kindness... (ok, I will stop there).
As for Tesla, I think it is not unreasonable for them to have a conversation with the site owners where they locate their superchargers (which their route planners in the car navigate us to) to align the duration of visits needed to allow drivers to complete charging their cars without fear of parking fines. I suspect the 2 hour rule was designed to prevent misuse of car parking at service stations completely unrelated to electric car charging and the impact of increased use by BEV drivers and the longer time needed to charge in contrast with using a petrol pump.