Perceptions

[Turknhoff]

Hi, I have a question that I’d like an opinion on please?
Why do the the general public have such distain over ev’s, that’s all you hear on social media YouTube etc is people rejoicing when a Tesla catches fire or won’t charge because it’s -20 degrees. All the manufacturers cutting back EV production and some cancelling it for the here and now. Toyota/ford as an example.
I’ve had two teslas over two years and can’t rate them highly enough, I haven’t enjoyed driving so much since I was in my 20’s, the car is awesome, ridiculously cheap to run and great fun to drive and own, we are fortunate to have the solars at home which makes it cheaper again. You have to plan more ahead with an ev and plug in often but it’s just a different way of driving.
I seem to be constantly defending my car when it comes into conversation with others, you never hear about the hundreds of ice cars that catch fire every week or run out of petrol and the owner has to walk to the nearest fuel station, but if it’s a Tesla it’s front page news. Why?
I have a friend at work who doesn’t even own an ev and he was positively rejoicing the other day when all those Tesla cars wouldn’t take a charge in Chicago or wherever it was, almost like his favorite team had just lifted the football Cup.

 

[Krugerrand]

Fear. Jealousy. Ignorance. Brainwashed. Stubbornness. And all those other wonderful human traits that keep people stuck in a box.

Don’t give it another thought. We, who own Teslas, know exactly how freaking awesome these vehicles are to own and drive. When your coworker’s tranny gives up the ghost, or his engine blows a seal, or needs a new starter, alternator, etc… you can have your own party at his expense. Heck, wait until he needs a brake job. I’ve got six years on my car and the brake pads are like new. One pedal driving rocks.

 

[Paul-K]

Krugerrand, you hit the nail on the head. Even Barron’s article today spews ignorance from a person renting a car (their poor grammar has them saying Hertz rents wives and cats LOL)…

It can be frustrating but as you say we know what we know, share the awesomeness with those rational, logical and interested folks that do exist and don’t waste your energy on the idiots - no matter now many seem to be out there! Let them enjoy their $85 weekly fill-ups standing out in the cold and driving their noisy, vibrating “last century” automobiles!

 

[fholbert]

Even Barron’s article today spews ignorance from a person renting a car (their poor grammar has them saying Hertz rents wives and cats LOL)…

Oh, come on. We need a link to that article.

 

[Paul-K]

Oh, come on. We need a link to that article.

Sorry, I know better!

I Rented a Tesla for a 1,600-Mile Road Trip. 5 Things I Learned.

My wife and I opted to rent a Model 3 from Hertz because of its discounted price. It was our first trip in an electric vehicle.

www.barrons.com

Use Firefox reader mode to get around the paywall.

 

[shahryaran]

Actually, the anti EV movement is mostly anti Tesla movement. Anything that has a Tesla name in it will make to the News. The news don't even care about other EVs. That's because Tesla cars are so good in being an EV and so different.
for example gas cars catch on fire more often than electric cars and the news don't care, but even if a non Tesla EV catches on fire, it won't make it to the news or it is not as interesting for the media to become a news as a Tesla would.

The anti Tesla movement has an economical factor. Because Tesla sells so good, it is disrupting legacy car makers. The anti EVers forget all the arguments against EVs and only worries that a new car company only a decade years old is taking over the automotive industry.

Not only that, Tesla is so innovative that now other legacy car makers are copying their method of manufacturing, styling and design.

Remember, Tesla is equal to EV the same way google is equal to internet.

 

[Foxsbiscuits]

There's also just fear of the new/unknown/different.

It's common with people who have done xyz for fifty years and think it's the only way. To hear about new things failing is quite affirming, you don't have to adapt or learn anything new. Comfort, security, "safety" etc.

I overheard a woman in her sixties at the Tesla centre saying she'd never own one, she watched a Facebook video of one on fire and she just struggles with all the technology of it.

I also know plenty of older people who are excited and enthusiastic about new tech so it's not totally one sided.

My point is I'm sure there's anti EV from corporations and Big Oil but it's also human nature to resist change, "I know what I know" sort of thing.

 

[Turknhoff]

Thanks everyone for the replies, a lot makes sense, I bought and love my car for me and that’s what’s important, I know how brilliantly fantastic she is. I’m going to have to learn to ignore the negativity around ev’s especially again for some bizarre reason Tesla’s
Thanks again

 

[tashtibet]

I care for the environment, drove 2013 Nissan Leaf and waited 2 years, 2 months & 6 days for the 2018 M3. I also bought T$LA back then and know why all the EV FUDs are against Tesla. One thing is Tesla don't spend a penny on commercial and these medias are heavily dependent on endorsement money. Tesla is spear heading this EV revolution and piling up enemies but am glad Tesla is working on more than EV. The future will be bright and reality will kick in in few years.

 

[pnwadventures]

There is a general anti-EV sentiment as a result of it being arbitrarily associated with “the left” in a highly polarized political climate. So you’re starting with that. Add onto this the fact that the established petroleum and ICE production industry is actively subverting EV adoption through propaganda that most people don’t even realize they’re being influenced by (Toyota is a major purveyor of this, btw), and EVs have a major hill to climb. I won’t even go into the natural human tendency to fear the unknown.

The fact that EV adoption is accelerating in spite of all the above, is a testament to their objective practicality and subjective better driving characteristics.

Edit: don’t forget that the cars do not exist in a vacuum: electricity rates and charging infrastructure impact adoption and hence perception, and these factors are tied into regional policies as well. So there is a circular dependency at work.

 

[SalisburySam]

Oh let’s see, I don’t think this is too hard. Tesla pissed on the dealership model, making every dealer owner unhappy. Tesla doesn’t advertise, making every media outlet unhappy. Tesla is an EV if not today the premier one so Big Oil is unhappy. Dealership lobbies, car manufacturer lobbies, and Big Oil lobbies exert extraordinary pressure on Congress so the Fedguvmnt is unhappy, er, well until the kick-backs show up. Owners who tow really big, heavy things are unhappy. Owners who coal-roll are unhappy. Owners of Corvettes, Cayennes, Cobras, Countachs, and Chirons who have lost are unhappy. 3rd-party repair shops are unhappy. So who is happy?

States are happy to some measure. In those that charge vehicle property taxes we have new and fairly expensive victims, plus many states say EVs are the worst to ruin their roads and without an applicable gas tax we just have to add a flat fee to EV registration. Never mind that fee equates to about a million miles worth of gas tax but hey, don’t look behind the curtain, eh? Owners for the most part are happy, though some like me grouse about it. Greta’s happy though few have that as a prime directive. Banks are happy with loans and leases, insurers too but the actuarial data is scant for their liking. Tire shops are happy since the higher weight, speed, and profiles of EV tires are also higher ticket shoes.

So @Turknhoff I think your answer lies in the morass of uber-scale well-funded highly-publicized large-reach negativity facing the comparative paltry few bits of positivity.

 

[goldengate]

Add Elon not just joining but leading the culture wars and a major corporation with NO public relations agency, overly dependent on one person to set the tone for the company. I've been saying for years they need a strong COO and Elon needs to be more of a figurehead but that ain't gonna happen. Major shareholders are asking him to distance himself or else just keep his mouth shut but that's not happening.

They are great cars but I do see some changes in the company (less generous with maintenace issues for example) that give me some concern. However I just saw a friend's Audi Q6 (all electric) and the screen looks like something from 15 years ago. Tesla is wayyyyyy ahead on the tech, even if their FSD is vaporware.

(whew, I'm gonna get it for this post LOL)

 

[Big Dog]

Oh let’s see, I don’t think this is too hard. Tesla pissed on the dealership model, making every dealer owner unhappy. Tesla doesn’t advertise, making every media outlet unhappy. Tesla is an EV if not today the premier one so Big Oil is unhappy. Dealership lobbies, car manufacturer lobbies, and Big Oil lobbies exert extraordinary pressure on Congress so the Fedguvmnt is unhappy, er, well until the kick-backs show up. Owners who tow really big, heavy things are unhappy. Owners who coal-roll are unhappy. Owners of Corvettes, Cayennes, Cobras, Countachs, and Chirons who have lost are unhappy. 3rd-party repair shops are unhappy. So who is happy?

States are happy to some measure. In those that charge vehicle property taxes we have new and fairly expensive victims, plus many states say EVs are the worst to ruin their roads and without an applicable gas tax we just have to add a flat fee to EV registration. Never mind that fee equates to about a million miles worth of gas tax but hey, don’t look behind the curtain, eh? Owners for the most part are happy, though some like me grouse about it. Greta’s happy though few have that as a prime directive. Banks are happy with loans and leases, insurers too but the actuarial data is scant for their liking. Tire shops are happy since the higher weight, speed, and profiles of EV tires are also higher ticket shoes.

So @Turknhoff I think your answer lies in the morass of uber-scale well-funded highly-publicized large-reach negativity facing the comparative paltry few bits of positivity.

And don't forget that EV production has fewer parts and therefore fewer (Union) jobs.

 

[RayK]

<snip> Owners of Corvettes, Cayennes, Cobras, Countachs, and Chirons who have lost are unhappy. <snip>

What about Chevette owners? Would they be unhappy??

 

[Turknhoff]

Oh let’s see, I don’t think this is too hard. Tesla pissed on the dealership model, making every dealer owner unhappy. Tesla doesn’t advertise, making every media outlet unhappy. Tesla is an EV if not today the premier one so Big Oil is unhappy. Dealership lobbies, car manufacturer lobbies, and Big Oil lobbies exert extraordinary pressure on Congress so the Fedguvmnt is unhappy, er, well until the kick-backs show up. Owners who tow really big, heavy things are unhappy. Owners who coal-roll are unhappy. Owners of Corvettes, Cayennes, Cobras, Countachs, and Chirons who have lost are unhappy. 3rd-party repair shops are unhappy. So who is happy?

States are happy to some measure. In those that charge vehicle property taxes we have new and fairly expensive victims, plus many states say EVs are the worst to ruin their roads and without an applicable gas tax we just have to add a flat fee to EV registration. Never mind that fee equates to about a million miles worth of gas tax but hey, don’t look behind the curtain, eh? Owners for the most part are happy, though some like me grouse about it. Greta’s happy though few have that as a prime directive. Banks are happy with loans and leases, insurers too but the actuarial data is scant for their liking. Tire shops are happy since the higher weight, speed, and profiles of EV tires are also higher ticket shoes.

So @Turknhoff I think your answer lies in the morass of uber-scale well-funded highly-publicized large-reach negativity facing the comparative paltry few bits of positivity.

Owners of Corvettes, Cayennes, Cobras, Countachs, and Chirons who have lost are unhappy., This made me laugh, brilliant and so true, I have the M3p and it’s just short of brutal from take off, left many an irrate bmw driver wondering what just happened not that I endorse this behavior and seldom practice it but it’s great fun for special occasions. Interesting reply and some great points raised Thanks

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

It wasn't always this way. The public largely embraced "the future" and American innovation in the early days of the GM EV1, Tesla Roadster, and Model S.
But then:

• The role of for-profit media is to report on interesting stories, and crashing/burning cars and stocks are pretty darn interesting
• Trump directed his followers to hate EVs, so they did
• Tesla's innovation made most other EV brands seem sub-par
• Elon's relentless flaunting of his repulsive personality flaws has earned disdain from much of society, and he defiantly continues to pull Tesla into that hate by refusing to GTFO
• Biden's depiction of Tesla as a greedy immoral sweatshop and an embarrassment to the American Dream puts Tesla in the category of shark-fin soup eaten with an ivory spoon
• Right wing media spins tax credits as welfare for the liberal elites and/or Elon. And the Detroit 3 don't argue since they don't benefit much anyway.

 

[thyname]

I would have said “politics”, but I see you are not US-based. So that true statement does not apply. I am not familiar with the UK politics in UK

 

[The Other Dan]

While there is a bunch of mis-information out there a regarding EVs as noted above, it's also the govt (not just the US) trying to shove EVs down your throat and force you to buy one.

 

[Turknhoff]

Thank you all so much for the time and you've taken out to answer my question.
I agree with a lot of points raised, fear of change and car manufacturers being tied into the oil industry, your likely next president’s insistence that ev’s are only good for driving around the block , he does make me laugh, good entertainment value but the nay sayers listen and it does all add up to this negativity we seem to be in regarding ev’s in general. Plus totally agree on Mr Musk taking a back seat and not being so eccentric with some of his actions and comments it just gives the doom and gloom brigade more ammunition to enforce their beliefs on the subject, my personal opinion though is the man’s a total genius.
Thanks again and looking forward to the new model Y that I believe is coming to the uk later this year.

 

[SalisburySam]

What about Chevette owners? Would they be unhappy??

Possibly, possibly not. But my list was karefully kurated to inklude only those kars whose name begins with the letter “C” but have a “K” sound for the most alliteration points…Chevette is therefore inapplicable and should likely be spelled Shevette anyway. And yes, Chiron is pronounced KY-ron, or for us 99%ers we just say: “out of reach.”