What's your predicted loyalty to Tesla whenever replacing current car?

[TessP100D]

I answered earlier in this thread that my current Tesla was likely my last. Short of a miracle and Tesla actually delivering on the Roadster sometime the next year, the Plaid+ Model S was about the only other thing on the Tesla horizon that "MAYBE" stood a chance at keeping me in the family. As I noted, the Model S basically looks the same as my first car 9 years ago. It's not that I don't like it, but I'm bored with it. Had hope for an all new version, but we only got a refresh with basically a Model 3 interior, which I hated. The 500 miles in range and performance at least kept the door slightly open for me to consider sticking with an S. Primarily, 500 miles in range was the only thing that really kept it open.

With the cancellation, I think my Tesla days are officially numbered. No desire to get another car with the same battery tech I already have, nor stare at the same looking car in my garage for the next several years. One or the other, MIGHT have been enough, but now with neither, plus not liking the interior being more Model 3 like, looks like the time has come for me to at least dip my toes into something new.

With this announcement, sadly, it likely means the Roadster is still way far off. Even if I could have gotten over the look of the CyberTruck, the only one I would have considered would have been the 500+ mile range version. This announcement likely impacts that version as well. That is IF the CyberTruck makes it to production any time in the next few years. The roadster was supposed to be in customers hands long before the Cybertruck was even announced.

Add the above to the fact, as others have said, Tesla couldn't given a crap whether I stay or go. They return calls until the second you take delivery, then ghost you. Customer Service has been declining for quite some time and just seems to get worse. I friend of mine bought his first a couple months ago. As with most, loves the car, already hates the company. I pray that the upcoming competition (new EV's that are actually competitive to Tesla) will force Tesla to change their ways, as a company. If they do, and if they produce something new and exciting, I'll certainly consider returning at that time.

One of the final straws that just eats at me was the news that Tesla plans to increase the price of FSD yet again, to $14,000, yet still hasn't delivered it to the buyers who paid for it years ago. Somehow, they're gotten really good at selling oceanfront property in Kansas. Sadly, I've fallen for it too, THREE TIMES!!

if I understand you, you paid for FSD already? I’m sorry to hear that and I wish you the best of luck going forward. Lessons learned are hard sometimes.

 

[tga]

Tesla's customer service sucks, plain and simple. The individuals I've dealt with (people at the service center, mobile service, local Tesla energy installers) are great. But the people/policies at the mother ship? Yikes.

I already voted with my F150 Lightning deposit, which will replace my S as my daily driver and my Chevy pickup as well. By the time the F150 arrives, my battery/drive unit warranty will have expired. I may keep the S as a "winter beater" (although it's not a best choice for that), drive it until something expensive breaks, and part it out on ebay.

Maybe Ford's Intelligent Backup Power feature has Musk looking into OTA'ing our Teslas to be mobile Powerwalls (although he probably won't just to protect his home battery business).

The "bi-directional V2G-capable Model 3 charger" has been debunked -

"you replaced your emmc yourself, so no recall compensation for you"

I paid to have Tesla do it, and I was refused compensation, presumably because it was only intermittently flaky, not 100% dead. My only consolation was that I was only charged for the part ($120), since they had the MCU out on the bench to do the LTE upgrade at the same time.

Another example of crappy customer service - you go to a web page to ask for reimbursement. When denied, there's no one to talk to appeal/protest/ask why.

As a mechanic of 30+ years, I can say Tesla makes cars that last.

Sure, if you live in southern CA. Those of us who live where we have actual winter (and road salt) can give lots of counter examples - broken power steering pump bolts (now recalled), frozen door handles and charge ports, corroded and broken off ground studs, etc, etc, etc.

I have had to either thaw my charge port with a hairdryer or pry it open with a screwdriver no less than a dozen times. The ground stud on the driver's side frame rail recently gave out due to corrosion. I had to get towed home when the car shifted itself into neutral and wouldn't go into gear (or park).

I'd have to say, the app is extremely convenient to open a simple request and get an answer or review reasonably quickly in my experience. Opened about a dozen issues in the app over the past few years, always got answers or replies, and routinely get text messages on my phone from a technical specialist if the issue is a bit more involved. I FAR prefer this over phone calls. YMMV

The problem with that is the choices in the app are very limited and selecting "other" results in "pick one of the 'local' service center that are >2 hours away", with no way to request mobile service. Trying to get the issue re-assigned to mobile service though "official channels" is way more of a hassle than it needs to be, even for things that are clearly ranger-capable (12V battery, door handles, front wheel bearing on a RWD car, etc)

 

[tga]

if I understand you, you paid for FSD already? I’m sorry to hear that and I wish you the best of luck going forward. Lessons learned are hard sometimes.

"Full Self Driving" is PT Barnum-level hucksterism.

 

[TessP100D]

"Full Self Driving" is PT Barnum-level hucksterism.

Well said. I admit I’m not a clever writer. You have a fair. I just state the Obvious.

 

[911xy]

Have a 19 MX and 20 Y. We enjoy both cars, but I also have an ICE sports car for fun. We haven't really had any issues with our Tesla's, although I think my wife's Y has a few rattles (she doesn't notice). Would not buy FSD again. I use the current features but she does not.

I will stay in the EV camp going forward. Unless other manufactures develop a charging infrastructure to meet Tesla's, I will stay with Tesla.

 

[RonI]

I never claimed they were cheaper to maintain than a tesla, I said 5k was way more than I have ever spent on maintenance.
Are you sure about that? Because their sales have been increasing steadily for the last 12 years.

BMW Group: car shipments 2023 | Statista

In 2023, the Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) shipped over 2.55 million autos worldwide.

www.statista.com

There are so many parts of this it would take hours to explain. Suffice it to say, I worked for BMW and the vehicles and associated parts they produce today are cheap to manufacture and sold for extremely high profits. BMW sells many cars yes, but also many cars are sold to dealerships for use as loaners for the purpose of boosting sales numbers. Read this: SEC.gov | SEC Charges BMW for Disclosing Inaccurate and Misleading Retail Sales Information to Bond Investors
These tens of thousands of cars are driven for 1,500-2,000 miles and then resold as certified preowned. BMW's business model has fundamentally changed from building quality cars that last to building cars that just last long enough. BMWs sales are on the decline as customers have become tired of cheap plastic parts melting in their hands only to find the replacement cheap plastic part that cost BMW pennies to manufacturer is $160 (example, 51416975777 drivers door grab on an X5).

 

[DblOSmith]

I feel like I'm late to this party, but here it goes. I've been sold on EVs for almost a decade. I've driven M3 for years and just purchased my own M3 LRAWD+. I'm not blindly loyal to Tesla, but the just have so many things going for them. My thoughts:

1. The Supercharger network is a huge deal for me. EA just isn't up to the task.
2. I love not having to go through a dealership. I hope never to step foot in one again. Their service and customer service has been fantastic A- grade for me. It'd be an A+ if there were more service centers and I didn't have to travel, 90 minutes to get to one, but I use them so infrequently, I don't care. Otherwise, I have no complaints.
3. I think Tesla has the best looking EVs. Period.
4. Tesla has such a head start in technology, I don't know why anyone would buy something that Legacy maker threw together in a rush rather than something designed for purpose from the ground up.
5. Overall, my only choice will be to get a new M3P or give my back a rest and get a MYP.

 

[trm2]

I think Tesla has the best looking EVs. Period.

completely subjective. I think the Model S is a stunning car (still) I don’t like the X or the 3 and think the Y is downright ugly.

 

[WhiteWi]

Will replace my S with cybertruck and my wife’s 3 with Y.

 

[FlatSix911]

Will replace my S with cybertruck and my wife’s 3 with Y.

Elon may reach Mars before we see the Cybertruck on the road.

 

[WhiteWi]

Elon may reach Mars before we see the Cybertruck on the road.

I am sure to have one by 23

 

[WhiteWi]

completely subjective. I think the Model S is a stunning car (still) I don’t like the X or the 3 and think the Y is downright ugly.

I didn’t like 3 vs S and I thought Y looked silly but it grew on me.

 

[ay221]

The Y has better seats and better for the back vs the 3? The 3 has better suspension and rides better than the Y? Which of the Tesla's is better on snow? Is it Y>3>S?

 

[WhiteWi]

Seats are the same only difference is Y has higher seating position vs 3. Not sure about winter stuff and suspension.

 

[Aggmeister2010]

I feel like I'm late to this party, but here it goes. I've been sold on EVs for almost a decade. I've driven M3 for years and just purchased my own M3 LRAWD+. I'm not blindly loyal to Tesla, but the just have so many things going for them. My thoughts:

1. The Supercharger network is a huge deal for me. EA just isn't up to the task.
2. I love not having to go through a dealership. I hope never to step foot in one again. Their service and customer service has been fantastic A- grade for me. It'd be an A+ if there were more service centers and I didn't have to travel, 90 minutes to get to one, but I use them so infrequently, I don't care. Otherwise, I have no complaints.
3. I think Tesla has the best looking EVs. Period.
4. Tesla has such a head start in technology, I don't know why anyone would buy something that Legacy maker threw together in a rush rather than something designed for purpose from the ground up.
5. Overall, my only choice will be to get a new M3P or give my back a rest and get a MYP.

I agree with you overall.

Tesla's EV tech is unbeatable. Their battery, cooling, and motor tech are leagues ahead of everyone else. Superchargers are great, when they are all working.

Their quality control REALLY REALLY lets them down. Hell, in Rich Rebuilds' latest video, he shows a Plaid that's leaking gear oil from 3 places right from the factory. And there's all the paint, fit, and finish issues we all know of.

I hate the Cybertruck. I think it's a truck designed by someone who has never used a truck. It'll be purchased by diehard fanboys and folks looking to be flashy (same folks that bought Hummer H2s). I think the F150 Lightning will blow it away in the real world, and the F150L has a lot of really clever "truck stuff" features that Tesla would never have thought of, because they're more software oriented.

Especially since the Plaid looks more or less the same as my 2016.5 P90D on the outside, I plan to keep my P90D for at least another 5 years.....so we'll see how all the manufacturers and charging infrastructure are doing then. I am definitely not set on another tesla. not against it either, though.

 

[DblOSmith]

I agree with you overall.

Tesla's EV tech is unbeatable. Their battery, cooling, and motor tech are leagues ahead of everyone else. Superchargers are great, when they are all working.

Their quality control REALLY REALLY lets them down. Hell, in Rich Rebuilds' latest video, he shows a Plaid that's leaking gear oil from 3 places right from the factory. And there's all the paint, fit, and finish issues we all know of.

I hate the Cybertruck. I think it's a truck designed by someone who has never used a truck. It'll be purchased by diehard fanboys and folks looking to be flashy (same folks that bought Hummer H2s). I think the F150 Lightning will blow it away in the real world, and the F150L has a lot of really clever "truck stuff" features that Tesla would never have thought of, because they're more software oriented.

Especially since the Plaid looks more or less the same as my 2016.5 P90D on the outside, I plan to keep my P90D for at least another 5 years.....so we'll see how all the manufacturers and charging infrastructure are doing then. I am definitely not set on another tesla. not against it either, though.

Yeah. I'm not a big Plaid fanboy. I don't think it looks great, and that yoke steering wheel is an absolute deal breaker for me. I also agree with the Cybertruck. I hate it. It should have looked like this:

 

[Aggmeister2010]

I like the F150L because it looks like a normal truck. It's not trying to make some silly statement, it just does truck stuff with electric motors instead of a V8. And as such, it's unlikely to get cut off in traffic or keyed for being electric like folks seem to do to teslas in hick areas.

I also like the look of the Rivian.

 

[WhiteWi]

F150 looks boring

 

[Aggmeister2010]

F150 looks boring

I mean, you're entitled to your own opinion, but you're proving my point. Most people don't buy trucks to be flashy. The F150 is a truck that does truck stuff and doesn't need to draw attention to itself to get that done.

If CyberTruck makes it to production looking like it has so far, it is going to draw an incredible amount of unwanted attention. For people who get high on likes and internet points and put their instagram handle on their car, that's ideal.

But if I'm someone who just wants to use a truck as a truck and not be bothered, I'd be embarrassed to show up in something as ostentatious as the Cyber Truck.

 

[WhiteWi]

I mean, you're entitled to your own opinion, but you're proving my point. Most people don't buy trucks to be flashy. The F150 is a truck that does truck stuff and doesn't need to draw attention to itself to get that done.

If CyberTruck makes it to production looking like it has so far, it is going to draw an incredible amount of unwanted attention. For people who get high on likes and internet points and put their instagram handle on their car, that's ideal.

But if I'm someone who just wants to use a truck as a truck and not be bothered, I'd be embarrassed to show up in something as ostentatious as the Cyber Truck.

Sure, I agree with you on what you said here. I like to stand out from the crowd and that is why I like cybertruck also I am sure it will do truck stuff just fine. Competition is good bc it is the way to speed up innovation. Exactly what Tesla did to Legacy manufacturers.