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

[vapor trail]

Curious what the sentiments are out there. I have to admit, as problems with my 2019 Performance Raven continue to go unfixed (eg, front half shaft "death rattle"), as I grow more and more skeptical of ever seeing anything close to FSD and as the competition matures from other, more traditional car manufacturers, I've gone from "Tesla for life!" to "Hmm, I think I'll have to look around" when it comes to my next car. I'm not replacing current car for many years to come, but I'm growing disenfranchised with Tesla as time passes, which is sort of a bummer.

 

[ucmndd]

I’m somewhere in between. I do like my car - it’s been pretty reliable and I still love looking at it and driving it.

I’ve also given up on the FSD snake oil and have significantly less trust in the company today than I did 5 years ago. I’ll never again buy a Tesla based on the promise of any future features or capabilities, and will always have a little fear that even the stuff I DID pay for will disappear or degrade with the next software update or whim of the technoking.

I’m a permanent EV convert but will give the whole market a good hard look in a few years when it’s time for something new. Maybe that will mean another Tesla, but increasingly I think maybe not.

 

[Sbaimo]

If there is something that seems better, I would buy it from any company. Currently, it seems that Tesla is way ahead of the rest of ev manufacturers when it comes to the technology, battery use and national infrastructure. Otherwise I would have bailed on the S order and bought a different EV.
Elon and customer service turns me off. But his cars seem to be great. So I wait.

 

[slainla]

I have two other ICE vehicles and I like to work on them so my situation wouldn't apply to most owners that has a Tesla as their only vehicle. And I'm sure there's going to be a difference of opinion between the S, X, 3, and Y owners. I got a CPO Model S a few years ago and it's still a really cool car. It's definitely the best car I've driven. However, with intermittent issues I've experienced, I definitely noticed a degradation in their service and customer support.

I believe 3 and Y owners experience less issues since their cars are so newer and with better technology, so they're probably more likely to purchase another one. Hopefully it doesn't happen but I'm sure their sentiment would change if they start experiencing more issues like in the S and X.

I feel like Tesla's mentality is, "we build cool cars that perform well so take it or leave it." They definitely don't value their customers much as we're probably just a statistic to them. My original plan was to purchase the tri motor Cyber Truck when it comes out and then get rid of my S but I really don't know now.

 

[MyMYLRnw]

My Model Y is a pleasure to drive and own. Almost 4k miles and no issues. Definitely buying another Tesla!

 

[BigNerd]

My next EV will be a truck. I'm on a 3-year lease for the MY so if there is nothing better/cheaper than the CyberTruck, that's what I'll be getting next.

 

[Zuikkis]

I have been a Model S owner only for 8 months. And it hasn't been an easy journey, I have went through most of the pitfalls you would expect from a 2013 car. Loose rear toe links (fixed myself), one broken door handle (fixed myself), MCU1 failed (went for MCU2), battery heater died last winter.. But I kind of expected most of these, I had done my study before buying the car so I knew what was ahead.

But yeah, I really like the car. It drives and looks incredible in my opinion. And I have owned and driven all kinds of cars in my life. I'm running a Nissan ECU tuning shop here in Finland, I have tuned +700hp R32/R33/R34 Skylines for example.. While they are excellent cars, still I feel much more joy driving my own Tesla. It's also relaxing in a way because I get my hands dirty with ICE vehicles at work, then I want to do something different on my own time.

We have four EVs in the family, and three ICE cars, and one big bus that is converted to a camper..

So my next car is very likely some EV. Probably Tesla. I'm not very convinced about the new rivals, it probably takes some years for them to catch up with Tesla. Also I'm not really into buying new cars, so it will be several years until you can buy anything interesting used (other than Teslas!).

 

[David_Cary]

The only "definitely buying another" has a whopping 4k miles. That is telling. You really are impressed that you haven't had a problem in almost 4k miles?

I have 2 Teslas with a combined 110k miles. I am definitely looking around. Fixing up my car now to possibly sell. Just ordered a horn and a door latch to fix nagging issues. Honestly, my reliability has been fine but not impressed with my charging speed or the cost of battery and DU replacement.

Problem with survey (albeit minor) - I would not buy a Porsche or Audi either.

 

[PCMc]

I've had my MS90D for going on 5 years. Still love driving it and times I don't drive it are situations like I need the cargo/people hauling capacity of our mini-van.

Having said that, when I do choose to replace it, I will look around to evaluate the alternatives available at that time. If I had to replace it right now, it would be another MS, but if I look out more than about a year, it will depend upon what I see at that time.

I'd be much less inclined to look around if I felt better about overall reliability and the service support ecosystem. While I've not encountered the level of pain/issues as I know some owners have experienced, I've had more issues with my MS90D than I've had with any of the 10 or so vehicles which I've purchased/owned over the past 30+ years.

It's a situation at the moment that Tesla is giving me reasons to look around versus giving me reasons not to look around.

 

[jaguar36]

Have a 2014 S, Mine was 100% until Tesla started screwing us over with the MCU1 issues and the supercharging nerf. Then it went to 50%, decided to order a new S in Novemeber and still haven't recieved it, or any real information that wasn't a complete lie about when the refresh will be coming. I went to the Audi dealer yesterday to look around.

 

[beatle]

When I replace my S, it will be with an electric truck. The Cybertruck looks like a pretty useful vehicle, but so does Rivian, and I prefer the more traditional look of the Rivian. With driving range getting up close to 400 miles, I think Tesla's DC charging infrastructure is getting to be less of a selling point, though it is very valuable right now.

While I really like my S, I have been soured on Tesla's business practices: taking back features, preventing people from fixing their cars, poor used car buying experience, and exclusive use of the app to interact with anyone. Not sure Rivian will be better in all those regards, but if they want to succeed, they're more likely to care about their owners in their early days, just as Tesla did. I am also interested in the soon-to-be-announced electric F150, though I have a feeling it will be a couple years before we can actually get one, just like the HummerEV.

 

[PatrickCH4313]

It's my second Model S and I still like this car and specially driving it. No other car company offers such a high tech car.
In 5 years owning a Tesla I didn't have any issue My next car will be a Tesla.
I will never go back to the ICE world.

 

[tommy542]

My Y has been letter perfect from day one. Just looking at the competition I can see that they are taking what they have and putting electric motors on it. Tesla by contrast is designed from the ground up as an electric car.

Over 50 years ago I had a financial interest in a GM dealership. When they announced an electric car I said I had dibs on the first one off of the truck. They have announced an electric car several times since then but never (or very weakly) produced one. I still don't have one and I am not going to hold my breath till GM gets one that I can actually call a car.

The years of development that Tesla has put in will keep them in front of the pack for years to come.

 

[Zer0t]

We are most likely going to stick with Tesla because my wife likes it and I don't see any reasonably priced competition. Perhaps the EQS will be a reasonable competitor? We had a 17 S550 before the model S but now that my wife is used to Tesla she'd most likely choose another. For me I just need Tesla to start manufacturing the Cybertruck.

 

[byeLT4]

As of now, returning to Tesla.

I bought a used 2017 S from Tesla almost a year ago. Put 15k miles on it. Have had one service center visit that was pretty good and several Ranger calls that were excellent. All small known issues that were covered under warranty. The only car (knock on wood) that hasn't given me any trouble are my Hyundais. 2016 Accent with 77k and 2018 Ioniq with 61k miles. The two new Fords I bought both had transmission issues, one less than 1k miles out of warranty. The C7Z I had had a naging torque converter issue that the dealer wanted to put a band-aid on instead of just replacing. I just helped my brother get a crazy deal on a 2021 Accent and I am seriously considering trading the '16 in on it, but when I am ready to update/upgrade the S, as of now it will be with another Tesla.

Edit: Just read my post and I guess my point to that tangent was that even the 'legacy' automakers have issues and I am glad that the small issues my Tesla has had were easily resolved.

 

[Barry]

Likelihood of buying another Tesla for me is about 5%. The company treats its customers like crap. I'm not willing to support such a company. If Musk leaves the company, that 5% number will probably rise, as he's the problem. Assuming the MB's come out on schedule, I'll seriously be looking at them when I'm ready to replace my 6 year old MS.

 

[Jard]

I sold my 2020 MSP in February to downsize a bit (financially). I test drove a MY and just didn’t love it (ride, darty handling, and absence of ventilated seats). I couldn’t justify the ~$57k to buy it new. I am interested in the new MX but now it’s delayed until next year.

I am picking up a 6 seat Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring this week!

 

[UncleCreepy]

If I had to buy a new car today, it would be a Tesla. I love my car and I've never had problems with service.

I wouldn't call it loyalty though. If there was a better car for me out there, I'd take that one instead.

ICE is no longer an option for me. I'm starting to hate my gas powered motorcycle and every time I'm in a gas car I feel like Fred Flintstone.

 

[Needsdecaf]

My 2020 Performance is my second Model 3 (first totaled). It will almost certainly be my last Tesla.

As they have transitioned to a much larger company, customer service is in the toilet. Unfortunately I have had to deal with issues and Telsa has been less than stellar to deal with.

Second reason is that as I'm getting more miles on these cars, I'm becoming more annoyed with build quality. The squeaks and rattles get worse daily. Things get looser. The rattly sound when I close the door gets more annoying.

But I feel like the biggest reason related to Tesla only is that Tesla seems to have given up on improving the car. I feel like the huge "double fire" Christmas update that was more like a dumpster fire took all the wind out of their sails. And I feel like they are concentrating on FSD which to me is now a fool's errand. Clearly they are finally coming to grips with how difficult L3/L4/L5 really is. And the harder they work on it seemingly the more resources are diverted from the "features addition" team. When I bought my first Model 3 at the end of 2018, until the end of 2020, the amount of features added was staggering. Video players, video games, more streaming services, acceleration boosts, smart summon, Joe Mode, TeslaCam, and on and on. Really, there was huge value to that. Since Christmas 2020? NOTHING.

Finally, there is the competition to discuss. There is still nothing like the performance of a Model 3 dual motor for the cost. There just isn't. But now, there are way more compelling EV's out there. I like the looks of the Mustang a LOT. The Etron GT is drop dead gorgeous. The Taycan Cross Tourismo; an EV wagon? Sign me UP! The Merc EQS looks like it will absolutely PANTS a Model S in every way except outright performance, and seemingly for similar cost. The iD4 is a compelling lower cost entry as well. And the Huyndai Ioniq 5. God damn that thing looks like an 80's Lancia rally car reincarnated 40 years later. WOOF. And don't get me started on the Rivian R1T. If that thing becomes real, I might leg hump it. LOL. The Polestar looks pretty tasty too.

So yeah, this will almost certainly be my last Tesla. Sadly, because I really root for them. I'm so glad to see they are succeeding, but I feel like the house of cards that is FSD is slowly draining all the life out of the company. I really wish, honestly, that they had never gone down that route. They have hitched their wagon to that horse but I don't think they ever needed to. We would have bought the cars anyway with just EAP. I did, and I was super happy! While people on here really think it's cool I think of those half a million cars they sold last year, less than 100k of the owners probably cared about FSD. Is there data on the take rate?

Anyway, rambling rant over. I'll keep driving my Model 3 for now but I'm already mentally shopping it's replacement. The kids will miss the YouTube and the Farts, and I'll miss the Supercharging network on longer drives. But that's not enough to keep me around.

 

[Newscutter]

Have a 2014 S, Mine was 100% until Tesla started screwing us over with the MCU1 issues and the supercharging nerf.

Exact same boat.

The stonewalling and "nothing to see here" attitude has already cost them one sale, which we gave to Subaru instead.
I really adore my S and can't imagine driving anything else that is out there-- and will drive it until it is unreasonable to do so-- but if I end up replacing it, it will be with a used S. My S remains fantastic 7 years later, but I can't stomach rewarding the company with a new car sale at this point.

Plus I think the used S market will be robust and heavily discounted for a few years and it's the only way to get added features for pennies on the new-sale dollar. When I bought in 2014, used S were more than new so I didn't really have that option. I'd probably aim for the last of the pre-Ravens, or the last of the Ravens-- just to maximize the battery/drive unit warranty and lock up a 100 pack. The early Ravens seem to be more problematic, though buying used someone else has already suffered through the service nightmares to get them perfect (hopefully).