I think the competition are accelerating and Tesla needs to up its game. It purports to be a luxury brand, but my M3P interior is more Ford Focus than Mercedes.
Mercedes are currently showing off their 600 mile range concept (though it will still probably arrive before the Roadster or Cybertruck)
Mercedes reveals electric car with 600-mile range — The Telegraph
Tesla can’t afford to let others catch up quickly and needs to continue to innovate and most importantly, deliver more and promise less.
Like many, I’m not a Tesla owner for any reason other than currently, the value equation sees Tesla in the lead for me owing to the decent range and the Supercharger network. If another company builds a better car and has access to decent charging infrastructure, I will certainly look elsewhere when it comes time to change. If a really good Mercedes EV comes along, I would seriously consider it. I swapped a cracking ICE Merc CLS for the Tesla and I’d go back to a Mercedes in a heartbeat if it was better.
A Mercedes interior felt special, while the Model 3 doesn’t. Nevertheless, the M3P brings great performance and access to excellent charging. If Tesla can improve its build quality and interior, I would get another. But as a customer, the worst thing is feeling taken for granted. I need to feel that a company genuinely values my custom. I hope Tesla can continue to impress over the next couple of years.
Can't read Murdoch rag - paywalled. Is there another source or at least a name to google?
600 miles - which standard? WLTP?
EQS has huge pouch cell battery AFAIK - dangerous, heavy.
Until other OEMs start using safer & more reliable types of batteries, there will be problems, recalls, limits.
Every OEM seems to be following Tesla's designs (big screen), but even more so (bigger screens, must be bigger!). They're not following the EV engineering though. Admittedly, some of the automotive aspects may be better (suspension).
Everyone is welcome to their opinion, but I love the excellent EV tech decisions Tesla made, in the car, the factories and supply chain. I don't consider Tesla a luxury brand - I don't really understand the attraction of brands - I'm too much into engineering, design elegance of the EV aspects. Tesla is scaling to 20 million, far larger than Merc (2.16 million in 2020). Tesla is designing cars for mass adoption, not niches. As Merc struggles - do they continue relying on ICE or switch to EV? Can Merc make a profit? How much of their current assets must disposed of and be written off? These assets are backing their huge debts. It'll be airline-style bankruptcies for many OEMs.
Mercedes can't make enough EVs to be relevant, perhaps they don't have to, but they need to keep alive (perhaps Geely, Li Shufu, BAIC or other Chinese partial owners will help). Merc won't get the cells they need except by over-paying & which supplier would turn down Tesla in favour of Merc or other legacy? Tesla is on the rise and is a great customer. Merc have to re-do their supply chain, the ICE parts bin isn't useful or relevant. Merc need new suppliers. Big upheavals.
The equivalent to many Mercs is probably S/X LR or Plaid (budget, prestige). I can't remember anything special about Merc interiors, but I wasn't driving, let alone the owner.
The more choice, the better, but I wouldn't buy a pouch-cell car personally.