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Why are people waiting at Costco gas stations instead of buying Teslas?
- Thread starter JetFalcon
- Start date
Hey. Don't touch my Chick-fil-A. Hell of a long line that Taco Bell or McDonald's hope to have... But certainly not cheap food. Who cares if Liberals hate them. It's good. And employees and management are always polite.
I would give up my Tesla before Chick-fil-A. Hehehe.
I would give up my Tesla before Chick-fil-A. Hehehe.
Actually, IIRC, the demographics for median Costco shoppers would blow your mind--they're really quite well off. Just because so many are wealthy doesn't mean they can't pass up a good deal on Top Tier gasoline though.
Sadly, I'll go out on a limb here and suggest that far too many may also be climate deniers/Trump supporter types and concur with him that's it's all just a "Chinese Hoax."
I'm biased by geography, however, as I'm basing this on what I see at Costcos in TX and AZ; YMMV!
When I make food at home (90+% of time) it is more expensive and a lot more time consuming than dining out or picking up fast food. The laziest think I see are the drive-through lines to get Starbucks. Paying $6 for something you can easily make at home or at work in 2 minutes for 60 cents. Quality? Nespresso makes better coffee than Starbucks, IMHO.
On topic, people are not buying Teslas because
(1) they don't know much about EVs and Teslas and
(2) a continuous barrage of negative news about Tesla likely sponsored by ICE OEMs makes a negative image of Tesla for many average consumers and
(3) Tesla M3/Y is priced as an entry luxury segment vehicle and many average buyers would not look at a luxury segment vehicle even if they go and buy a Chevy Traverse or Blazer with V6 for 45-50k. I think that by reducing the price of an entry level M3 and MY Tesla is trying to attract attention of those buyers.
"Logical" arguments like why people stay in line for Costco gas instead of buying a Tesla don't apply to herds of people. For example, MANY people buy A LOT of expensive junk at gas station stores instead of going to a normal store that would be "logical".
There are many prognosticators out there predicting that when self driving cars become common that private ownership of cars will virtually become obsolete. People's behavior about cars is frequently less than completely logical.
A friend of my partner sold his Chevy pickup (which was way more vehicle than he needed) and ordered a Dodge TRX for $125K. He knows all about the advantages of Tesla and knows the Cybertruck trimotor will outperform his TRX but he had to get the highest performance truck available today. I don't even think he knows why. He said the new truck requires premium gas and gets 12 MPG.
There are people who will continue to drive ICE at least for a while because of various reasons:
1) They think electric cars are glorified golf carts
2) They hate Elon Musk (and anything he stands for)
3) They're father drove a brand X car, so they will too
4) They think it's a political statement and are on the opposite side of that political argument
5) Probably many more I haven't though of
There was a craze a few years ago to modify diesel pickups to be coal rollers because in some circles being environmentally damaging as possible is seen as a positive.
I noticed our neighbor has been through a couple of SUVs in the last year. They had an Audi SUV for a few months and replaced it with a Lexus SUV. The SUV is the wife's car and the husband drives a pickup. I've talked to the husband before and he plans to get a Cybertruck once they have been in production a year or so. We were out clearing snow last week and I asked him about the car changes. He said he was looking at what the Audi was going to cost to repair when it was out of warranty and wanted to get something more reliable. I told him he should have gotten a Model Y. He said he pushed for a Model X, but his wife was too nervous about something that different. He said they have a Model 3 company car at work that he's driven. He loves driving it and said the toughest part driving it was pairing it with his phone.
When it's safe again I'm going to offer to take her out in my S to let her get a feel for it.
A lot of people don’t buy Teslas because they simply never get to experience them. I probably would not have a Tesla either if they didn’t have a store next to my local Apple store with floor models on display, demo drives... AND they even gave me a Model X for an overnight demo!
Being environmentally conscious, or having a particular political view had absolutely NOTHING to do with me purchasing a Tesla. I thought it was cool, loved the tech, and the aesthetic feel. The economics of being all-electric were a plus.
The full impact of the lifestyle changes became evident after purchase... never having to pump gas (even more appreciated after COVID-19 in not having to touch those dirty pumps!)... and great things like being able to sit in a park for hours on a very hot day with the air-conditioning on... and even overnight camping.
You wouldn’t catch me dead in an “econobox” electric or hybrid... no disrespect for those that drive these cars, but they are not for me.
Love my Model 3 SR+
Being environmentally conscious, or having a particular political view had absolutely NOTHING to do with me purchasing a Tesla. I thought it was cool, loved the tech, and the aesthetic feel. The economics of being all-electric were a plus.
The full impact of the lifestyle changes became evident after purchase... never having to pump gas (even more appreciated after COVID-19 in not having to touch those dirty pumps!)... and great things like being able to sit in a park for hours on a very hot day with the air-conditioning on... and even overnight camping.
You wouldn’t catch me dead in an “econobox” electric or hybrid... no disrespect for those that drive these cars, but they are not for me.
Love my Model 3 SR+
XLR82XS
D M C
I use Costco fuel for all my ICE vehicles. I never experience abnormally long wait times where I live and for what I spend on fuel the 2% return I receive every year is great.
I also use Costco exclusively for our gas car and I also have a Model 3 and other EV's prior to it. I don't think it's fair to lump people who don't get EV into the "hate Tesla/EV/Elon" crowd. There are many good reasons not to get an EV, whether it's range, practicality, style, etc.
BTW, some Costco gas lines are very long compared to most gas stations, but they are nothing compared to superchargers here in OC area.
BTW, some Costco gas lines are very long compared to most gas stations, but they are nothing compared to superchargers here in OC area.
The environmental factors were a nice plus, but they were not a driving factor in buying my Model S. The Model S was not only the only car I could find that met all my criteria, but it blew away every criteria. It's an insanely efficient car, but it's also an outstanding car for all the things I want to do with a car.
Other brands of EVs don't do much for me either.
Tesla's secret sauce is their cars appeal to people who otherwise think EVs are junk and wouldn't give most EVs a second look. There are new EVs coming out from legacy car makers that are beginning to show promise of being a good multi-use car apart from being an EV, but most of what's available now are compromised designs with limitations that are deal killers for a lot of people.
Even at that, Tesla will probably dominate long distance travel with EVs for some time. I saw a documentary made in the UK where they loaned a Mini Cooper EV to a couple and they tried to make a road trip. They had to navigate a labyrinth of different payment methods and broken chargers to get anywhere. It was extremely painfu compared to the Tesla experience.
I drove a BMW M3 Lime Rock before I got the Model 3. Scraping was one of the most annoying things and having to go out of may way to try angle my car correctly for speed bumps or sidewalk exits. Anything that makes a car looks cool means there is an inconvenience.
This is why I like the Model 3 overall more. More comfortable to drive, but still can drive fast when you want it to. It probably won't look as cool as an M3 or NSX, nor will be a car guys kind of car, but its whatever I don't feel like I'm a car guy. I just like looking at them or seeing them in movies.
Safety tech has really, really, REALLY improved since 1995. Nothing wrong with not caring about buying an expensive new ride just because you can, but he should absolutely be buying a new or fairly recent used car of some sort just for his own safety and the safety of his family.
roblab
Active Member
And I see the "smart money" people spending HUGE amounts of money on a 6000+ sq ft house so they can show off to their friends, when it's just for a man and wife. Oh, and also for "entertainment". What a waste. They should consider the Tesla a bit of bling so it would be easier to take the hit. As my daddy used to say, "You get what you pay for... if you're careful."
But those are appreciating assets. So they can sell their 6000 sq ft homes for more than they paid for it. Can never do that with a Tesla.
MichaelP90DL
Active Member
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