@t4hiro @MaryAliciaZiff@mastodon.sdf.org @protecttruth I just don't understand WHY. Teslas are great cars, honestly the best cars on the road today. Amazingly safe. I understand thinking Musk is an idiot, he is. And Ford was a bigot who helped the Nazis. Walter Chrysler and William C. Durant (G.M.) hated unions. I doubt there is an honorable one among the lot of them... So just judge the product.

@JonKramer @MaryAliciaZiff @protecttruth

Technologically impressive but they have a huge branding problem (for me). Branding is wrapped in how you see yourself and who/what you want to associate yourself with.

Elon Musk is so tied up in what Tesla means that I'll never touch one again.

Not to mention the only car they've released worth anyone's time is the S, and that's more than a decade old now. The 3 and the Y are utterly ugly imo

Anyhow, many alternatives exist now and I'm in no rush.

@t4hiro @MaryAliciaZiff@mastodon.sdf.org @protecttruth , I preordered an Aptera, for myself. My issue with Tesla is the right to repair. I am more an engineer than an artist, so 'ugly' doesn't mean anything to me. I like 'function' over all else. Tesla's 'function' very well. Even with their older designs.

@JonKramer @MaryAliciaZiff @protecttruth

Wow, bold move with the Aptera. Definitely one of the most interesting cars recently. Hope it goes well for you. Appealed to me also.

Form and function, I need a bit of both with some soul thrown in. Currently maintaining a 69 Beetle that I dream of twinning with an electrified version. Hopefully one day. Pretty cost prohibitive but we'll see as (hopefully) electrified kit prices come down.

@t4hiro @MaryAliciaZiff@mastodon.sdf.org @protecttruth , I will know in roughly a year, when they are actually producing the model I want.

For soul... I have a pretty weird collection of cars, a 74 Saab Sonett, a 68 VW kit car, a 51 Chevy van. I want to electrify the kit car as well. Those costs are getting pretty low.

@JonKramer @MaryAliciaZiff @protecttruth

Nothing weird there. Interesting collection 👍 The Saab cool. What prices are you getting quoted for electrifying the kit car? Affordability is relative (!) but I was under the impression that a decent amount of equipment is about £20k + donor? I could be out of date

@t4hiro @MaryAliciaZiff@mastodon.sdf.org @protecttruth it looks like I can do it for about $10K. Out of my price range for what is essentially a toy, but I think doable for most folks.

@t4hiro @MaryAliciaZiff@mastodon.sdf.org @protecttruth , the prices are actually going way up... because the quality is going up too. You can easily spend $20K, and get lithium ion batters that will carry the car 150 miles or so. But, for a city car, you don't need to spend that much.