When people sound incredulous about Tesla dying remember that history is littered with dead automotive brands.
Building cars is essentially dumb! The margins are tiny and the hopes of success without an experienced pair of car industry hands at the helm are near zero… I don’t believe that Tesla will go bust, it is too valuable and recognisable a brand name despite recent issues. I do however believe that Tesla will be acquired by either an American tech company or a Chinese automaker.
@gpowerf Had the opportunity to drive a Model 3 recently. Great drivetrain, but the UI was a HUGE deal-breaker for me. They assume that everything can and should be handled by thumb controls on the steering wheel, or "touch" controls on the magic mirror display.
Fine on a static display. Really not good when actually driving.
Great powertrain, but I'll be looking for another EV when time comes.
@Ouij one great thing about high powered EVs in general is that they have phenomenal drivetrains. All that low down torque is V8 beating. Why were V8s nice? Not really because the performance, even a little 4 pot could perform great.
@gpowerf my daily driver is a Mustang, so I am a big fan of the V8. I'll miss the sound.
I don't live in a situation where I can charge while parked at home, and a lot of my local trips I can take either walking or by Metro. So I may hold off for a while yet. But instantaneous torque is a great feeling in an EV.
@gpowerf weirdly, the EV that I wish I had is totally not legal in the USA: The Citroën Ami. This thing looks like a hoot.
@Ouij lol. Those are cool. I wish kids could drive them here in the UK. I’d buy my kids one 👍
@gpowerf they're so bonkers and French. I love them to bits.
@Ouij French cars are cool, they unfairly get a bad rap. People just don’t get them. Many years ago I had a Citroen BX, I loved it!
@gpowerf someone a couple of blocks from me drives a vintage Citroen DS and it is the coolest car in the neighborhood, lol.
Would 100% get a Citroen Ami here in America if I could just for laughs
@Ouij that’s brave given the size of SUVs and trucks there 😄
@gpowerf depends on context. I'm in Arlington, just outside of Washington, DC. A ton of local destinations are within the Ami's local operating environment. Taking it onto a highway (equivalent of your A-roads) would be suicide.
@Ouij for sure the infrastructure needs changing in most countries. FWIW, I don’t have an EV either. I drive a diesel truck… but I’d have an EV truck in a heartbeat if the infra supported it.
@Ouij But the nice thing about a normal everyday V8 car was the effortless feeling of all that low down torque, and EVs have that and more. EV is the way to go, they are nicer and more common sense to make a car. No noise, all that torque, no smell, etc… environmental issues aside, EVs are nicer.