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Originally Posted by E30_325iSport I don't own a Tesla, but I have significant experience of using one and I would disagree on fit, finish, and general perceived quality versus established OEMs. I'm surprised that you believe Tesla to be better than Lexus here, but your experience may vary with mine where I find Lexus build quality to be bullet proof. |
I am saying its better put together than my Lexus because there is no wobble at all from any fitting anywhere especially the central console. Granted mine is a couple of months old but it feels as solid as a rock. On a cursory look even the panels gaps seem tighter. Perceived quality is pretty good too - no uneven panels gaps, no rattles or creaks, felt lined everything, soft plastics all around the dashboard. Lexus also has "more things" in the interiors, perhaps thats why.
The only issue I had was a buzzing sound from around subwoofer assembly when playing certain songs which was taken care by Tesla swiftly. The way they manage service is seamless as well but that is a detail for another day.
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Originally Posted by E30_325iSport From where I'm sitting I can actually see the bonnet badge peeling off on my neighbour's Tesla Model Y, and he has 3 of the things- and has done for years. When was the last time you could say this on a VW (much less a Japanese-built vehicle)? |
I am part of Tesla group in Australia which is 30,000+ strong and I havent heard of a single instance of badge peeling. Seems more like an exception than the norm I'd say
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Originally Posted by E30_325iSport Where Tesla have an edge is that they're constantly in the news, for good or bad, and the fact that they're in the energy transition and software business, not the car business. |
They are on track to do close to 2mn cars this year (largely the same yearly volume as BMW/Mercedes) and their goal is close to 20mn cars by 2030. They definitely are in the car business and are beating the legacy at their own game in manufacturing - read gigacasting, structural battery packs and they keep on evoloving - fast. That said their energy business would be huge as well and so would be their software business - they literally give away FSD hardware for free with every car they make. This is unlike legacy car models where you pay more to get more and there are hardware differences iin different models of the same car.
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Originally Posted by E30_325iSport Today's customers want stability AND incremental features at the same time, which is incredibly hard to do. Just look at your TV or fridge, most are IoT enabled and download updates regularly. You wouldn't put up with these devices throwing a wobbly every so often, but still want the features that these updates unlock. |
For sure. I got my Tesla less than 2 months ago and I have already had 4-5 software updates which have added new features and improved functionality.
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Originally Posted by E30_325iSport Automotive software has viewed stability as a design cornerstone for decades. OEMs have (still) not caught up with Tesla-levels of relative software stability punctuated by incremental innovation. Heck, even OTA was unheard of at major OEMs until a few years ago and Tesla launched with this feature nearly a decade ago. |
The issue is they still havent figured out what Tesla did 10 years ago. VW's ID range for example barely had any off the air update since launch. You still need to visit the dealer to get it. Taycan is the same.
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/v...tware-upgrade/ Quote:
Originally Posted by E30_325iSport Finally, let's not pretend that any Tesla is a design icon of any note. They really are bland EV boxes. I don't think this is a reflection of their capability, but of priority. Why spend on eye-catching design when attention-grabbing software will do? |
Is there anything like Cybertruck? Or the Tesla Semi? I guess bland is something that you could say about most EV's if you like your ICE engines but atleast Tesla's are FAST and efficient and they do serious stuff as well as the silly stuff (in car farts, mars mode etc etc) and some very useful features such as in-built dashcam, sentry mode, in car games, netflix, disney+, youtube, apple music, spotify, tidal etc all built in and all of it works seamlessly.
While design is subjective, I appreciate how the whole car is dvoid of any superflous details and this is a theme inside out. For e.g. there is no obvious charging port flap like almost all other EV's, how it manipulates air direction inside the cabin without any airfin vents (it uses air at different velocities to manipulate direction) or how there is not even a single button inside which has text on it. .
I for one love the way Model Y Performance looks - but mine has big wheels with fat low profile tyres, its lower to the ground and has a subtle carbon fiber spoiler at the back. The base model with 19inch wheels do not look as good and they look especially bad with wheel flaps.
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Originally Posted by E30_325iSport Things will change when OEMs really get their act together on software. We are already seeing this inside some OEMs that are moving to (among other things) Agile development processes. |
EV industry will see a consolidation eventually - but just like smart phone market there will one iPhone and a gazillion other Android phones. For now, legacy car makers arent even close when it comes to EV's so its even more of a one horse race compared to the nascent smart phone days.
One of these days I will start a thread detailing my experience with the car and how and why Tesla has designed it that way.