On the safety issue, I have a personal pet theory that a lot of "sudden acceleration events" in Teslas come from the one pedal system they use for both gas and break.
We're dealing with decades of ingrained muscle memory that says when you're about to hit something/lose control/etc.. you slam on the brakes. I know in some vehicles they say "in case of emergency, turn off one-pedal mode". But seriously, in a split second emergency you're going to remember to do that?
We’re dealing with decades of ingrained muscle memory that says when you’re about to hit something/lose control/etc… you slam on the brakes. I know in some vehicles they say “in case of emergency, turn off one-pedal mode”. But seriously, in a split second emergency you’re going to remember to do that?
What are you talking about? The brake pedal is still there in EV's and it still does the same job. I've driven an EV for 3 years using OPD and not once have I ever forgotten that the brake exists.
They all have regen so you barely ever brake in any of them.
Many of them also come to a complete stop without touching the brake as well. That's not a Tesla only thing.
Edit: Oh also on a Tesla you used to be able to enable "creep" mode so it behaved like an ICE and wouldn't come to a complete stop. The EPA changed the rules though and made it so you have to advertise the combined or lowest mileage though (can't recall) of all features, and creep lowers mileage by a few miles due to not 100% regen, so Tesla nix'd the feature to not reduce their EPA range. New cars no longer have the feature, old cars still have it.
With true one pedal driving you really only need to use the brakes for sudden braking. The car can come to a complete stop on its own when you take your foot off the accelerator, so if you planned your stop well, you don't need the brakes. If you didn't plan it well, then you use the brakes.
You could do entire shorter trips without using the brake.
The longer the trip the more likely something happens where you need it.
Yeah! All these people here saying they won't consider Tesla cars because of Elon; I won't consider Tesla cars because they are shitty and dangerous cars.
My parents got an EV recently and whenever you start it up you have to hit OK to a data collection thing on the touch screen before it let's you drive off 🥴
Not only did I opt out, verbally by calling OnStar from the car, I then removed the cell antenna (SparkEV), which works well in the rural areas where I live, not sure about a cellular-dense location, they can probably track pings now and then. So, if I get around to it I will look into disconnecting the cell module under the passenger seat.
Being trapped in a fire? Self igniting batteries? Stuck due to software updates? Doorhandles don't work when out of battery? Body pieces not secure? Self driving is a lie? Anti safety, anti union practices in assembly? The social cost of everyone thinking you're a Musk fanboy?
Another Tesla owner here (2020 Model 3) who thinks Musk is an absolute tool bag, but the misinformation out there about the cars is just plain silly.
Being trapped in a fire?
Every Tesla has always had prominent manual door release mechanisms on the front doors. So prominent, in fact, that most people who try to get out of the car for the first time instinctually go for it (on the Model 3 and Y, at least). The rear doors depend on model/year, but are mostly much less prominent/accessible since it would defeat the purpose of the child lock.
Self igniting batteries?
There are far, far fewer EV battery fires per year than there are ICE fires, even adjusting per capita. Furthermore, Teslas have historically had the lowest rate of battery fires of any EV.
Stuck due to software updates?
Software updates never install automatically and you literally never have to sit and wait in the car for them. When a software update is available, you get a notification to schedule it both on the car's screen itself and on your phone via the Tesla app. You don't even have to touch the car to schedule or install the update from your phone.
Additionally, if the concern is regarding getting in/out while an update is installing, the standard door handles work just fine throughout 95% of the update process, and the manual releases always work.
Doorhandles don't work when out of battery?
What, to get in the car? That's a valid criticism I suppose, but not at all unique to Teslas, and getting in won't do you a lot of good with an "empty tank" anyway, especially if it's dead to the point that even the 12V battery (which is responsible for the doors and most of the electronics other than the motors and HVAC) is fully drained. Either your 12V battery has to straight-up fail entirely or you have to leave the car sitting on 0% for weeks to months for this to happen. There are terminals to "jump" the car and access the frunk (and thus the 12V battery) without access to the inside of the car.
Body pieces not secure?
Build quality issues are not at all unique to Tesla, and occur with every manufacturer all the time. Except for the Cybertruck, nearly all of Tesla's build quality issues were largely worked out years ago and are on the same level as other manufacturers.
Self driving is a lie?
My car literally drives me to and from work every day (40min one way) with very infrequent interventions or disengagements from me. Pretty convincing lie, if you ask me. While we're not at level 3 autonomy yet, and Elon has hugely over promised and under delivered over the years, the tech is extremely impressive (especially given it's 100% camera-based) and already pretty damn good (not always perfect) in most scenarios. It's constantly being improved, too. I've gotten to personally experience the progress over the past 5ish years, and it feels like we're getting pretty close. Whether it's actually level 3+ soon, who knows. The future is hard to predict, especially with very new, experimental tech like this.
Anti safety, anti union practices in assembly? The social cost of everyone thinking you're a Musk fanboy?
Every Tesla has always had prominent manual door release mechanisms on the front doors. So prominent, in fact, that most people who try to get out of the car for the first time instinctually go for it (on the Model 3 and Y, at least). The rear doors depend on model/year, but are mostly much less prominent/accessible since it would defeat the purpose of the child lock.
I just want a car with actual door handles. That it has weird electric ones just shows that Tesla over-engineers for cool factor.
Tesla has always “tested in public”, been willing to go live with something not fully baked. But they also continuously increment. I have no issue with the build quality of mine but that adage about never buying a car from the first model year is doubly true for Tesla
I'm desperately hoping that conversations or conversion kits become more of a thing so I can keep my dumb car, but electrify it.
Cuz it's either that or maybe wait till cars start getting jailbroken and open source operating systems (ugh) like phones and computers... Which absolutely shouldn't have to be a thing. But here we are.