Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Why I'll Never Buy Another Gasoline Powered Car

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Why do people have to a) be so negative and b) comment on something like they are an authority even though they clearly have no clue what they are talking about. The first comment:

his seven-seat sedan from 0-60 mph faster than Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Bugattis.
This is 100% false. I stopped reading the article after this blatant lie

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
If I may take the liberty of quoting some sentences from that blog: "They are in the womb of automotive expectedness – the ICE world of the last few decades – and in a span of about 60 seconds (approach car, beautiful, handles extend, OMG, get in, stunning, flat screen stares at them, panoroof slider bar, foot on break, speedometer flips over, roll away silently, first straightaway punch it, memories of first rollercoaster ride, fat-ass grins all over faces) they are shot out the birth canal into the bright light of a new, awesome world..."
Nicely put. I experienced the same reactions when I gave some of my neighbors rides in late 2013 when my S was new.
And yet...there are just as many people who are remarkably uninterested in Teslas. I can't really explain it or understand it. I have a neighbor, really great guy, in a tech field, who despite numerous invitations from me to take a ride in my S has never done so. His 20 year old son also has expressed no interest at all in the car. Another neighbor who has a top management position in a world famous high tech company, after getting a ride in the car, expressed polite appreciation but was not particularly excited. He had just bought an Audi a few months earlier.
In contrast, a neighbor who also works for that world famous high tech company loves EVs, has an Audi and was waiting for Audi to make an EV, got tired of waiting and last year bought an early 2015 Model S CPO car. He loves it. A few weeks after he bought it Autopilot V1 was released and he was blown away as to how his amazing new car was suddenly even more awesome.
So my experience is a wide range of reactions to the S, from raving enthusiasm to indifference. It's not just because where I live -- SF Bay Area -- Teslas are relatively common. It's because a large proportion of the car-owning population doesn't give much thought to cars, sustainable energy, technology, climate change, etc. A car is an appliance that gets them from A to B. That's it.
 
Last edited:
Follow up thought: for those people who look at cars as simply a transportation appliance, what would motivate them to buy an EV instead of an ICE is the economics of car ownership. If they can save money buying an EV that could focus their attention. Unfortunately, the precipitous drop in oil prices has essentially negated that cost saving, at least in the US where gasoline taxes are modest. In Europe, even at current oil prices, gasoline is still costly and EVs are cheaper to operate than ICEs.
 
And yet...there are just as many people who are remarkably uninterested in Teslas. I can't really explain it or understand it. I have a neighbor, really great guy, in a tech field, who despite numerous invitations from me to take a ride in my S has never done so. His 20 year old son also has expressed no interest at all in the car. Another neighbor who has a top management position in a world famous high tech company, after getting a ride in the car, expressed polite appreciation but was not particularly excited. He had just bought an Audi a few months earlier.
So my experience is a wide range of reactions to the S, from raving enthusiasm to indifference. It's not just because where I live -- SF Bay Area -- Teslas are relatively common. It's because a large proportion of the car-owning population doesn't give much thought to cars, sustainable energy, technology, climate change, etc. A car is an appliance that gets them from A to B. That's it.

^^^^This - particularly the observation that for many, a car is just an appliance. I live in a gated community where just about everybody, with little or no stretching, can get an Tesla. The most enthusiasm I have seen to my MS have come from the guys at the bag-drop area of the golf course. Everybody crowded around for an inspection the first time it showed and even now one of the guys will walk around or peek inside. No such reaction from the members except for 2 who I gave a ride to - but which did not change their status quo.
 
I think you nailed the Catch-22. For those with the means to buy a Model S or X, economics is not much of a factor one way or the other. The appeal is either first-adopter gizmo factor, or a philosophical desire to help the planet. Many of us would love to own a Model S or Model X, but simply don't have the financial means to make it a reality. That's why the Model 3 is so critical.
 
For the folks who are only interested in the economics ecarfan, I think the answer is not only maintaining current financial EV incentives, but also adding financial disincentives to buy an ICE...a la Norway, a gradually increasing "ICE" tax, starting at (say) 5%, and gradually increasing (dramatically) in pain as batteries get better / the charging infrastructure grows.

Once acceptable level of range and recharging infrastructure have been reached, along with an acceptable choice of lower cost EV's in the marketplace, there is really not much in the way of a valid reason not to drive an EV.

Follow up thought: for those people who look at cars as simply a transportation appliance, what would motivate them to buy an EV instead of an ICE is the economics of car ownership. If they can save money buying an EV that could focus their attention. Unfortunately, the precipitous drop in oil prices has essentially negated that cost saving, at least in the US where gasoline taxes are modest. In Europe, even at current oil prices, gasoline is still costly and EVs are cheaper to operate than ICEs.
 
Last edited:
I can't believe I just became aware of these articles (Well, the Apollo one anyway since that's been out way longer).
Fantastic writing. Really captures the feeling and the reasoning well.
Thanks for sharing Cattledog.