hmmm am not sure that is true though. Test driving the i4 vs the model 3 made me re-think my approach about how much behind Tesla interiors and options/packages are. I get the drive experience stuff, but i4 is also electric and lane keep assist is more than enough for me. The insulation and options around is the thing that caught me off guard when I compared what is around me in setting in the i4 vs Model 3. Also am not sure who is trying hard here.... Tesla has just reduced its prices for maybe the 3rd?4th? or whatever time in the past few months now due to lower demand. I appreciate the price reduction as a potential buyer, but it also tells something that the thing was not selling well at that price and was over-prices otherwise they would have kept the high prices. I said that before, it would be silly to price the Model S with zero luxury options at the same price that EQS or i7 or now even the coming i5 later this year is selling for for instance regardless of what we all think about charging stations or so. Competition is coming at 100MPH. This year is soooo different than just 2 years ago.
A few things:
The Model 3 was always, and let me repeat for emphasis, always supposed to be an entry level EV for the masses.
Looking at the BMW product lineup, a EV based on the BMW 3 series ICE chassis isn’t even the same product.
If you build a base i4 and option it like a Model 3 Performance, you are at a $6K difference. Instead of focusing on what a manufacturers price reductions might signal to you, may I ask do you think that’s a substantial price difference? The pricing difference will swell when you add in a Model 3 Long Range.
By the admissions of the ‘champions’ of both brands within this thread, there are distinct advantages to each brand, and Tesla has at the moment a large pricing advantage over BMW, which again hasn’t made any pretensions of becoming a mainstream EV manufacturer. That would be the job of GM or Ford, VW, etc.
The fact that Tesla is ‘at the table’ so to speak is the real eye opening thing here, despite many failed attempts (and billions of dollars spent) on challenger brands/products by other OEMs (Cadillac, Lincoln, Infiniti, Alfa Romeo, Genesis, Chrysler).
At every inflection point in consumer history, the narrative changes. There is an entire generation of people who are entering the workforce and have different POVs than their parents, who some driven an adhere to German automotive products as the default choice. Just as their parents relied on Cadillacs, Lincolns and Oldsmobiles as the household symbol of ‘comfort’.
Things always change in the consumer space. The question is always when, not if. As mentioned there are a generation who watched videos of Model S sedans beating exotic cars in drag races. Teslas are the subject of young peoples aspirational videos, music, and culture, for better or for worse at the moment. Can this change? Absolutely.
But it also can be that Tesla keeps it’s seat at the table, despite the disadvantages from a presentation POV that you and other posters have mentioned, because newer (and some older) consumers prefer the advantages (as noted, not for you but that’s irrelevant in this discussion/30K POV) of Tesla.
