In no particular order, and including but not limited to:
Ha! A good list! One I've actually made myself. I'm just trying to argue Elon's possible counterpoints. ;-)
So, continuing the argument for 'the other side'...
1. The ability to not charge frequently
Already have this, due to up to 85 kWh battery pack capacity. It isn't as if you are talking Nissan Leaf or Ford Focus Electric range to start. If it were like that, comparative to bailing out a sinking dinghy with a saucer dish, stopping once per traveling hour to sit for a four hour charge, you'd have a great point.
Sure, at a significant weight disadvantage using 2009 battery technology. Have some patience, and some faith. Allow Tesla Motors to double range the right way, using 2019 technology. So that fewer cells in a lighter battery pack, provide both more capacity, and more range at once.
Yes, the more individual battery cells within a battery pack array, the more quickly a charge can be distributed throughout them all. But it is very likely the upper limit of total useful battery cells isn't much more than what is already used in today's 85 kWh battery pack. Thus, it is best to wait until higher capacity individual battery cells are fully vetted, then use those in a similar sized array, to achieve a higher aggregate total capacity within the available space.
3. Less contingency planning/anxiety
Tesla Motors products are built by thinkers for thinking people. Using them, even with comfort and convenience features added, does not mount to a brainless endeavor. You must participate, even when Autopilot is fully delivered.
Those who are anxious cannot be helped. They'll feel the same even if a 25% remaining charge is 500 miles instead of 50 miles. That is irrational fear at work. Fear is the mind killer.
4. Foul weather range assurance (mostly extreme cold)
You cannot defeat physics. Wind, rain, snow, standing water, and icy roads all have an adverse affect on range. That will not change, regardless of drivetrain.
The fact that Lithium ion batteries operate best in a narrow range of temperatures may be overcome in time. But extreme temperatures, below 0° Fahrenheit, are trying on all manmade systems. Needing to power the environmental control system and the battery pack conditioning system from the same energy reserve is certainly taxing. I have faith that future battery technologies will not suffer as much.
5. Going to places where there are no (and will never be) fast chargers
Attempting a brute force solution, by cramming 33%-50% more of the same battery cells into the car, would have far reaching implications for a minimal gain in range. You get diminishing returns on improved range, because the added weight of 'more batteries' ruins performance, making a slower car with poorer handling. You could get much of the same improvement in range simply by driving slower with the current battery. Further, the added weight puts more stress on the chassis, strain on drivetrain components, wear on suspension, and wears out tires.
The added battery cells also reduces the interior volume and overall cargo capacity of the vehicle, making it less spacious and convenient to own and operate.
So, adding more batteries simultaneously removes the advantages of the current design paradigm gained from the skateboard platform while making the whole system more apt to premature failure.
6. High speed range assurance
And here, we get too the crux of the matter. There are those that are perpetually in denial of the true nature of the Model S and its future siblings. They want to maintain the same wasteful driving habits they acquired from the ICE realm and port them over to EVs without modification.
7. Those blessed with iron bladders
I used to be good in this regard. These days I may have to make a stop in Phoenix or Tucson instead of lasting all the way to El Paso on a trip from Los Angeles. But let's face it: most people could never last either distance no matter their age or gender.
The idea that being lightweight is the key to better mileage is so thoroughly ingrained from decades of ICE cars that it can be hard to see where it starts to fail, and that line, with present technology, is somewhere between the Model S and all the competitors on the market today.
What the Model S has proved is that the issue of weight can be dealt with through the appropriate application of modern technology in order to deliver a performance oriented vehicle that motivates individuals to purchase it at a premium price point.
Its not an EV, but hard to see how they could make it an EV and be anywhere near that target price.
The thing is that its target price is not being addressed by any major automobile manufacturer. Very few traditional automobile manufacturers currently offer anything at all with a starting price below $15,000. And yes, by the time that Tesla Motors is able to build a car with a base price of $20,000 or less, most new cars on the market will be $25,000 or more.
The pricing structure for motorcycles has always tended toward being more affordable than passenger cars. Just as the safety rating for ownership of motorcycles has always trailed that of passenger cars. There are tradeoffs either way.
The bottom line is that the Elio would have been very impressive... in 1979. It has been a very long time since the Summer I turned twelve. Ah... Sybil, Cassandra, and Andrea... Good times ! And pretty much all the technology in the Elio existed then too.
