Racer, you are entitled to your own opinion not your own facts. EV's have less maintenance? Ask 30,000 Nissan Versa (cheapest new car in America) buyers in 2014 and 30,000 Model S buyers from 2014 if which group had to make more service center visits. How many Hyundai Accents (ASP $13,000) made in 2014 had their motor replaced? Want to compare service visits of a Model X buyer in 2016 vs a Kia Rio buyer in 2016?
EVs have fewer moving parts and less things to fail but that doesn't there are fewer failures. Computers have fewer moving parts than cars. How many computers are usable after 5 years and how many cars are running fine after 10 years with just tires and oil changes? Ask any Model S owner who also owned/owns a Volt which car needed fewer service visits.
GM doesn't build a Gigafactory because to them making their own batteries is the same as owning their own rubber plantations or tire manufacturing plants. 100% of their cars need tires/rubber but only about 0.5% of their cars need lithium batteries. Tesla obviously has a different approach to battery production. A Model 3 is make or break for them (S and X do not have the volumes necessary to be net profitable). The Bolt will contribute 0.4% of GM Global sales in the best case scenario and will contribute 0.0% to their net profit. Model 3 will contribute 60 to 70% of Tesla global sales and about 50% of their net profit. Now you know GM doesn't really care as much as they should. You also assume the Model 3 will be cheaper than the Bolt for the same range when neither Chevy nor Tesla has released price, specs and option packages? It may well be but don't forget Tesla has to make a 20% gross profit on the Model 3 but Chevy can sell the Bolt for $20K under cost. One Bolt=4 ZEV credits=$20,000 value. Every 250 Bolts sold will allow them to sell 10,000 high profit SUVs (2.5 ZEV requirement in 2018).
How does a Bolt compete against the Sonic? It is larger, faster, full EV (more people care about this than you can imagine), the first 200+ mile EV under $40K to name a few. OTOH How does a Model S 60 compete against a Taurus SHO? The Taurus SHO is faster, loaded to the hilt, better looking (subjective) and $20,000 cheaper. Not everyone is buying a car to impress other people, make them look important or trying to compensate for their shortcomings. I am already reading online comments that the Model 3 will get you laid but the Bolt wont. People who think only a car can get them laid are people who don't IMO. If looks matter, 90% of the cars would have never been sold. Mazda always made/makes the best looking, best performing cars in their respective segments. Everyone who follows the auto industry knows this. 99% of the population does not care and Mazda's sales numbers prove this.
Why doesn't anyone compete with Tesla even after 4 years? Tesla is showing them why they shouldn't 4 times a year, every time they report earnings. The other automakers may not see what you see and you can't blame them for that. You may think they are wrong and will pay for it dearly, but they are entitled to their own beliefs similar to Tesla naysayers. They are also free to not see what you see. Take the current presidential campaign as an example. One candidate is seen as honest, intelligent, straight shooter, tells it as it is, strong, and tough by his/her followers and they really believe it too. The opposite camp sees the same person as dishonest, dumb, weak and unstable and they really believe this too. So how come different people have completely different opinions about the same individual? Each group really believes they have the correct opinion and the other group is wrong. The same applies to Tesla. Half the group sees a disaster when they read the earnings release while the other half sees puppies and rainbows. Both groups think they are correct and the others are wrong.
