Tesla financial disaster!!!

[WinterBorn]

Nope.

Tesla addresses 'bricked battery' concerns with nigh-unconditional warranty

Range anxiety isn't the only worry of some prospective Tesla Model S buyers. There's also a slim possibility that the electric car's battery could die permanently if left uncharged. When that happened to one Tesla Roadster, the company initially blamed the buyer. "If you ran your conventional engine without oil, whose fault would it be? It would be the owner's," said Tesla CTO J. B. Straubel. That left the unlucky owner facing a $40,000 battery replacement fee. Today, however, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that his company will bear the cost of almost any battery failure with what he calls the "world's best warranty service."


Tesla addresses 'bricked battery' concerns with nigh-unconditional warranty

I'm glad Musk changed the warranty to include the battery issue. Of course, the article says there is only a "slim chance" of that happening. And the Tesla manuals tell the owner (several times) the batteries should never be left completely uncharged.

But do you think that was what polarbear was referring to when he said "That`s what you might have to do when your electric barbie doll car`s battery is dead after you drove around for 1/2 hour"? Because that is not what it sounded like to me. It sounded like he thinks the range of the Tesla is less than that of a golf cart.

No, polarbear knows far more about Teslas than most people here. I am sure he's referring to the Top Gear test of the Roadster where they were distressed to find that after driving the roadster hard for around 50 miles the battery was flat and the recharge time was the whole day. Not good for a fast paced TV show. They were highlighting the fact that EV's can't compete with ICE powered race cars or motorcycles for that much.

Case in point. The Isle of Man TT has several classes that race. One of them is the TT Zero, for EV bikes. They do one lap around the circuit and their average speed is now up to 117 while the ICE powered bikes do 6 laps (two at full throttle and then a refill of the gas)with a new average speed of 133.962 mph.

Or how about the Formula E? They do half the distance of a standard F1 race, and they have to have TWO cars to do it! Talk about inefficient!

That is exactly what I meant. A car like this Tesla has no practical use that would make any sense for the average person on an average income. But for people who have money to burn it is an ideal item to parade their "environmental awareness" in public. It`s better and less annoying than posing for PR photo-op in some refugee camp or making a politically correct speech at any of those über-expensive gala dinners that only they can afford to attend. A sincere philanthropist has no desire to show-boat in public as those who don`t really give a rat`s ass but need something to show on their sleeve in public that they care for the planet...(not necessarily for man-kind). And that Tesla OldRocks keeps praising will do just fine for people like that:



But not for people who earn their money the hard way:

As someone said, personal anecdotes seem unwelcome, but I will still post one. I spent about 15 mins talking to a guy driving a 4 year old Model S 70. He loves his car, and said he has not had any trouble at all. He said the only extra costs for him have been tires. He said he was an accountant.

Well personal anecdotes are fine by me especially so when they inadvertently ( as is the case here) make the same point I was making about the Tesla.
This accountant was exactly the type who would drive around in a Tesla because he wants to attract attention.
And he got your`s didn`t he ?
Would you hire an accountant who has no idea how much more he is paying for the equivalent of 1 gallon of gas in electricity to drive around in that Tesla ?
In Georgia where you are 1 gallon of gas is listed on the net for ~ $ 2.30...and 1 kWh costs about 11 cents
This accountant is paying $ 1.20 more for for each of the number of Joules his Tesla consumes as anyone else does who fuels up with gasoline !
And he told you the only extra cost he had so far were tires...
That is exactly the kind of guy who would buy a Tesla and love it because it baits the very suckers he is looking for to hire him.

Conversely, if I spend $12.10 to charge my Tesla, and put the same dollar amount into my gas powered car that gets 30 mpg, the range for the Tesla is 300 miles, while the gas powered car goes around 158 miles. So even if I use the range of 250 miles for the Tesla (for safety, using the serious acceleration, and running the a/c), the gas powered car comes up almost 100 miles shorter range for the same cost.

Also, a quick Google search shows the last time rates went up for a kWh was 2013.

 

[westwall]

No, I imagine there are more than a couple of Tesla owners who when they found out about the 40,000 cost to replace their "bricked" battery who did likewise. It was enough of a problem that elon reversed the policy so that now a tesla owner can get a battery replacement under warranty.

Problem solved.

Oh, you mean running over something and damaging the batteries? That is very different from what I was replying to.

Nope.

Tesla addresses 'bricked battery' concerns with nigh-unconditional warranty

Range anxiety isn't the only worry of some prospective Tesla Model S buyers. There's also a slim possibility that the electric car's battery could die permanently if left uncharged. When that happened to one Tesla Roadster, the company initially blamed the buyer. "If you ran your conventional engine without oil, whose fault would it be? It would be the owner's," said Tesla CTO J. B. Straubel. That left the unlucky owner facing a $40,000 battery replacement fee. Today, however, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that his company will bear the cost of almost any battery failure with what he calls the "world's best warranty service."


Tesla addresses 'bricked battery' concerns with nigh-unconditional warranty

I'm glad Musk changed the warranty to include the battery issue. Of course, the article says there is only a "slim chance" of that happening. And the Tesla manuals tell the owner (several times) the batteries should never be left completely uncharged.

But do you think that was what polarbear was referring to when he said "That`s what you might have to do when your electric barbie doll car`s battery is dead after you drove around for 1/2 hour"? Because that is not what it sounded like to me. It sounded like he thinks the range of the Tesla is less than that of a golf cart.

No, polarbear knows far more about Teslas than most people here. I am sure he's referring to the Top Gear test of the Roadster where they were distressed to find that after driving the roadster hard for around 50 miles the battery was flat and the recharge time was the whole day. Not good for a fast paced TV show. They were highlighting the fact that EV's can't compete with ICE powered race cars or motorcycles for that much.

Case in point. The Isle of Man TT has several classes that race. One of them is the TT Zero, for EV bikes. They do one lap around the circuit and their average speed is now up to 117 while the ICE powered bikes do 6 laps (two at full throttle and then a refill of the gas)with a new average speed of 133.962 mph.

Or how about the Formula E? They do half the distance of a standard F1 race, and they have to have TWO cars to do it! Talk about inefficient!

Well, the EV's are already starting their dominance of the old ICE tech.

Yeah, no....Both videos are from Bray hill.

 

[westwall]

Watch the Nurburgring lap record get demolished by a 1,342-hp electric car

As the glass batteries come online, the ICE will be relegated to the same place as horse races.

Once again...yeah, no. Here is the real record.

 

[westwall]

I'm glad Musk changed the warranty to include the battery issue. Of course, the article says there is only a "slim chance" of that happening. And the Tesla manuals tell the owner (several times) the batteries should never be left completely uncharged.

But do you think that was what polarbear was referring to when he said "That`s what you might have to do when your electric barbie doll car`s battery is dead after you drove around for 1/2 hour"? Because that is not what it sounded like to me. It sounded like he thinks the range of the Tesla is less than that of a golf cart.

No, polarbear knows far more about Teslas than most people here. I am sure he's referring to the Top Gear test of the Roadster where they were distressed to find that after driving the roadster hard for around 50 miles the battery was flat and the recharge time was the whole day. Not good for a fast paced TV show. They were highlighting the fact that EV's can't compete with ICE powered race cars or motorcycles for that much.

Case in point. The Isle of Man TT has several classes that race. One of them is the TT Zero, for EV bikes. They do one lap around the circuit and their average speed is now up to 117 while the ICE powered bikes do 6 laps (two at full throttle and then a refill of the gas)with a new average speed of 133.962 mph.

Or how about the Formula E? They do half the distance of a standard F1 race, and they have to have TWO cars to do it! Talk about inefficient!

That is exactly what I meant. A car like this Tesla has no practical use that would make any sense for the average person on an average income. But for people who have money to burn it is an ideal item to parade their "environmental awareness" in public. It`s better and less annoying than posing for PR photo-op in some refugee camp or making a politically correct speech at any of those über-expensive gala dinners that only they can afford to attend. A sincere philanthropist has no desire to show-boat in public as those who don`t really give a rat`s ass but need something to show on their sleeve in public that they care for the planet...(not necessarily for man-kind). And that Tesla OldRocks keeps praising will do just fine for people like that:



But not for people who earn their money the hard way:

As someone said, personal anecdotes seem unwelcome, but I will still post one. I spent about 15 mins talking to a guy driving a 4 year old Model S 70. He loves his car, and said he has not had any trouble at all. He said the only extra costs for him have been tires. He said he was an accountant.

Well personal anecdotes are fine by me especially so when they inadvertently ( as is the case here) make the same point I was making about the Tesla.
This accountant was exactly the type who would drive around in a Tesla because he wants to attract attention.
And he got your`s didn`t he ?
Would you hire an accountant who has no idea how much more he is paying for the equivalent of 1 gallon of gas in electricity to drive around in that Tesla ?
In Georgia where you are 1 gallon of gas is listed on the net for ~ $ 2.30...and 1 kWh costs about 11 cents
This accountant is paying $ 1.20 more for for each of the number of Joules his Tesla consumes as anyone else does who fuels up with gasoline !
And he told you the only extra cost he had so far were tires...
That is exactly the kind of guy who would buy a Tesla and love it because it baits the very suckers he is looking for to hire him.

If someone is driving a Tesla Model S P100, their batteries have a capacity of 100 kWh. Add 10% for losses via charger ect, and you need 110 kWh for a full charge. The stated range of the car is 335 miles, but let's use 300, to give the benefit of the doubt. That means the Tesla Model S can go 300 miles for $12.10 (with Georgia electricity going for $0.11 per kWh).

If the gas car gets 30 mpg, it will need 10 gals of gas to get 300 miles. At $2.30 per gallon, this will cost $23.00.



MY expertise is not in batteries or power storage. I would appreciate having the problem with my number explained to me.

Read the reports from real users, not the tesla forums where it is all propaganda all the time it seems. The Model S is a very good car, but it isn't as perfect as the makers claim.



"WHAT WE DON’T LIKE: The limits of today’s battery technology immediately become clear whenever the temperature drops below 40 degrees. Winter posed a challenge for our Model S even though Michigan saw relatively mild temperatures and minimal snowfall. During one 20-degree weekend in late November, features editor Jeff Sabatini left the office on Friday with an indicated 225 miles of range, the maximum charge on the battery in its standard mode. He drove just 54 miles over the weekend and plugged in once to add 22 miles of indicated range, yet the car’s dashboard readout said he had just 59 miles remaining by Monday morning. That’s 134 miles of range lost to heating the cabin, conditioning the battery pack, and the efficiency reduction all EVs experience in the cold. This is a more extreme example, to be sure, and no doubt affected by the car spending most of the weekend outside and unplugged.

Still, it wasn’t uncommon to see 190 miles of range evaporate in a 130-mile round-trip drive to Detroit during the winter. This is, in large measure, why our observed fuel economy and range don’t approach the Tesla’s EPA ratings. Granted, our car is driven by various staff members, not all of whom have a garage, so it likely is exposed to cold weather a lot more than are most Snow Belt luxury cars. We’ve run plenty of conventional cars under the same conditions, though, without it routinely impeding their ability to perform the primary mission of getting from point A to point B. And the Model S’s cold-blooded sluggishness goes deeper. When the powertrain is cold, the deceleration capabilities and capture of energy from regenerative braking are either reduced or completely unavailable. (The Tesla also has a hydraulic braking system, so it still can, you know, stop.) The touchscreen becomes even less responsive than normal and it doesn’t work for drivers wearing gloves. And the frameless side windows rarely drop fast enough, so they often catch the weather stripping when the door is opened."

2015 Tesla Model S P85D EV | Long-Term Test Wrap-Up | Car and Driver

 

[skookerasbil]

Watch the Nurburgring lap record get demolished by a 1,342-hp electric car

As the glass batteries come online, the ICE will be relegated to the same place as horse races.

Once again...yeah, no. Here is the real record.

LOL.....not to mention.......the Tesla would go 3 or 4 laps around the Ring and need to go for a charge!!

Oh and yes......according to CR, its the most unreliable car out there!!. No mind for rich folks who can hop into their Range Rover instead.........but kinda annoying to a everybody else out there. Its a niche automobile and nothing more.

 

[Old Rocks]

Watch the Nurburgring lap record get demolished by a 1,342-hp electric car

As the glass batteries come online, the ICE will be relegated to the same place as horse races.

Once again...yeah, no. Here is the real record.

Note that the title was a street legal car. That car is hardly street legal.

 

[westwall]

Watch the Nurburgring lap record get demolished by a 1,342-hp electric car

As the glass batteries come online, the ICE will be relegated to the same place as horse races.

Once again...yeah, no. Here is the real record.

Note that the title was a street legal car. That car is hardly street legal.

And the "ring" won't allow the Koenigsegg to make the attempt, and the "ring" isn't the same as it was back then, etc. etc. etc. The fact remains that the claim is crap. Hopefully the masters of the "ring' will allow the Koenigsegg to make a run now that they have the absolute speed record.


And yes, the Rothmans waaas a street legal car. They have to be to race at Le mans. They even have a trunk for luggage! It's all part of the regulations for that Class of racing. Back in the day they even drove the cars from track to track.



HOW TO ENGINEER A CAR THAT GOES 277.9 MPH
How to Engineer a Car that Goes 277.9 MPH

 

[Old Rocks]

Watch the Nurburgring lap record get demolished by a 1,342-hp electric car

As the glass batteries come online, the ICE will be relegated to the same place as horse races.

Once again...yeah, no. Here is the real record.

Porsche 956 (“Sports prototype race car”) Lap Time: 6:11.13 Distance Covered: 20.8 km Date: 28 May 1983

Read more at: DriveSpark - Fastest Nurburgring Lap Times: The 6 Min Barrier

A sports prototype, sometimes referred to as simply a prototype, is a type of race car that is used in the highest level categories of sports car racing. These purpose-built racing cars, unlike street-legal and production-based racing cars, are not intended for consumer purchase or production beyond that required to compete and win races.


Prototype racing cars have competed in sports car racing since before World War II, but became the top echelon of sports cars in the 1960s as they began to replace homologated sports cars. Current ACO regulations allow most sports car series to use two forms of cars: grand tourers (GT), based on street cars, and prototypes, which are allowed a great amount of flexibility within set rule parameters.

In historic racing, they are often called "sports racing cars". Sometimes, they are incorrectly referred to as "Le Mans cars", whether they are competing in the Le Mans race or not.[1][2][3]

Sports prototype - Wikipedia

Damn, Mr. Westwall, you are getting more like the treasonous fat senile old orange clown every day. You have to lie about everything. The Porche 956 is a 'Sports prototype race car', not street legal. The NIO EP9 is the fastest street legal car ever to lap Nurburgring.

 

[skookerasbil]

Consumer Reports Says Tesla Model S "Not Recommended" on Reliability
Sure, CR loves the P85D's blistering performance. But the 1,400 Model S owners they surveyed had a number of reliability issues.

Tesla Model S "Not Recommended" by Consumer Reports


Was a niche automobile already.........now the big on reliability. There is none.




Not to mention......a guy wanting a high performance vehicle would rather spend 60K on an already fast car and then go mod it.............duh.......and have a bit of fun once in awhile.....

TX2K14 Random Roll Racing

Lastly........how fucking boring are the looks of a Tesla S? Looks basically like a Nissan Altima.

 

[Old Rocks]

Tesla Model S "Not Recommended" by Consumer Reports

The approximately 1,400 Model S owners surveyed by CR "chronicled an array of detailed and complicated maladies," the organization reports. The most prevalent complaints had to do with squeaks and rattles from the body, but respondents also mentioned issues that required replacement of the car's electric motors. Warping brake rotors and difficulties with the complex, electrically-operated retracting doorhandles were also mentioned by numerous owners. Other problem areas included inoperable windshield wipers, leaking battery cooling pumps, trunklid alignment, and suspension alignment.

Despite these problems, CR reports that Tesla owner satisfaction is still very high, with a full 97 percent of owners saying they would definitely buy their car again. Surveyed owners also commended Tesla's quick response when cars developed problems: "Almost every survey respondent made note of Tesla's rapid response and repair time, despite the lack of a traditional dealer service network."

Looks as if the teething problems of a new model are dampening the owners enthusiasm for the Tesla S.

 

[skookerasbil]

Tesla Model S "Not Recommended" by Consumer Reports

The approximately 1,400 Model S owners surveyed by CR "chronicled an array of detailed and complicated maladies," the organization reports. The most prevalent complaints had to do with squeaks and rattles from the body, but respondents also mentioned issues that required replacement of the car's electric motors. Warping brake rotors and difficulties with the complex, electrically-operated retracting doorhandles were also mentioned by numerous owners. Other problem areas included inoperable windshield wipers, leaking battery cooling pumps, trunklid alignment, and suspension alignment.

Despite these problems, CR reports that Tesla owner satisfaction is still very high, with a full 97 percent of owners saying they would definitely buy their car again. Surveyed owners also commended Tesla's quick response when cars developed problems: "Almost every survey respondent made note of Tesla's rapid response and repair time, despite the lack of a traditional dealer service network."

Looks as if the teething problems of a new model are dampening the owners enthusiasm for the Tesla S.

Who cares about current owners ( all 79 of them ). When cars get a tag of being unreliable, most of the rest of the public steers clear. C'mon now.........nobody wants their vehicle spending weeks/year in the shop much less a day or two. If you are wealthy, you can afford to take the chance and drive another vehicle. 95%+ cant afford that.


Look at this list of issues..........

...........required replacement of the car's electric motors. Warping brake rotors and difficulties with the complex, electrically-operated retracting doorhandles were also mentioned by numerous owners.
Other problem areas included inoperable windshield wipers, leaking battery cooling pumps, trunklid alignment, and suspension alignment.


Laughable...........the unit is a pos.

 

[Old Rocks]

Yes, if Tesla can deliver on 500,000 pre-orders for the Model 3, it will rake in a huge amount of revenue. But in 2017, the company is on track to sell 100,000 Model S sedans and Model X SUVs, vehicles that go for around $100,000 on average, much more than the highest-priced $44,000 Model 3.

Tesla's margins on the S and X are sort of speculative because the company has lost money for pretty much its entire existence. But the profits could be as high as 25%. That's superb for the auto industry, a margin more like what Apple garners for iPhones.

To savvy observers of Tesla, this means that the company has a life raft, in the event the Model 3 causes so much trouble that it threatens the carmaker's future. As long as Tesla can maintain S and X demand at around 100,000 annually -and with global sales, that should be possible - it can count on a baseline of roughly $12 billion every year (about $3 billion per quarter).

Bad Tesla news keeps coming, but the company is doing 3 things right

100,000 luxury sedans annually. Pretty damn good sales.

Tesla’s Model S is far more popular than most other luxury vehicles

Funny thing is, if we take a look at Model S sales exclusively, a different narrative emerges. As highlighted by Zachary Shahan over at Clean Technica, Model S sales are particularly impressive when measured up against other luxury sedans.

“Another dramatic point from the table and chart above is how far ahead the Model S seems to be,” Shahan observes. “Even if you add up Audi A6, Audi A7, and Audi A8 sales, they don’t get up to the Tesla Model S sales estimate for 2017. It looks even worse for the old automakers if you add up BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class sales. Adding up Audi A6 and Mercedes-Benz S-Class sales is the only way to actually get two models to surpass Model S sales.”

 

[skookerasbil]

My table is far more illustrative of the real world in the EV market..........not necessary to elaborate............oh, and 2016 had only marginally better EV sales.( about 150,00 for the year )

[URL=http://s42.photobucket.com/user/baldaltima/media/EV%20sales%202.png.html][/URL]


C'mon now........look at the first quarter of ALL EV sales. Chevy sells more entry level Silverado trucks in 2 weeks at any time of the year than all EV sales combined in one quarter.

I'll leave it to SSDD, Billy, Frank or another of my skeptic pals to come up with an entertaining and apropos analogy

 

[skookerasbil]

Oh.....and some fakery to always keep an eye out for when the Tesla S comes up as a topic......

Its NOT a large luxury sedan........the Tesla S is a mid-size sedan. So the comparisons to large luxury market are bogus ( kinda clever trickery though heh? )........... https://www.autotrader.com/car-news/the-tesla-model-s-is-absolutely-not-the-best-selling-luxury-sedan-in-america-258097

 

[skookerasbil]

Billy........time to put up the ENVIRONMENT FORUM scoreboard???

 

[skookerasbil]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2017/11/12/controversial-840-horsepower-dodge-demon-heads-dealers/856103001/

A real mans fast car hits dealerships this weekend..............

 

[Manonthestreet]

Which Co has more experience delivering on its promisies.....Tesla better get straightened out as far as production or they are in deep ....

Mercedes is quietly becoming Tesla’s biggest rival
The Germany automaker announced in September that it would invest $1 billion in its Alabama plant to build an electric SUV, which is slated to hit the market in 2020.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

Is there any doubt that more EVs on the road would be good for the economy, the consumer, and the environment?

I get why the car dealers are pissed. Tesla doesn't do dealerships. But jeez, this kind of hostility towards new technology is insane.

And spare me the "Let the market decide". That works great if you are already in the market. Tesla has started from scratch and in less than 10 years has become a well known commodity. The technology is cutting edge. The cars are safer than almost any car on the road. The fuel is produced right here in the USA.

Hostile to welfare for the rich

You mean like bailing out GM?

And it is only welfare if you get money from taxes paid by someone else. This is letting someone keep $7,500 of the money they earned. And for buying a car that is good for the future, good for the environment, and good for reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

Since we are using coal to make the electricity for many of these vehicles, how does that make it good for the environment?

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

One thing I cannot understand is why the hatred for Tesla? All the people calling it "ghey" or whatever.

If you don't like the car, don't buy one. If it is the money, look at where the gov't really wastes it. This is pocket change by comparison.

It seems like ignorance to me. And Teslas are all over Atlanta.

Killing the tax break is a mistake. But if anyone thinks taking away a $7,500 tax break will make people not buy a $100k to $160k car, they have lost their mind.

Why? The rich are getting a subsidy from the poor people who can't afford a Tesla in their wildest dreams. EVERYONE pays extra so that those who buy a Tesla can get a rebate. That's bullshit. If the vehicle is so good let the rich people who buy them, PAY FOR THEM!

Bcause being dependent on foriegn oil is bad for everyone. Why do you think Saudi Arabia gets such special treatment when they have financed terrorism and their people participate in it globally.

All new technology is expensive. My brother was given a VCR by his father-in-law when it was still new tech. It cost over $5k.


And it is not just the removal of the rebates. How many states will not allow Tesla to sell cars there because they do not use dealerships?

We are no longer dependent on foreign oil. Why doesn't he sell these cars in Japan where they need them because they have no oil?

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

Interesting the 'Conservatives' hatred for an all American product that is at the cutting edge of technology. And their objections to the cost of the Tesla S are humorous, since they don't seem to object to the high cost of of the luxury cars that compete head on with the Tesla. But the price of the S, and other models, will be coming down shortly as the solid state batteries, sodium and lithium, come on market.

Toyota’s new solid-state battery could make its way to cars by 2020

Toyota is touting its progress on a new kind of battery technology, which uses a solid electrolyte instead of the conventional semi-liquid version used in today’s lithium-ion batteries. The car maker said that it’s near a breakthrough in production engineering that could help it put the new tech in production electric vehicles as early as 2020, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The improved battery technology would make it possible to create smaller, more lightweight lithium-ion batteries for use in EVs, that could also potentially boost the total charge capacity and result in longer-range vehicles.

Another improvement for this type of battery would be longer overall usable life, which would make it possible to both use the vehicles they’re installed in for longer, and add potential for product recycling and alternative post-vehicle life (some companies are already looking into putting EV batteries into use in home and commercial energy storage, for example).


Batteries remain a key limiting factor for electric vehicle design, because of how far tech companies focused on the problem have pushed existing science. The move to solid state would help make room for more gains in terms of charge capacity achieved in the footprint available in consumer vehicles, while helping to push further existing efficiencies achieved through things like the use of ultra-light materials in car frames and interiors.

Toyota isn’t saying yet where its batteries will end up, but any edge here is bound to be a big boon for automakers looking at a future that increasingly seems like it’ll be dominated by EVs.

Not hated......its just people don't want these cars because they are overpriced and a pita to maintain. Most people don't want the hassle of having to get home from work and charge the damn thing and pay waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more for doing it. Not to mention the worry of the charge.....one can post up a billion links about how easy it is but most people like routine and reliability. There is just no getting around it and again, especially when weighed against price.

Again and as Ive said in here many times..........to progressives, costs in life are no concern.......$ costs and time costs. But in the life of real Americans, costs do matter.

Last year, about 150,000 EV's were sold in America. C'mon now.........that's nothing short of laughable. Ford sold more F150 trucks in the first 2 months of last year.. Its like comparing the Houston Astros to some single A farm team!

One of the biggest complaints about EVs was the limited range. The LEAF and the Volt would go about 40 miles on a single charge. But Tesla solved that with a 250 to 300 mile range on a single charge. Most people don't drive 200 miles a day. So there is no hassle of getting home from work to charge it.

I am guessing your comment of "...and a pita to maintain" should have been that it is a pain to maintain? That is incorrect. The Tesla has little or no maintenance costs for tens of thousands of miles (if not hundreds of thousands). Tires and wiper blades are the most common.

YOu say people like routine and reliability? What is more routine than plugging in your car at night? And reliability? Where I live electricity is as reliable as the sunrise (with rare exceptions for major storms). Plus, the price of electricity is far more stable than the price of gasoline. And cheaper.

Yes, comparing Tesla to Ford is like comparing the Houston Astros to a farm team. But Ford has been building their infrastructure for a century, and Tesla has only existed for 9 years. The fact that they produced what they did is impressive in that light.

How long will it take me to drive 1000 miles to visit my daughter if I drive a Tesla? That 3-4 charges. It's 2 1/2 tanks of gasoline and I don't have to stop every 3 hours to charge my car! I can drive it in my gasoline-powered car in about 16-17 hours.

What's Tesla got?