Why doesn't Tesla Build a Normal Car?

[MachinistRandy]

Don't get me wrong...Tesla's are fun cars to drive and I actually seriously considered buying a Model 3 before my Maverick was finally delivered. I am an Engineer by trade and I appreciate a lot of what they are doing to reduce costs. Some of these end up costing the consumer HUGE down the road....Some are just strange to me.

• Glass Roof....Why? The "ultimate sunroof" looks cool but has a huge replacement cost if a rock gets airborne and breaks it. Replacing a $2k roof panel because of rock chips raises insurance costs.
• Gigacasting.....Yes, manufacturing efficiency is greatly increased by turning a bunch of small parts that are welded together into one giant Hotwheels casting. The biggest downside is a relatively minor accident will not be easily repairable and the car will be totaled. This also results in higher insurance costs.
• Electric "presenting" door handles.....is the miniscule amount of drag reduction worth all the added complexity and issues? ie: Icing up in the winter and safety issues in the event of an accident.
• Doors with frameless windows. I'm sure this was another way for Tesla to reduce manufacturing costs, by utilizing smaller stamping dies, or just simply using less material. I believe that most car manufacturers have gone away from this because it is hard to engineer a gasket to seal the window properly. I rented a brand new Tesla and the seals were already coming apart.
• Eliminating the speedometer above the steering wheel. Potentially less safe having to look to the side to see your speed. This was obviously a way to reduce manufacturing costs and increase profits at a cost of driver safety.
• Eliminating the gear selector and turn signal stalks. The new Model 3 has barely any physical controls outside of the touchscreen. I personally don't care for this. I feel it is less safe to have to swipe through touchscreen menus than to click a traditional tactile button. Another cost reduction win for Tesla.

With all this being said....I like that they are leading innovation and really questioning every single nut bolt and washer on the vehicle. I just wish that they would make a normal freaking vehicle at a reasonable price. Not everyone needs or wants 8 cameras and a 20 inch touchscreen.

Rant over.

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[RedRider]

Buy an oldskool Maverick instead, and your problems are solved. Its has real buttons, actual door handles, a much smaller sunroof if you get one at all, real window frames, the speedo is in the correct place, it has a turn signal stalk and a gear selector (albeit not a traditional one). Best of all, its 1/3 of the price and actually hauls real stuff.

 

[MachinistRandy]

Buy an oldskool Maverick instead, and your problems are solved. Its has real buttons, actual door handles, a much smaller sunroof if you get one at all, real window frames, the speedo is in the correct place, it has a turn signal stalk and a gear selector (albeit not a traditional one). Best of all, its 1/3 of the price and actually hauls real stuff.

I did! I have about 1300 miles on it and its been great so far.

 

[Clarkdonbran]

Greed

 

[Barracuda340]

Teslas and other electric cars are high priced disposable junk. The only reason the prices to buy are not higher is the federal subsidies to try to make them more affordable. The trade in value on any of these EVs is terrible.

1. Range anxiety is real
2. Random battery fires are real
3. Totals from minor accidents are real
4. Climbing insurance rates are real
5. Trade in values in the toilet are real
6. EV towing range sucks is real
7. Wintertime causing up to a 30% loss off battery charge is real


Oh I'm sure there is a lot more with these high priced science experiments. You couldent give me one.

 

[JASmith]

Short answer: Tesla is the only manufacturer in the world that is able to sell electric vehicles at a profit (Chinese don't count since they get billions pumped into them from the CCP). The better question is why aren't Tesla's designs the norm, with everyone copying what they are doing the way the rest of the world copied Henry Ford when he found a better way to manufacture cars?

Glass Roof....Why? The "ultimate sunroof" looks cool but has a huge replacement cost if a rock gets airborne and breaks it. Replacing a $2k roof panel because of rock chips raises insurance costs.

IIRC they setup machinery that allows everything to be dropped in from the top during assembly. Consumers are willing to pay $1000 to $1500 for a panoramic moonroof, and making it standard like this reduces costs while improving consumer satisfaction.

Electric "presenting" door handles.....is the miniscule amount of drag reduction worth all the added complexity and issues? ie: Icing up in the winter and safety issues in the event of an accident.

Lever handles are the worst, but the old pull and lift are quite aerodynamic, but just as Mini as a brand gains value from quirks like round displays, Tesla gains value in making EVs seem sporty and aerodynamic looking rather than the golf cart image that was around for EVs prior to Tesla changing the market. Its become a signature now, and generally speaking if you're in conditions where a very thick solid sheet of ice has covered the door, its probably unsafe to drive anyway and better to call in to the boss and tell them you are working from home.

Doors with frameless windows.

Not that new, my 1997 designed Corvette has that. Partially its aesthetic, partially its performance because it allows you to have beefier pillars improving structural integrity.

Eliminating the speedometer above the steering wheel. Potentially less safe having to look to the side to see your speed. This was obviously a way to reduce manufacturing costs and increase profits at a cost of driver safety. Eliminating the gear selector and turn signal stalks. The new Model 3 has barely any physical controls outside of the touchscreen. I personally don't care for this. I feel it is less safe to have to swipe through touchscreen menus than to click a traditional tactile button. Another cost reduction win for Tesla.

Might be costs but also probably aesthetics, Apple has made an absolute fortune reducing inputs and buttons and the like on their products.

With all this being said....I like that they are leading innovation and really questioning every single nut bolt and washer on the vehicle. I just wish that they would make a normal freaking vehicle at a reasonable price.

Model 3 got a pretty big price drop, but Tesla is the Apple of the car market, I think they don't want to be perceived as offering super budget appliances. Nissan and I'm sure soon the Chinese will cover that niche.

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