This and other similar videos has been going viral over the last week or two. And one thing I have noticed about the majority of comments that follow them, is that no one really cares. Anyone who has seen a Tesla in person will know the build quality is crap. But their cars cost as much as high end European cars, which are built to standards leagues ahead of Tesla. Yes their performance is impressive, no one is doubting that, but this is only really relevant to people who don’t care about cars. No one who can afford a Ferrari will sell it to get themselves a Tesla, for many reasons. The first and most obvious is that the current Tesla cars are hideous. It’s like they have taken a little bit of everything from every other manufacturer and slapped it together, and not in a good way. The second, or to some of us, equal in importance to the first is sound. They don’t sound like a real car, and never will. The majority of people that will rave about these cars are people who just can’t or won’t buy a car that is developed for the driving experience and not just to launch off the line. And this does not just include cars like Ferrari. There are many affordable cars that will give you a much better driving experience. I don’t want to hate on these cars either, as this sort of advancement is good for the industry. However I do hate seeing how they are being portrayed. There are plenty of cars that can be made to go faster than a supercar, but that doesn’t make them good cars. At the end of the day, if you didn’t have to consider the cost, and the car was bought and paid for in full, with life long running cost covered too. Which car would you pick, a Tesla or a Ferrari? You would soon find, no-one else cares about how fast the Teslas are either.
Wow, poorly written hatred of an amazing car. “Build quality is crap” yet it was voted the safest car in production. An electric motor will never sound the same as an ICE. Get over it. Petrol won’t be around much longer, so why fight change? And instead of just bad-mouthing it, suggest ways it could be better. For someone who says they don’t care about the car, you took the time to write this article, so obvious you do.
I’ve never once referred to the safety of a car as “build quality”. I have however referred to a shitty interior or exterior as poor “build quality”.
How about Ferrari’s “rebuild” quality at every scheduled tune-up?
Oh thank god. I thought I was the only one who thought this too. I can’t see the appeal in them, a Fisker with its range extender seems like a better EV solution and is a lot prettier. Or even hydrogen fuel cells. BMW’s i cars look more futuristic, therefore better. The thing with Tesla is somehow people have been convinced they’re the Messiah of the auto industry and Elon Musk is some sort of Jesus crossed with Tony Stark. At the end of the day as long as V8s and V12s powered by fossil fuels are still around, true petrol heads will still pick these over cars that are powered by the same thing as a dishwasher. That said it would be unwise to dismiss the enviable future of cars but until then let’s celebrate the internal combustion engine while we still have it.
It makes me wonder how some motoring journalists got their job, let alone keep it.
“build quality is crap” – Obviously never been in a Model S or know of it’s NCAP rating.
“their cars cost as much as high end European cars” – New Tesla NZ$105K – NZ$184K. Similar car like a new Jaguar XJ sedan NZ$155K – $NZ220K. New BMW M5 sedan >NZ$220K.
“No one who can afford a Ferrari will sell it to get themselves a Tesla” – Well that’s exactly what New Zealander Steve West did.
Poor driving experience – Having driven countless cars, including the Model S, I’d have to say the article is a giant crock of shit. Ok, they don’t handle as well as my Ariel Atom (what does?) but they don’t drive like a bus either.
I’ve not really seen a different supercar result with 4WD vs 2WD
Everyone I know who has looked at one has said for the cost the interior is not up to Audi or BMW standards.
And they may be technologically brilliant but I can’t imagine they have the same “soul” as a combustion engined car. That said I haven’t driven one.