Thinking about an EV? I would strong suggest avoiding a Tesla and picking another brand.
CEO of Tesla and acting President-elect Musk is going on a neo-Nazi binge endorsing far right candidates instead of properly running the companies he's involved in such as Tesla.
Now that more competent and establish brands are making EVs there's no reason to buy a Tesla if you want an EV. I'm not here to recommend another brand, I'm just here to tell you that your next EV should be anything other than a Tesla.
I'm very happy with mine but to each their own. Musk is definitely a complete asshole to put it mildly and imo the worst part of having a Tesla is the association with him. It's certainly a valid reason to not want one.
I'd love an EV once I have the means. I plan on starting the conversation at the dealership with something akin to "what do you have that isn't a Tesla?"
Even if I was gifted a Tesla, I'd sell it ASAP. Fuck everything to do with Musk, to include his shitty cars.
I'm eyeing Lucid right now, but hoping for even more competition over the next couple few years.
I hate Elon. I want him to get Luigi'd, but my Tesla is paid off and costs me basically nothing now except shame. So I think it'd be wiser to drive it until it dies or something happens and it gets totaled out.
I agree though, don't buy a Tesla. I've told all my friends and family not to get one. Anyone who asks me how I like it I just say it sucks and to look at other brands.
For recommendations, in the States, Porsche and Lucid are the best you can get. You have a lot more options for electric vehicles outside of the US, in say, Australia or the UK, because of Chinese brands.
Fatal accident rate: This comment explains why: "As for fatalities, neither the article nor the comments I've seen so far have raised the obvious points of mis-use or over-reliance on automated driving systems or the shock (as in a famous case in Texas a couple of years ago) of an inexperienced driver given access to, let's say a Model S Plaid, stepping on the accelerator and being thrown back against the seat and into a state of shock such that the foot remains pressed on the accelerator while the car runs off the road."
Are you actually asking for honest feedback or just upvotes?
If so, buying any used car is better. If you can get by with a 2008 accord, buy that. Better for the environment than any new electric. If you don't care about the environment and just want an electric for funsies, buy a used (whatever is well rated).
So which manufacturers should we look at? I'm in the market for a second EV right now. And this is my chain of thought.
My considerations are:
Used cars only, I'm not paying 25% for the privilege of driving the car over the curb for the first time.
No Chinese cars. They may be a good deal right now, but China is about to go do something stupid, like fight for the South China Sea or un-secede Taiwan. And then who knows what's going to happen with parts or if your car suddenly won't drive because it's a strategic advantage for China to kill as much infrastructure as possible. Besides some of the military installations (especially airbases) I visit already have areas, where Chinese cars aren't allowed in, if that becomes the entire installations I will have to walk around.
No Teslas. I don't trust Musk to not revoke licenses or brick the car, and the QC is nonexistent. Besides I'd have to get one of those "I bought my Tesla before we knew he was an asshat" stickers.
No Fords, that's just a rule of thumb for me.
Range, I've had it with those stupid <50kWh battery packs. I'm not asking for much, just being able to go 300km at highway speeds. Going 90km/h and still have to charge every 150km sucks.
Charging system must be CCS2 capable of 3 phases. Fuck Nissan and their stupid single phase type1/chademo solutions , there's no chademo chargers anywhere. And charging single phase at 3.3kW, when you're not at home, gets old fast.
I was looking at Renault Zoe, but after speaking with my local Renault dealer, who has a warranty order in for a simple spare reverse camera, and Renault for 6 months straight now, can't even tell when they'll be able to ship it. So Renault is out of the running.
So what else is there? Must be <5 years old, <20k€, and if it could have some warranty left it would be great. Hyundai Kona is starting to look pretty good right now.
People will always blast me for this, but German cars have better ride quality, interiors and overall engineering. Durability too. What they're worse at is total cost of ownership, because of the occasional problem with absurdly expensive systems. But there's a reason people buy them even at the ridiculous prices they cost.
I'm not not an asshole to them given the (safe) opportunity. I'm picky based on license plate number ("you knew enough when they began starting with 9s"). I'm also racist though. Live in predominantly Asian neighborhood where Teslas are like the E Class for boomer Chinese grandpas and some millennial families. After election/political conversations with several Chinese friends, I understand "that's white people bullshit" and they don't care about Elon or even think about him. Cool car. Save money. Status. No more, no less. Similar conversations about US/China relations and why many at least considered voting red.