Tesla owners are overwhelmingly men, and the most common occupations are engineer, software engineer, and manager of operations, one study found.
This makes a lot of sense. Tesla is a slightly higher-end car, and it’s not surprising that it attracts people from the engineering fields.
People who work in engineering/tech would be slightly more inclined to buy cutting-edge products.
The funny thing is that it’s objectively not a higher end car. It’s just a cheap Corolla with a big computer in it. Tesla’s build quality is also complete shit, as easily seen in the panel fitment (or anything fitment).
“ The funny thing is that it’s objectively not a higher end car. It’s just a cheap Corolla”
I don’t know if I can agree with that, lol. Teslas are incredibly fun to drive, are the safest cars ever made, drive themselves on the freeway (how well is a debate, but still), cost very little to fuel etc etc.
Very different than a Corolla, and I love me a Corolla!
Depends on how you define “high end.” Most people consider the build quality as a major factor in what makes a car “high end.” Tesla’s are notorious for some of the worst, if not THE worst build quality in the industry. The materials are cheap in quality and QA is seemingly non-existent, with cars frequently being shipped that are duds or begin to literally fall apart (like steering wheels coming off mid drive) extremely quickly.
Tesla has innovated the industry but other manufacturers have caught up and are putting out cars with the same features that have higher build quality and are less expensive.
Comma.ai will let you add driver assistance to most cars almost as good as Tesla and with OTA updates. Under $2k too so cheaper than FSD.
They are behind in their tech. They almost certainly can’t overcome this without changing everything. And the tech is what makes everyone desire a Tesla. There are actually higher end cars with the same or better tech now.
They have some of the worst build quality in the industry. Shit, even musk agrees they have shit build quality.
While they may rate high in safety ratings, I personally don’t like my car spontaneously combusting and/or locking me inside because some dipshit defaulted it to locked when the battery dies. Who the fuck decided on that!?!?!?
If you strip away the big screen and the (now) inferiors gadgets, you’re left with a Corolla with really bad fit and finish.
I’ve been in my mate’s model S*, and lemme tell ya, 0-60 in three seconds is hilariously NOT “objectively not a high end car” lawl
Find me a Corolla that can do that
Edit: I was wrong, it’s the standard model, not the S! I forgot the midrange one, but it’s below an S. It still has two motors and launch… go fast, though!
As I said to someone else, speed doesn’t equal high end. Nor does a price tag. Fit and finish, and build quality and reliability do. Look at a real high end car and then look at a Tesla and tell me they are even in the same league.
I don’t think you know what “objective” means. At least define your criteria more broadly to make a hyperbolic claim like this.
The interior is not on the level of Mercedes but the whole package counting performance, drive and features is luxury.
People fall over themselves to talk down Tesla since Elon is a prick but let’s please try to stay rational here vs knee jerk reddit like reactions.
I’m in the market to replace my current EV, having looked at the M3 and Y, locally here in New Zealand the panel gaps look perfect although these might be the Chinese made models?
The same demographic as MAGA supporters.
This is totally anecdotal, but of the two tesla owners i know, both are left leaning and software devs (not white though). I have also have few maga relatves that shit on electric anything, like they gave me crap for having an electric mower.
Engineering, software engineering and management generally require intelligence and critical thinking.
MAGA entirely lack that
I know software engineers who are Republicans, and even some who voted for Trump.
I know Trump isn’t popular, but there’s no need to be so condescending.
Calling your political opponents so unintelligent that they can’t even hold certain occupations is incredibly snobby and rude. It makes you look very immature.
My crazy theory is that Musk’s sudden political shift is because the above demographic was getting saturated with Teslas, and he needed to broaden his market. He learned from the blind loyalty Trump gets from his cult of personality, and is looking to duplicate that success.
I have the same theory, but man as much as I love my car, I do hate how every time I tell someone I drive a Tesla I get an eyebrow raise like they’re waiting for me to say something racist or transphobic. I just really like the car and despite test driving every other EV under 60K couldn’t find another one that I liked :(
Probably, but probably not always. The Biden/Trump voting ratio according to 2020 CNN exit polls for people making over $100k is 42%/54%. Interestingly, when you go above $200k income it’s an even 44%/44% split. So definitely not a given. Assuming most Tesla owners are college educated (which I’m sure has its exceptions) then it’s worth mentioning that white men that graduated from college voted 48%/51% (Biden/Trump). Lastly the most confounding factor for me is that people buying Teslas are likelier to care about climate change. That’s a voting gap of 69%/29%. So I really don’t know. If I had to guess the split of Tesla owners is closer to 50/50 on political stance. I think there’s just as much a fair argument to be made that it skews left given that the left cares more about climate change and Tesla grew out of Silicon Valley elites. That is, I believe that to be true before Musk bought Twitter. Now that there’s more awareness around his shitty politics, I think the upcoming years will see Tesla ownership move further towards right wingers.
Agree with everything you are saying. I think another big factor you are missing is the urban/suburban/rural split. I would wager there are significantly more Teslas per capita in and around cities, which tend to skew more left than their surroundings in both blue and red states.
Can we avoid turning Lemmy.world into a political car fight and stick to the particulars of the issues instead of name calling. Whether right or wrong saying “that’s the same demographic as trump supporters” doesn’t add to the conversation, it’s just inflammatory
This is true for me, I have an S.
I’ll also never buy another tesla again but I’ll drive this until the wheels fall off. It’s 5 years old now.
How is the battery holding up? All Tesla owners I know sold theirs before the 2 year mark worrying that they might need to replace the battery for the price of a new car, always sounded like a misconception to me.
Even for all that is correct to criticize about Tesla’s build quality, the batteries do hold up a while;
Even Tesla’s warranty cites 70% capacity after 8 years / 120k miles, which roughly tracks with real world results.
Although I’d never buy one, the battery seems to be one of the least issue prone areas; usually people cite interior/exterior build quality, a total lack of serviceability and software issues as the main things when it comes to Teslas.
I’ve even had fewer software issues once I got into the FSD beta, at least as far as interior stuff and general driving. The FSD itself is much better, too, but it’s still in beta so it kicks up the odd issue here and there, but as long as you’re paying attention to the road like you’re supposed to be it’s absolutely fine.
We used to receive the US-built Tesla’s, and now we receive a mix from the Chinese and US factories. The Chinese ones are way better built. Even the options from MG and BYD are impressive. But it’s not all great though, GWM Ora that many journalists are going on about is… Less than acceptable when it comes to quality.
The thing gets me about the “$XX,000” battery replacement figure is that people are talking about the dealer quote for a battery replacement. If your vehicle is in warranty (and Tesla has an 8 year battery warranty), then the dealer replaces the battery for free. If it’s not under warranty anymore, there’s no reason to get your battery replaced at the dealer. Third party shops will do it for a fraction of the cost.
I’ve heard the tires are what really cost money because the car is so heavy it wears them out really fast.
It’s really not too bad compared to any other new car these days. I’m at 20K miles on mine and I’ve still got enough tread left to pass state inspection. As for weight it’s definitely not a light car, but my model 3 long range is supposedly 4250lbs, where a BMW M3 is around 3900 lbs, so not a massive difference (but a difference nonetheless).
What really gets you is how you drive it. Electric cars (and especially teslas) have a TON of torque, so if you’re constantly flooring it, that’ll wear out the tires super fast. But I bought mine mostly for safety and tech, so I keep it in chill acceleration mode and drive like a granny to keep my family safe
Always refreshing to see somebody who owns one of these cars and hasn’t immediately forgotten all expectations of build quality from an automotive manufacturer. I’ve seen intelligent and analytical people just turn their brains off at the suggestion that these cars aren’t perfect, when the procedure for getting one repaired reads like it’s from Apple.
Sounds about right
This is why BEVs are fundamentally just a fad. It is a toy for rich white men and little else. It is fundamentally too expensive for normal people. There not even the most important car in the household, and is usually just the second car.
In the 90’s you could’ve written an equally true headline replacing “Tesla owners” with “PC owners”. It’s not an indication that BEV’s are a fad, it’s an indication that wealth inequality and sexism continues to this day.
There is no Moore’s law of batteries. BEVs are always going to be fairly expensive compared to other types of cars. They will not magically improve like PCs have.
Not to mention BEVs are old technology. They literally pre-date internal combustion cars.
@Hypx There’s no Moore’s Law for batteries because they’re a different technology. Transistors today are still fundamentally the same as the first transistor, made in 1947. Batteries, on the other hand, are constantly evolving. The first LiPo battery wasn’t invented until 1997, and there are multiple new battery technologies currently being studied, like solid state batteries.
There’s plenty of BEVs that are competitively priced to any other new car: https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g32463239/new-ev-models-us/
They might not be the car you choose to take on a road trip, but most days, I only need to drive less than 20 miles anyway.
You’re joking? The first one on that list is literally the Hummer EV. Completely unaffordable for most people. This is just more evidence that BEVs are a fad, not the other way around.
And there are 5 other cars below $40k. Just because 1 car is expensive doesn’t mean others are.
