I just feel bad for people who went in during Elon's "good" years (heavy quotations). He's nothing but a glorified car salesman and a verified idiot now, but for a while there, some people just wanted a more sustainable car.

[–] socsa@lemmy.ml 44 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah it was legitimately the only viable EV when I got one. I still love the car but am absolutely embarrassed by it because of that asshole.

[–] armrods@lemmy.world -4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's like saying you are embarrassed by an Android phone

[–] Staccato@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Android was never the only player in the cell phone OS market. Tesla was the only player in the EV market until last year more or less

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Android is still the only player in the cellphone market if you don't want to be treated like a brain damaged gerbil who can't be trusted with accessing a file system.

[–] johnrobbespiere@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I think your perception of last year like mine toes back several by covid effect. Other brands have had comparable electric vehicles for years now, and even then Tesla was never alone in the EV market.

[–] Staccato@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Comparable? Not really. The i3, Leaf, and Bolt didn't have the same fast charging capability or range as the Model 3, and luxury brands are out of reach for the average consumer.

The vehicles that are actually putting out comparable specs had their first model years in 2021 (Ford, VW) or 2022 (Hyundai and Kia).

[–] Paralda@programming.dev 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not comparable stock. Even in Q1 2022, 75% of all EV sales in the US were Teslas.

When I bought mine, I legitimately tried to get a Ford or a Volvo, but the dealerships had no stock and kept adding insane dealer fees and markups. With my used Tesla I just had to wait a week for delivery. Musk hadn't gone fully off the deepend either yet.

[–] cogman@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Yup, got mine in 2018. He'd done shitty things by that time but wasn't full mask off. At the time the only 2 real alternatives were the bolt and leaf. Neither had enough range for me.

But now? My next EV will not be a Tesla. I'm driving this one till the wheels fall off, but already there are better alternatives on the market. With everyone adopting NACS there's pretty much no downside.

[–] max@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

Last year? Dude there have been viable alternatives for years now.

[–] BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes I agree. It's unfortunate he decided to become the face and wallet of the right.