Quote:
Originally Posted by chris719
The Model S came out SO long ago. Why would you think it's easier to figure out a completely new powertrain technology and vehicle layout than how to get rid of panel gaps? The Model S came out April 2009, which is a little over 11 years ago, and it will still run circles around any BMW EV coming soon. Tesla quality is probably "good enough" anyway for the most part since owners continue to be overwhelmingly positive in surveys about their experiences.
Tesla is a software company and the automotive experience is defined by software now. BMW is still 10 years behind in this regard as well. Porsche has matched their drivetrain, but will their software stack age well? Will they update it and add features OTA? There's also no good charging network. At least give them credit for seeing that the way to compete is to create an EV on a dedicated platform.
I am still an M car customer, but when it comes to the regular BMWs, I fail to see how BMW is going to fend Tesla off with this half-hearted strategy.
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I didn't mean Model S literally. The point I was trying to make was eventually, the market is going to be flooded with EV's where it's going to be the norm and we're going to get back to where it is today - brand power. Tesla deserves a lot of respect for what they're doing in the space, but they're playing by themselves. If they really wanted to dominate the entire automotive industry, they would have fixed their QC a long time ago but for whatever reason, they haven't.
I could be wrong/right, who knows, but your skepticism in Germany's automotive brain trust on figuring out a competitive EV is the same skepticism I have of Tesla fixing their QC issues and providing a final product as refined as the Germans. Just enough doesn't cut it - ask Cadillac.
Yes the future is EV. Tesla is the now because they're the only player, but once EVs are common and the market is flooded with them, will they have the brand power the German's have built for decades? So back to my original question, once everyone has an EV, is Tesla the easy choice or will people go back to the badge?
I have many friends and co-workers who are in Tesla's and like them for what it is - but if any of the Germans came out with something on par, they would leave Tesla in a heartbeat. Whether or not others share the same feelings who knows, like everything else, you can remain top dog for so long before everyone catches up.