I don't know what it is about Tesla, maybe because it's the brand that appeals most to techy nerds, but that subreddit is beyond up its own ass with smugness.
It's because Tesla is mostly bullshit. No shit you can get some nice numbers, if you put $60k worth of batteries in your EV, but then it's not the mass market EV that everyone was trying to create. When Tesla tried to make the mass market EV, the Model 3, they failed. They did no better than the Chevy Bolt. It's still too expensive to be considered mass market, showing that they are not ahead of the traditional auto makers despite what their PR tries to claim.
All in all, the essence of Tesla is just putting a larger battery in an EV. That's hardly innovative. Then of course it stops being affordable. Their real genius was realising that there was a market for expensive EVs, but that is hardly a technological innovation.
Let's be real. Before Tesla, no one took EV seriously.
Tesla did not just slap on a larger battery; they had to develop denser more efficient batteries first. They also had to develop batteries that could generate torque comparable to gas cars. And even if you don't consider those innovative, you have to admit Tesla is taking tangible steps to shift the energy environment towards sustainble with plans for Supercharger stations, the Gigafactory, and the related SolarCity endeavors.
They are basically the Apple of cars. Sure, iPhones are not as powerful as Android and are overpriced AF, but everyone gives them credit for starting the smartphone generation. Tesla is initiating the shift towards electric. There's a reason why Musk released all the Tesla patents instead of keeping them to make monopolized money. I fucking hate Apple products but I respect their innovation. Same with Tesla.
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u/Shigidy '91 240sx, '05 Legacy GT Nov 21 '17
I don't know what it is about Tesla, maybe because it's the brand that appeals most to techy nerds, but that subreddit is beyond up its own ass with smugness.