As someone who lives in Bay Area, I’ve lost count of how many friends have Teslas. Its not about luxury. Weird thing is that they don’t cross-shop cars. Its like, oh I want an electric appliance to take me from A to B, Tesla it is. None of my friends who own X test-drove an Audi or BMW etc. It was simply the car they wanted or needed (I can’t make the distinction anymore). I have 2 friends who traded in their Camrys/Accords for model3. Again same story. Wanted to “upgrade”, Tesla it was. Never test drove anything else.
These people aren’t luxury buyers. They are “trendy buyers”. The big screens in the middle are unique (not saying good or bad, just different).
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Agreed. A lot of them are not into cars but somehow are willing to upgrade from a Camry to a model Y. Chalk it up to Tesla being able to market to these people.
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Perfect timely example
Tesla bros on Twitter are laying down their life that Tesla did this first. A writer from Mac World who lives in the Bay Area insists every one else must be pulling the GPS data.
BMW added it to the 7 series in 2008. My Volvo doesn’t have their GPS but does this. I’ve lost count of how many non-lux rental cars I’ve driven that do this.
Why did it take so long indeed, Tesla? 
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What a surprise, another Tesla bashing thread on LH. Yawn.
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It’s less bashing, and more constructive criticism. We bash all brands, Nissan, Honda’s misgivings and redemptions, etc.
You have to admit, my family was shopping a M3, and decided against that purchase, Tesla has issues.
Tesla has many pitfalls and many upsides, safety, Autopilot, range, speed, and acceleration. Pitfalls being post sale support, body shop support, salvage car support, and a suppression of right to repair.
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people like teslas for the same reason people like iphones: because they’re trendy.
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I remember 10 years ago, BlackBerry and Motorola phone owners view the iPhone in the same way, as a trendy gadget. Time will tell.
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iphones are inferior to android and are getting by due to being trendy. tesla is the same thing. they make an inferior product, but have enough novelty value and brand cache that it sells.
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I’m not bashing Tesla at all . I’m only asking why is it being compared to luxury cars when there is absolutely nothing luxury about it .
Tesla has revolutionized the auto industry . It’s just not a luxury brand.
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Charging network and innovation sold the car(s) for me.
Perhaps people are over it on the coasts but in flyover country Tesla are definitely still a “fancy city slicker” type of car (yes, even the model 3) and are held to be on par with established luxury brands as far as perception.
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Price??
I test drove a model 3, and that wind noise in the cabin, nowhere close to luxury specs.
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To your point, in Q1 2020, Model 3 was the best-selling car in California, outselling Civic, Camry, Corolla, F-150…
Especially impressive/crazy when you consider that the federal EV tax credit has been phased out for Tesla, and lease penetration rate is very low for Model 3.
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This cannot be ignored (and I say this as someone who isn’t at all a fan of Teslas). We can call them poorly constructed, etc., but they SELL. Now that the Model Y is out, I expect sales will only increase.
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They don’t call it the California Camry for no reason!
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BTW, who’s comparing it to luxury brands? I think Tesla buyers don’t WANT a traditional luxury car; that’s part of the appeal. The demographic that buys Teslas (well, Models S and X) can afford any car that they want, and they’re completely bored w/ conventional luxury cars. They want “tech,” not “luxury.” That’s my take.
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We see it everyday with Audi
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Potential buyers asking why Audis aren’t more like Teslas?
You can’t get a Tesla for under $300/mo, you can get a 
and a 
(and 22000mi/yr…hehe!)(and the has adaptive cruise and can haul all your needless home depot crap)
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Anecdotally, the most common cars I see in Seattle are:
- Toyota Prius,
- Model 3
Tesla is the only option that a large portion of buyers in the area will consider.
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Maybe Audi should do something innovative to differentiate themselves from Tesla like offering a manual transmission.
Ohh, wait a second…
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