Beyond the finances, Tesla says they’re still on target for 6000 Model 3’s a week by the end of the month. Throw in the other Models and Tesla will be shipping 300,000-400,000 electric cars a year. That’s quite an accomplishment.
I wish other car companies would create more compelling and somewhat affordable electric cars. At least in the US, the only two cars I can think of (besides the Model 3, which is hard to come by) that move the needle at all are the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Bolt, both of which look... not great. Why don't any other car companies offer a 'standard' mid size or compact sedan that's fully electric? Just take an existing dec…
In Europe with tighter roads and enough charging stations springing up the new Leaf is looking more desirable than the Model 3. The range has increased on the Leaf for 2018 and with the growing infrastructure in charging I am not sure everyone needs the increased range of the 3.
Nissan have earned their spurs in EV, as have Tesla obviously. I would be happy buying from them due to their innovation and design effort. I would not buy an electric VW Golf or even an electric Smart Car as that ground up engineering hasn't been done, it is a mere retro-fit of an existing fossil-burner.
I think the fossil-burner marques that thought they could just put some batteries in the back seat and rip out the ICE did so for regulatory lip-service reasons, a bit like how Aston Martin came out with a re-badged Toyota iQ so that the average fuel consumption figures across their fleet could be lowered. Clearly it is not in the Aston Martin DNA to make a car that is vaguely safe outside school gates. Neither has it been in the DNA of the Big Three or the German auto companies to want to do electric power properly.
I don't know what the Chevy Bolt is there for, however I think the Nissan Leaf has grown into something that suits the European market really well. Teslas are a bit too land-yacht sized for Europe plus European buyers have different standards when it comes to panel fit. Even the 'autopilot' is ridiculous in European markets where there are 'roads and motorways' not 'highways, surface roads and the interstate'. The ludicrous mode is nice to have but the novelty has worn off. The Leaf is quicker on the 0-60 times than the Nissan Qashqai and able to compete at the lights with pimped fossil burners, that is enough, there is no need for it to trounce passing Ferraris.
The BMW i3 fits a niche in London as it is compact enough to actually park. People can sneak into EV only parking spots and avoid congestion charges. There are people able to pay the premium for these benefits, they are not necessarily wanting to go green, just have private transport and be able to park it.
Tesla are working their way down from the top of the market and it could be a while before they create an 'econobox'. Realistically there is a good chance that the car you want comes from elsewhere, e.g. China, and that it has new technology such as a much smaller battery coupled to a supercapacitor for regen/city economy. Waiting for the fossil burning marques to produce something is a waste of time, EV is not in their DNA.