Live data from Hacker News

2021 Tesla Model Y review: Nearly great, critically flawed

cnet.com

151–160 of 183 posts

Re: 2021 Tesla Model Y review: Nearly great, critically flawed

#151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a Tesla hater, but I think it's reasonable to assume their quality will dramatically improve as they get production figured out and stop hacking things together to meet their numbers.

Well, Musk actively avoids the Toyota Production System which seems insane and offends me as an engineer. So I don't think quality will improve until he changes his stubborn tune.

I mean, you could put a ton of effort into improving quality, consistency, etc.

Or you could just Tweet that anyone critical of your car is a big oil funded Tesla-shorting planet hating shill.

One gets you most of the other, for an awful lot less actual effort.

Re: 2021 Tesla Model Y review: Nearly great, critically flawed

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Had a Model Y for a year now Hands down the best car I have ever had and I have owned Audis, BMWs and other high end cars. Whenever I have to drive a non Tesla me and my wife just can’t stop laughing at how ridiculous they are…it’s like operating steam engines Sucks that others had problems with it but everyone I know including ourselves couldn’t be more happy with their Tesla

Ridiculous how? I loved the experience of driving a Tesla, but what’s so significantly better that it would cause laughter?

There's been no shortage of "I bought an EV, had an ICE rental, and can't believe how horribly awful this awful horrible car is!" articles in the last decade, just find one. They're all the same.

They tend to go on about noise, vibration, the awful smell of gas stations, and a variety of other common and tedious complaints. Ok, yes, we get it, you're smug and have to prove to everyone else how amazing your purchase was, but must you write the 500th version of the same article?

Or you can just accept that every vehicle is different, every vehicle has different quirks, wants to be driven/ridden differently, listen to what it tells you, and go from there. Yes, you can flog an Insight around a twisty road on the paddle shifters, but... that's not what the car wants, and it's not very rewarding to try and make it drive like something it isn't.

An EV isn't an ICE isn't a PHEV isn't a hybrid isn't a rotary isn't a...

Even among theoretically identical vehicles, they often enough aren't, after enough miles. I drove buses for a while, and they tended to be purchased in lots - two of this, four of that, etc. Even among the "sister buses," they were different. Some were smoother, some seemed to have more power, some were wired differently. Know the quirks of each bus and you were going to have a fine time. Miss that 947 really benefited from turning off the AC compressor off a stoplight, and you would struggle to keep a schedule on the weekend. But man, that was a sweet cruising evening route bus. On the campus circulators, 926 and 927 were best run in first gear - they were big four cylinders (something like an 8L 4-cylinder) that were really prone to shifting into 2nd, and then getting stuck lugging along barely above idle instead of shifting down to 1st if you were on a bit of a grade. Keep them in first, it was fine on those routes (first was a pretty tall gear on them).

And it goes on. Instead of whining about what a vehicle isn't, enjoy it for what it is, listen to it, drive it how it wants to be driven, and you'll have a good time. It's just not good for clicks.

Re: 2021 Tesla Model Y review: Nearly great, critically flawed

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Model X ownership is a breeze far from the Bay Area. My mom’s model X has gone in at least a dozen times and there’s never a wait for an appointment. The local service center is excellent.

> A dozen times That's what's so weird to me. I own an old 2012 Hyundai Accent, bought used at ~12k, and over the last five years I've only taken it for: - Checkup and oil change - Wheel change - Battery change But then I see all these examples of Tesla owners having to fix issue after issue after issue and saying "it's not so bad I just lost an afternoon each time going for an apt"

I've literally heard from Tesla owners that one of the perks of owning a Tesla in a densely populated tech-heavy area is all the industry networking you get at the service center.

Re: 2021 Tesla Model Y review: Nearly great, critically flawed

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why you're seeing things like the extended bed options of the new tailgate designs. Also, most people don't need to carry 6'+ items. They do need to take the ankle biters along and maybe haul some stuff in the back. The trade off seems to be accepted going by number of units sold. If you keep the 6' bed plus the comfy backseats as you've mentioned, it no longer fits in standard garages.

> hey do need to take the ankle biters along and maybe haul some stuff in the back. But, that is why they have SUV's and minivans I thought. It is only now sort of sinking in that pickups are no longer used much as work vehicles. Yes I agree about the excessive length keeping the crew cab and long bed. In fact I think the current F150 is already too big. So that's why I miss the old 2-door style with the long bed. I…

Smaller truck bed still allows for carrying/hauling things larger than the truck compared to an enclosed SUV. Besides, when it's time to move, do you call your friend with an SUV/crossover, or do you call the friend with a truck?

Re: 2021 Tesla Model Y review: Nearly great, critically flawed

#155
post #69

I have an early build 2018 Model 3 Performance. I have experienced almost zero quality issues. I use Autopilot frequently and have experienced phantom braking maybe 5 times ever in 3+ years, and certainly isn't a deal-breaker. In fact it's improved dramatically since I first got the car. I feel like all I ever hear from outside the Tesla owner bubble is quality issues, complaints, weird problems I've never experience…

I owned a BMW 328i for 20 years. I loved that car dearly. I've now got 94,000 miles on a 2018 Model 3 long range. It's more fun than the BMW in every way. Handles better, accelerates faster, it's much quieter inside. The sound system is much better than the HKs in the BMW. It's more comfortable. I can drive for 4 hours straight with no discomfort. I don't have autopilot cuz my insurance guy wouldn't give me a discoun…

>I don't have autopilot

you mean FSD

you have autopilot by default

Re: 2021 Tesla Model Y review: Nearly great, critically flawed

#156
post #52

When are they going to build a small, cheap electric car? Model S, X, Y, 3 all those cars are heavy tanks. I'm quite tired of those companies always aiming for rich customers. If Musk was really for the environment, he would try to make those cars affordable. I guess Tesla doesn't have the production capacity to make a high production cheaper car yet?

> When are they going to build a small, cheap electric car?

plenty of good cheap Ev... coming from China:

1- Ora Cat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14XESFFx46M

2- Leapmotor T03

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkOqIEUAlw4

There was a recent Sandy Munro video, where he basically stated that because the Chinese started on the EV bandwagon much earlier (due to executive fiat) They simply have more options...not because they are any more genius, but simply because they had the time and the drive to actually work on the damn thing.

He was called to consult on various cars, and by seeing the progress of their operations, he can see that the Chinese have strengthened their supply lines, removed a lot of the kinks and ramped up production and are getting good with design and fit/finish quality.

If you want cheap EV, look to China

Re: 2021 Tesla Model Y review: Nearly great, critically flawed

#157
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, "move fast and break things" is a much better ethos for low-stakes software than high-stakes hardware.

I'm worried that manufacturers see people accepting Tesla quality and follow suit. I just read an article about Fisker following the "Apple model" where they stay lean and outsource all production. Uh, yeah that's great for a $1,000 phone but when I drop 50x that on a rolling death machine I expect quality to be controlled from end to end and kept in house.

Why? Look at how much Ford outsources.

Re: 2021 Tesla Model Y review: Nearly great, critically flawed

#158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a Tesla hater, but I think it's reasonable to assume their quality will dramatically improve as they get production figured out and stop hacking things together to meet their numbers.

Well, Musk actively avoids the Toyota Production System which seems insane and offends me as an engineer. So I don't think quality will improve until he changes his stubborn tune.

I mean this is the same guy who camped out at the factory for like 3 weeks to iron out all the production issues with model 3 and scale production up to meet demand, and it more or less worked. Perhaps you don't need the Toyota production system after all

Re: 2021 Tesla Model Y review: Nearly great, critically flawed

#159
post #69

I have an early build 2018 Model 3 Performance. I have experienced almost zero quality issues. I use Autopilot frequently and have experienced phantom braking maybe 5 times ever in 3+ years, and certainly isn't a deal-breaker. In fact it's improved dramatically since I first got the car. I feel like all I ever hear from outside the Tesla owner bubble is quality issues, complaints, weird problems I've never experience…

The vehicle was unsafe. That's a flaw I want to hear about.

Re: 2021 Tesla Model Y review: Nearly great, critically flawed

#160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a Tesla hater, but I think it's reasonable to assume their quality will dramatically improve as they get production figured out and stop hacking things together to meet their numbers.

Well, Musk actively avoids the Toyota Production System which seems insane and offends me as an engineer. So I don't think quality will improve until he changes his stubborn tune.

I think the Detroit automakers have the same mentality. It's almost like there's this racism belief that the Japanese could never have figured something out that Westerners haven't.
Post reply on HN