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Tesla sales plummet in the UK, France, and Germany

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Re: Tesla sales plummet in the UK, France, and Germany

#221
post #119

My neighbor -- a very earnest, smart, progressive 27 year old working in alternative energy -- bought one just before the election. His deposit went in sometime in the spring. He was super excited about it at first, but the spring in his step is much reduced now. I feel bad for him. I mean, true life, I think most people have pretty good experiences with Teslas. The brand was pretty resilient vs. Elon's shenanigans u…

> the spring in his step is much reduced now Musk hasn't suddenly changed in the past few months. His deranged/racist behaviour has been going on for years. What has prompted your neighbour to regret his purchase?

Somehow I don't think this question is being asked in good faith.

Remember, not everyone watches Musk like HN apparently does. I knew who he was, and wouldn't have bought one of his cars 5 years ago. But a 27 year old working outside tech and not invested in social media could easily miss the magnitude of his assholery.

Re: Tesla sales plummet in the UK, France, and Germany

#222
post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

people might even want fsd if it worked… except of course it only works on the highway and my 1986 hyundai had cruise control that did 93% of what tesla’s “f”sd does

Look up videos on YouTube before commenting

that's funny :)

Re: Tesla sales plummet in the UK, France, and Germany

#223
post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If hippies no longer buy Tesla, then maybe all of the MAGA will, or maybe Trump will require the USPS or the federal government or any company wanting to do business with the federal government to buy Tesla. Anything you can imagine is possible.

I think that even (most) conservatives don't want their car to be a political statement.

If cars were not statements of the owner's ego or personality or brand, everyone would be driving either an unwashed Toyota Corolla or (if 3+ kids) a minivan.

But they're not.

Re: Tesla sales plummet in the UK, France, and Germany

#224

I said it before and I'll say it again. If you bought a Tesla because of Elon Musk (when he was cool), or sold a Tesla because of Elon Musk (because now he's not cool), then you're not really buying a car but social capital. I simply buy the best car I can afford that has the ride/styling/features/quality I want. In my opinion, those that don't are out of their minds. Not sure how associating major consumer purchases…

The fact that you try to make this about “being cool” is absurd.

Re: Tesla sales plummet in the UK, France, and Germany

#225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It just shows how uninformed you are! BYD Seal is 2000kg car, we do not want that! Europeans want EVs that are maybe 600kg to do shopping and drive around town. 80kms on single charge and 50kmph are quite acceptable parameters. If I can remove car battery, put it on a cart, and take it to my apartment on 10th floor via elevator, even better! I need to charge it over night! If I could spare $50k on new car, I would bu…

I'm all in on thinking modern cars are too fat but "maybe 600kg" is an absurd suggestion. That's less than a Smart Fortwo. There'll be a market for that but it's not what "Europeans want".

But most cars we had in the 80s were less than 1000kg, and that was fine.

Context differ from country to country, and from cities to countryside within countries, but in places where most of the population is concentrated in high-density cities, small cars or alternatives to cars are much, much more desirable than 2000+kg SUVs. Case in point, in France: more and more city centers just drastically reduce cars lanes and accessibility.

Re: Tesla sales plummet in the UK, France, and Germany

#226
post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you actually serious? Did you not happen to see him perform multiple nazi salutes on live TV, during the inauguration of the president of the world's largest economy? That was Jan 21st. Before then, I was only aware that he was a bit of a dick online. Now he's radioactive, and with very good reason. He's an evil person who I will do everything I can to not enable.

Yes, it was a serious question, because even before his public Nazi salutes, he already had a history of anti-Semitic tweets online, which were later widely reported in many media outlets, such as the BBC. (I don't use Twitter, and never have, and yet I was aware of his racist viewpoints.) Tesla factories in the USA were also known for poor treatment of black employees. Thus I didn't see his Nazi salutes as surprisin…

I agree he's probably always been a piece of shit, but Nazi salutes on live TV at the inauguration is absolutely next level.

Re: Tesla sales plummet in the UK, France, and Germany

#227
post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Tesla does not currently have product-market fit. Yet, it sells the best selling car on Earth.

But when you add up sales for all models from each company, there are 12 companies that sell more cars each year. Market share is 11.07% Toyota, 6.41% VW, 4.87% Honda, 4.82% Ford, 4.56% Hyundai, 3.84% Nissan, 3.77% Suzuki, 3.53% Kia, 3.48% Chevrolet, 3.47% BYD, 2.67% Mercedes-Benz, then 2.77% for Audi and Tesla, and bringing up the rear of the top 15 is 1.85% for Renault

Yet, Tesla makes more profit than most. It's like saying Apple has no market-fit vs Android because it's far less popular… until you realize it's a strategic choice to sell fewer vehicles but at higher margins.

Tesla hasn't started going down market with cheaper cars. But they've said new, cheaper models will be released by June 2025. We'll see what happens for the cheaper and higher-volume segment of the auto market.

But for now, Tesla has the most popular model with the highest margins.

Re: Tesla sales plummet in the UK, France, and Germany

#228
post #177
post #124

Vaguely related, Paul Graham tweeted "I worry Elon has no idea how much he has damaged his personal brand ...", re UK stuff and Elon posted a pages of text rant as a result. Not sure if it was written by him or Grok. I worry Elon's going a bit bonkers with drugs or whatever. Conversation here: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1879785727468163505

Looking at all those tech people going nuts I really wonder if it might be finasteride or minoxidil having side effects we don't know yet. Sure, people got the brain eating bug in the past, too, but it seems nowadays it is much more common.

Just an anecdote but i'll put it here: A friend of mine insisted that her ex was slowly driven somewhat mad by finasteride, not in the typical crazy ex way, but obsessive somewhat delusional thoughts and moods, like he was getting stuck in a loop over some idea.

She later dated another guy who was taking it for a very long time, and said he had the same type of delusional quirks.

Re: Tesla sales plummet in the UK, France, and Germany

#229
post #124

Vaguely related, Paul Graham tweeted "I worry Elon has no idea how much he has damaged his personal brand ...", re UK stuff and Elon posted a pages of text rant as a result. Not sure if it was written by him or Grok. I worry Elon's going a bit bonkers with drugs or whatever. Conversation here: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1879785727468163505

Arguably better UI to the same thing: https://xCANCEL.com/elonmusk/status/1879785727468163505 Which I've found to be hilarious btw. :-)

Wow, it makes a lot of sense because the UI is not focused on algorithmic mind tricks, ragegagement and advertising.
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