Tesla’s Model 3 Is Becoming One of America’s Best-Selling Sedans • Hacker News Board

Re: Tesla’s Model 3 Is Becoming One of America’s Best-Selling Sedans

#151

Post by ryanwaggoner » Thu, Oct 04, 2018, 1:44 AM UTC

sumeno wrote: post #97

King-Aaron wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$60k is not a lot of money to spend on a car in this day and age.

This is an absurdly out of touch comment. The vast majority of cars sold in the US aren't even close to $60k. The average new car is only $37k and only about 30% of car purchases are new cars.

We're talking new cars here, so the 30% figure isn't relevant. It's not fair to compare the 70% of used car sales to the $60k price here, since that's a new car price.

So if the average new car is $37k, how many are in the range of $60k? The luxury segment alone is more than 10% and one of the fastest growing, and generally starts above $40k. And the $37k average isn't far from that, so I'd assume that there are tons of cheap cars pulling the average down, but also that there are probably a lot of very expensive cars pulling the average up. So while $60k for a new car is high, it's not like a crazy 1% super luxury purchase.

I think you might be the one out of touch here...there are a LOT of wealthy people out there buying new cars for whom $60k is a drop in the bucket. For example: the very story that we're all commenting on!

Re: Tesla’s Model 3 Is Becoming One of America’s Best-Selling Sedans

#152

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 04, 2018, 1:47 AM UTC

FireBeyond wrote: post #138

CarVac wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't count because they were able to change the form factor as they liked, whereas the Model S is a normal-looking sedan with fully exposed wheels.

Do you also not count the Insight? "That's not fair, they were -trying- to make it aerodynamic!" doesn't really fly as an argument.

[deleted]

Re: Tesla’s Model 3 Is Becoming One of America’s Best-Selling Sedans

#153

Post by ganoushoreilly » Thu, Oct 04, 2018, 1:49 AM UTC

brianobush wrote: post #144

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This needs to be regulated against, in my opinion.

Moving to voice would be a wiser option than fiddling with screen controls.

I could see a hybrid, but voice only wouldn't work for those with speech issues. I realize you could make the same argument that touch is a problem, but touch is required as a means for control of the automobiles basic functions where as speech wouldn't be.

You should be able to say "car, turn up the air and the music down".

Re: Tesla’s Model 3 Is Becoming One of America’s Best-Selling Sedans

#154

Post by ObsoleteNerd » Thu, Oct 04, 2018, 1:55 AM UTC

person_of_color wrote: post #31

ObsoleteNerd wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here (in Australia). They used to be special to see, now I can't go for a walk without seeing a few. Haven't seen a 3 yet (I'm assuming they're not here yet, I don't follow it), just the S and X, but I see multiple S every time I take the kids to the park.

You must live in an affluent area. It's a 100k+ car here.

Inner Melbourne (near Prahran).

I'm in an apartment complex, and there's 2 downstairs, and I walk past 2 houses with them in the driveway on our ~1.5km walk to my kids favourite park. They are in fancy houses over towards Windsor/St Kilda end, of course, but they're here.

You'll also see a couple on Chapel St on any given day walking down it, and plenty around St Kilda (there's a house with an S and X off Fitzroy St where the kebab shop is but I'm not sure what that road is called, and an X always outside a pub near there).

I'm not exaggerating to say I see a few every time I go out. Whether that's just because of the area, I'm not sure. I only moved here (to VIC) a year ago so still learning what the local demographics are. I mostly stay around the Prahran/Windsor/St Kilda/Albert Park areas day to day.

I'm legitimately surprised how common they are here considering the price and charging issues. There's a few Tesla charges around though, and Chadstone has a Tesla dealership now too.

Re: Tesla’s Model 3 Is Becoming One of America’s Best-Selling Sedans

#155

Post by stephengillie » Thu, Oct 04, 2018, 1:57 AM UTC

muraiki wrote: post #118

myko wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the car slowed at a stop sign down to 20mph before blowing through it Not sure if you know or not, but want to make this clear - the current Autopilot feature does NOT know how to stop at signs or lights. It really is just really good lane adherence, and even that can be sketchy (hopping lanes into oncoming traffic, sudden hard braking for no reason).

Wow, if there was ever a perfect example of someone misunderstanding what "Autopilot" does in a manner that could have killed somebody, this is it!

Can we stop calling the Tesla driver assistance package by its inaccurate brand name? It is harmful.

Re: Tesla’s Model 3 Is Becoming One of America’s Best-Selling Sedans

#156

Post by stephengillie » Thu, Oct 04, 2018, 2:00 AM UTC

FireBeyond wrote: post #104

CarVac wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The door handles are probably a deliberate choice to get the drag down as low as possible, without the expense of motorized handles like the S or motorized doors like the X. No other cars on the road have drag coefficients as low as the Model 3 (or the Model S, for that matter). From what I've seen, Teslas are the only cars that have the B-pillar flush to the glass, and flush, cavity-less door handles. That plus the…

> No other cars on the road have drag coefficients as low as the Model 3 (or the Model S, for that matter). The Model S is the fourth lowest at 0.24, tied with the Mercedes S class, behind the Model 3 at 0.23. But leading the pack are the Mercedes CLA (0.22) and the Volkswagen XL1 (0.19).

Toyota Camry has a drag coefficient of 0.28.[∆]

[∆]http://autotk.com/dimensions/toyota/camry/2016/

Re: Tesla’s Model 3 Is Becoming One of America’s Best-Selling Sedans

#157

Post by stephengillie » Thu, Oct 04, 2018, 2:04 AM UTC

alexandros wrote: post #25

smaili wrote: post #13

> Tesla’s competitors are feeling it. Sales of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the best-selling luxury sedan in the U.S., plunged 24 percent last month and are down 28 percent for the year through September. > And it’s doing so at a higher price than other mass-market cars. The most expensive versions of the Model 3 are currently the most popular, with an average selling price approaching $60,000. It would be very interes…

I would like to go on the record as saying that the big car companies of today, short of a miracle, are on track to meet the big mobile phone companies of the pre-iPhone era. Remember when Blackberry, Nokia, Motorola, Alcatel, Sony seemed unassailable?

Really this is like the start of digital cameras. Computer companies made the first digital cameras, then eventually camera companies made good digital cameras.

Re: Tesla’s Model 3 Is Becoming One of America’s Best-Selling Sedans

#158

Post by briffle » Thu, Oct 04, 2018, 2:05 AM UTC

HBlix wrote: post #49

natchiketa wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Musk has said that it's his 'favorite next product': https://electrek.co/guides/tesla-pickup-truck/

Elon Musk says a lot of things, I’ll believe that they have a viable pickup when it’s rolling off the assembly lines. I’m also not sure that the market for pickups will care too much about having an EV. All in all it’s a very different market with a different customer base than luxury sedans.

People who actually use their trucks would love them. They would have full tourqe at 0 RPM. It would be awesome for towing. The lack of an engine bay could give it a huge bed, or a frunk to store things out of the weather...

Re: Tesla’s Model 3 Is Becoming One of America’s Best-Selling Sedans

#159

Post by sabareesh » Thu, Oct 04, 2018, 2:06 AM UTC

xltk wrote: post #90

I personally wouldn't purchase a Model 3. I rented the long range version for a round-trip trip from San Francisco to Sacramento (about 90 miles/2 hours each way). The main things that stood out: - Changing volume and airflow through the central touchscreen were much more challenging than the physical knobs and buttons most cars have. I'd even argue they were distracting and dangerous to use while driving. I don't be…

I had the car since March and I would say will never go back to ICE car and may be not even other electric car. I am most impressed by the simplicity of the interior, once start driving i never had a need to touch the screen, all the above seems silly, autopilot is only meant for cruising in freeway for now.

Re: Tesla’s Model 3 Is Becoming One of America’s Best-Selling Sedans

#160

Post by Fins » Thu, Oct 04, 2018, 2:09 AM UTC

Latteland wrote: post #38

Xcelerate wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone is interested in buying status symbols.

Try driving one. All gas cars just seem archaic, even my wife's new camera, which has some connected car features doesn't compare. That car has crappy ui, terrible app on phone. The human factors design by Toyota is just kludgey. It drives fine, the engine seems efficient with electric battery driving. But it's not fun to drive.

Not aq big fan of Toyota's design, but is their UX seriously worse than "oh, let's control AC system from a touchscreen" nonsense from Tesla?