> “Lying” is a bit emotive, suggests you might be a bit too invested here to get the argument the GP was making.
Emotion doesn't come into it. You built an argument upon a poor foundation. In strictly logical terms even if your argument structure was correct your argument would be invalid because its premises aren't correct.
You said several things that are objectively false. I know them to be false because I have first hand experience which shows me that they are false. Moreover, considering that Tesla has an industry leading satisfaction score, I know that my experience is not uncommon. What is uncommon, even vanishingly rare, is the veracity of the statements which you used when building the case against Tesla.
Perhaps I sound emotive because I referred to what you did as lying. The principle of charity isn't leaving me much room for you, because you are either wrong and informed or wrong and uninformed. You can take your pick, but whichever you choose don't cheapen the debate by appealing to me as being emotional.
> Look, Tesla got early success in EVs by being considerably better where everyone else was weak (drivetrain, battery, software, charging network). That doesn’t mean it’s not weak where they are strong (QC, basic manfacturing competencies like panel gaps, dealer network, interaction switchgear refined over generations).
This is a very different argument than the idea that it is a no brainer to go with Mercedes. You are moving the goal posts. It is a stronger argument too. Unfortunately, you don't support it well. For example, the argument for the dealer network being an advantage rather than a liability seems doubtful to me. Years back during the era Tesla was rising there were other EVs. Dealerships recognized that recurring revenue from maintenance wasn't as high for these vehicles. They intentionally sabotaged sales of EV vehicles, following perverse incentives, by doing things like giving test rides on vehicles which hadn't been charged and then using the resulting failure to persuade to other purchases. This is a liability, I think, but existing laws tend to protect dealerships as a model at the expense of car companies. So it isn't something that Mercedes and other car manufacturers can easily circumvent. Worse is that the experience at a dealership is much much worse than ordering things over the internet. Tesla just drives the car to your door after you order it. Dealerships expect someone else to drive you there and to go through high pressure sales channels. Tesla can pursue a three click and order model, but dealerships would be furious and go after automakers legally if they were cut out of the loop.
> Regardless, what matters is there are people who feel about Mercedes the way you clearly feel about Tesla.
Again, you are making a very different argument. We started with average Jane not devoted Mercedes fan. Trying to strawman my position by switching from average Jane to devoted Mercedes fan is not at all in keeping with the principle of charity. It also does a disservice to the OP you try to represent, because it contradicts their post, yet you act like you are speaking for them.
> GP is betting there’s a huge market for “car like I always knew it from a manufacturer I love except with a battery” and I’ll bet they’re right.
Which is reasonable, which lets you convince yourself you are right, but average Jane would rather pay $100k for four times as much space or save $50,000 to $80,000 and /still get more space and better range. And she might even like the Tesla aesthetic more than Mercedes: it is Tesla, after all, that has the majority of the EV market. Presumably if their aesthetic was strictly inferior to alternatives that wouldn't be the case. Regardless it doesn't really matter - taste is by its very nature subjective. It is the heart of qualia, not a criteria we can evaluate on behalf of others without knowing their preference set.