There does appear to be a social cost to driving a Tesla in blue-leaning areas these days. Nothing overt, but I've heard people who bought them without knowing who Musk is (and don't agree with him) now openly saying "never-again".
If the used Tesla market gets flooded, will there be consumer demand for those used Teslas? I suspect that most will be in suburban red-leaning areas in areas that aren't openly EV-technology hostile (something like the Dallas or Atlanta suburbs).
The problem for Tesla is that unlike the prestige effect of used luxury car sales driving new luxury car sales (i.e. BMW, Benz, etc), these cars are being disposed of because they are becoming less desirable. The target market for new Teslas seems to be shrinking among the primary populations who both want and can afford EVs.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming. One sold (Model X), one scrapped (Cybertruck). Oddly, opposite ends of the political spectrum. Both because of Musk’s new brand.
The graphic shows that 85% of the addressable market favour party A and 15% party B. My point is that once you strongly align your brand with either party, you alienate a decent chunk of your customers.
If you have to choose, then in this situation choosing A is much better than B, but why alienate any of your customers like this?
The 2025 model of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 has NACS and is my favorite alternative in terms of looks, features, and price. Rivian has been in a different price category so I have a hard time believing the $45k starting price.
Yup, We are waiting for the rivian to have NACS as well. I was considering the idea of buying a used Tesla and just ripping the emblems off and putting a wrap on it. I don't like car models and brands on cars anyways.
But yeah, probably will definitely get a rivian, especially the new R3!
I still don't know if the heat pump will be as good as Tesla's but it doesn't matter. I don't respect Elon anymore. I still do definitely admire some of his technical talents and ability to ship products. I don't think just cuz a person does a bad thing means they're a bad person.