I went to Santana Row in the Bay Area and the Tesla store was very popular. Most regular people aren't terminally online and constantly worried about politics.

While being terminally online might reduce your capacity to understand the thoughts and actions of the everyman, I'm not certain that the Tesla store at Santana Row is a great alternative to get a read on "most regular people".

You don't have to be terminally online to see nazi salutes at national political conventions or people protesting and pelting cars & stores nationwide.

Nazis on one hand, stealerships on the other. What a terrible market.

You can buy a Rivian or Polestar without dealing with dealerships.

You could also buy a Hyundai Ioniq 5 or 6 directly on Amazon (even though the implementation still goes through dealerships in the backend) [1].

[1] https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-autos-buy-car...

I knew Rivian did, but I don't consider them since the cars are more than double the cost of Model 3 and Model Y, plus who knows how long that business exists since it still doesn't earn money. Same with Polestar, they are gambles that rich people can afford to make.

I didn't know Hyundai sold online, but that's good news. If only their prices were $20k lower. There is no way I am paying $55k+ for a Hyundai, especially without a $7,500 tax credit compared to a Tesla.

I just checked Tesla inventory, and they have 3 row (5 adults + 2 kids) 2024 Model Y AWD Long Ranges for $39k to $41k (with tax credit) on their website right now.

Isn't Polestar 90% a Volvo under the trim?

The Polestar 2, yes. The newer models like the Polestar 4 are based on a Geely platform that is completely distinct (and in my opinion better).

Geely is the parent corp of both Volvo and Polestar (as well as Lotus, London Cabs, Zeeker) so they're corporate siblings or cousins anyway.

Honestly in terms of value, efficiency, safety, practicality, etc it is hard to beat the Model Y. The refresh is even better, a huge step up in comfort, and imho quieter and smoother than a Lucid or Mercedes-Benz EQS. I guess some sacrifices must be made if you really care about not supporting a "nazi".

Hyundai change their OS every other year, no chance of long term software updates.

Rivian's spin off to licence their OS may end up being the Android of cars to Tesla's iOS