this post was submitted on 05 May 2024
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I have pretty strong anecdotal and theoretical data, which is inferior to hard empirical data, but better than nothing. I think most users would agree they've never heard someone say "I've never liked this Gucci bag". It's there to show off, and be proud of, even if it's the exact same bag as a cheaper brand. Even if they don't like it, it's a Gucci bag, and a huge sunk cost, so they aren't likely to admit it.
My impression of Tesla is similar. People buy them to show off. I know people who own cars from the nicer brands like Mercedes-Benz, but to them that's normal and more mainstream brands are cheap crap, so I asked about Lambos. In your data, Porsche is also high up, which makes sense, and maybe BMW. Cadillac is surprisingly low, though.
How convenient that your "theoretical data" supports your point. Unfortunately, my theoretical data - that people think Teslas are bad cars either because they hate Musk or because they think anything that even sniffs of green is some kind of scam and would never admit they are any good - completely contradicts yours.
Oh well, we'll have to use actual data...and look at that, it appears that luxury brands cars are not all well loved, which also contradicts your theoretical data, but not mine.
Convenient? I made my point because of my theory and experience. It would be weird if my reasons contradicted my conclusion. I don't really care what your opinion of my logic is, for the record. I stand by it.
You're allowed your own take on why people like or dislike Teslas, but there's options from other brands if you want to go electric. There's a lot of people that wouldn't buy a Tesla because burning dinosaurs makes them feel like a man, but there's also folks like me who wouldn't buy a Tesla out of quality and price concerns, but who would totally consider a Leaf.
You're missing the point. You just came up with a reason to support your conclusion. This isn't data. It isn't even really a theory, it's just an untested hypothesis. Most anyone can do this with any claim, which I demonstrated by doing it for mine as well. Which of ours is more valid? Both sound like reasonable hypotheses, at least IMO.
Sure, but my point is that those "quality concerns" may not be the result of actual quality issues (at least relatively to any other car brand), but because some people don't like Musk, and thus will continually point to anything that makes him look like a failure. This leads to a cognitive bias of people who think that because they are hearing about it a lot, it must be happening a lot (availability heuristics). Or simply, some people don't like Musk and are looking for a reason not to buy a Tesla, so they latch onto "quality" issues they've heard of to justify not liking Teslas, when in reality they don't like Musk.
Don't get me wrong, I was seriously considering buying a Tesla, now it's way down on the list of potential cars I may buy when the time comes. So it's not like I'm trying to get you to buy a Tesla. What I'm trying to ask yourself if it's your bias or reality that is driving your disqualification of Teslas. Certainly, which is a big driver for me, price is a concern.
I don't disagree with calling it a hypothesis. I said theory, which is synonymous in normal language. It's what I had.
It's also true that people hate Musk, and so I need to take what they say about Tesla with a grain of salt. I'm pretty sure I had heard this back when people still thought he was a savior of some sort, but as others have pointed out the cars themselves have changed.
Price is a concern, and for myself open-sourceness and repairability are a concern. Unless it's also anti-Musk hype and I'm misinformed, the Tesla ecosystem is a hell of a walled garden.