Tesla launched the modern electric car race in large parts of the world, and more than a decade later it’s still king of the business — both in terms of sales and public desirability. Not only is Tesla the popular car brand, but some of its cars are the longest-range electric cars on the market. It’s not hard to understand why some people might say that Tesla makes the best electric cars.
I’ve driven just over 1,000 miles in Teslas for work and pleasure, and my feelings about cars can best be described as ambivalent. I can see the Tesla’s appeal, certainly in terms of range and charging, but there’s no way I could actually buy one for myself. Here’s why.
Beef with Tesla, not electric cars as a whole
There are many reasons why I personally hate Tesla cars, but I have to make it clear that I don’t particularly like the cars themselves. Whatever Elon Musk does in his spare time, or whatever criticism of Tesla’s build quality is, they are nothing more than footnotes in the list of reasons why I don’t want to call a Tesla myself.
My objection to cars goes a little deeper than you can read in a headline or comment on a Reddit forum. This all stems from the fact that Tesla offers a very different kind of experience than other electric cars, and frankly, it doesn’t seem like a particularly good experience. Not for me, anyway, because I know there are thousands of people out there who feel differently.
It’s also not a criticism of electric cars. While the cost of recharging has gone up a bit over the past several weeks, and gasoline prices have come down since the summer, I much prefer being able to drop in rather than fill up. Not to mention the fact that my car is quite spacious for its size, and delivers instant torque for quick getaways and one-pedal driving mode.
There’s also the fact that I don’t burn fuel and leave a trail of pollution in my wake, and the car rides surprisingly quietly. Honestly, the quieter the cars, the better. I live near some very busy roads, and the noise from some cars coming out really gets on my nerves – especially in the summer when the windows are open
My Nissan Leaf is not without its problems, and I’ve talked about them at length in the past. I have a few regrets after buying the car, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy another car if this situation happened. If that’s the case at all, a Tesla would also be near the bottom of my wish list.
Extreme simplicity is a deal breaker
My biggest problem with Tesla’s design is the extreme simplicity that’s used throughout the cabin. On the Model 3 and Model Y, that means almost everything is condensed into one central touchscreen. In fact, there are only a handful of features that don’t use the touch screen in some way, and that comes down to a few levers and dials around the steering column.
The thing that always baffles me is that the two cheapest Teslas don’t have a driver display or a behind-the-wheel cluster. Alternatively, if you want something as simple and important as your current speed, you need to look at the center display. The Models S and X have a driver display, but the trade-off is that they come with a steering yoke instead of a traditional steering wheel.
However, having not driven with a Tesla yoke, I can’t say how much better or worse this experience could have been. I definitely don’t like the idea, especially since the levers have now been replaced with touch controls on the front of the handle.
Being overly dependent on the touch screen is my biggest problem. Not only because of the lack of haptic feedback, which ensures that the sleek, shiny device can’t be used without looking, but also because any screen failure will render your car completely useless. My Leaf’s infotainment screen recently died, taking with it a host of useful car functions. But the driver’s hands-on offer meant I could still drive safely, knowing just how fast I was going.
Had this happened in a Tesla, the car would have basically broken down completely. There was some speculation that this design was implemented starting with the Model 3, waiting for the autopilot to do most of the driving work. However, like all times Elon Musk has broken his various promises, and things haven’t turned out quite the way people suspected.
The speedometer behind the wheel (or projected onto the windshield) requires a quick split-second check. Meanwhile, it takes a little longer to keep this speedometer in a center display and can be dangerous while driving.
The Model S and Model X may not have this problem, but with prices ranging from $104,990 to $138,990, it means they’re out of the average person’s price ranges. These simple features should not be limited to people who can overpay for them.
It’s also the little things and unnecessary changes
The touch controls aren’t the only change keeping me from driving a Tesla full time. Tesla has made a lot of small changes to its cars that have always been completely unnecessary and kind of annoying.
The lock system is the main system. The car itself comes with a key card that needs to physically touch the car to lock or unlock it, which I find incredibly inconvenient. Tesla offers an automatic proximity lock, which works over Bluetooth and is a pretty cool concept — though not one I’m actually very confident about. You can get a fob with clickable buttons, but that costs an extra $175
I prefer the option of controlling my car’s locks myself, either unlocking from a distance or ensuring the doors lock as soon as it leaves my line of sight—without having to pay the extra $175 for the privilege of using a function most cars offer by default.
I feel the same about opening doors. I’m totally partial to Tesla’s flush door handles, and how they don’t have to pop out mechanically – which means fewer points of failure. But instead of a traditional doorknob, Tesla opted for an electronic door mechanism centered around a button, along with a physical knob that needed to be located in case of an emergency.
It’s a system that, to me at least, has always felt like a case of mechanical over-engineering for its own sake rather than any production purpose. Tesla fans have tried to explain it all because of the frameless design, which requires the windows to be lowered slightly when opening the door. But maybe, just maybe, if your design doesn’t accommodate a standard mechanism for something as simple as a door, then your design needs to be reworked.
I understand that stubbornly sticking to the system because of the way it’s always been done is a perfect recipe for stagnation. Progress requires challenging the status quo, after all. But at the same time, we do not need change for the sake of change. Don’t just make something different, make it better. And the door opening system that needs to be explained to everyone who uses the car is the opposite of the best.
The same goes for the turn signals, which are much softer and lack the mechanical click of competing cars. Making things quieter isn’t a bad thing, but that soft mechanism isn’t nearly as accurate. Given that turn signals don’t always automatically turn off, that means you have to make a conscious effort to make sure other drivers know what you’re doing – which means paying less attention to the road ahead.
The latest Tesla Holiday update promises to help rectify this, but the truth is that it never needed to be fixed in the first place.
Other issues relate to a lack of support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, all of which require you to pay for Tesla’s Premium Connectivity package to access features other cars can pull from your phone. Likewise, Tesla’s system is full of things you don’t need. This ranges from gimmicks like karaoke mode and games to completely useless features like fart mode and turning your map to the surface of Mars.
Oh, and in my experience, the soundproofing is horrible. This came to a head during my last vacation, when I spent a solid 10 days inside a Tesla Model Y. Not only could I pick up music and sounds from cars around me (mainly in traffic) some weird sound effects meant I was picking up music from vehicles that Return a few cars. It’s a problem I’ve never had in any other car, even older ones with soundproofing like paper bags.
Those things in themselves are minor inconveniences, but add them together and it creates an experience that’s best avoided if I can help it.
Autopilot is nice, but far from unique
One of Tesla’s main selling points is Autopilot, an autonomous driver assistance system (ADAS) designed to allow the car to take on a range of the tough work that driving can involve. One of the main things that sets it apart is that Basic Autopilot is standard on all Teslas, while additional features can be purchased as part of Enhanced or Full Self-Driving packages.
Other automakers don’t offer the same level of autonomy in their entry-level cars. Or at least they keep any auto-steering features locked behind a paywall, even if the cheaper models come with adaptive cruise control. This means either that ADAS is exclusive to the more expensive model trims, or that it must be purchased as an optional add-on or as some kind of technology package.
Autopilot may be more widespread than its competitors, and as a result updates are highly publicized—especially for the full self-driving beta. But Autopilot as a whole isn’t particularly unique. Tesla may be a bit ahead of other ADAS systems, but a lot of the basic Autopilot features are widely available.
Unfortunately, Tesla Autopilot isn’t a true Level 5 autonomous car, despite what the term “fully self-driving” might suggest. Tesla has had to admit this several times, following accusations that FSD marketing is intentionally misleading (something Tesla has long been accustomed to). vehemently denied (Opens in a new tab)).
If your car still can’t drive you from one point to another on its own, and you need a human driver, I would argue that you don’t necessarily need the latest ADAS technology and features. I certainly wouldn’t go out of my way to buy a Tesla on the advantages of Autopilot alone, and certainly not combined with all the other issues I have with cars.
Different cars and different automakers will offer a variety of features and systems, with different levels of quality and capability. But as long as it can handle the basics, and stay in the middle of the lane without driving into the car in front, I’ll be very happy. And it just so happens that there are a bunch of electric cars on the market with this kind of ingenuity.
Tesla has some positive features – just not enough
It would be foolish to say that Teslas are all bad, because objectively that is not true. Despite the problems people may have, myself included, the company has been able to do a lot. Tesla offers a range of electric cars that offer some of the longest range and fastest speeds in the electric vehicle market.
Likewise, its Supercharger network has coverage that other superchargers can only dream of right now — with consistently fast charging speeds to boot. The HVAC Control screen’s endless customization options are a stroke of brilliance that I wish other cars would adopt.
However, for me, the good things are outweighed by the bad. Sure, the Tesla Model 3 might be able to drive up to 358 miles, and recover up to 175 miles in 15 minutes. But it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t really like the driving experience. I’d rather stick with a car with a bit less range and cargo comfort if it means I don’t hate being behind the wheel. Until then, Derby will remain a Tesla-free zone.
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