Why do some people hate Tesla?

I think it comes down to jealously and ignorance sadly.

Some people have a lot of negative things to say about Tesla. It’s kind of weird. It’s not unlike the emotions that Apple generates. A lot of people like to complain about Apple also.

This is my theory.

Tesla’s are perceived to be an expensive product - and for many people a Tesla isn’t a product that they can ever afford. Having said that a Model 3 Tesla with default options like a white body comes in at $59,000 Canadian which isn’t super cheap. But when you take into account that:

  • Electricity bills for fuel are far less than buying petrol

  • Servicing costs for an electric vehicle is so much less - electric vehicles just have a lot less parts which can fail compared to a conventional car.

Taking those costs in to account a base level Tesla is a on par with an equivalent new higher end sedan car.

So jealousy is one part of it.

I think another source of problems for Tesla is entrenched issues with traditional incumbent car manufacturers who have deep pockets and relationships with automotive commentators in the car market. It’s not hard for them to leverage those relationships to make negative press about the company. Tesla is a huge threat to those companies - just like the iPhone disrupted the mobile phone industry. I feel their pain - we had the same issue with rating agencies in our industry.

Another issue is some people love to hate Elon Musk. Once again a lot of that is jealousy and also the fact that Elon is different. He thinks differently and human beings can be cruel to people who they perceive to be different.

If you are one of those people - don’t be so judgemental about something you don’t understand. Tesla as a company is doing some wonderful things!

 

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