As an owner of a 2020 Model 3 in Germany I can say:
The build quality is shockingly bad, and the quality assurance basically non-existing. When I picked up the car, the doors weren't aligned properly and would not close. I had to point this out for them to correct it.
Everything that you take for granted with all car manufactures to work in a middle-class sedan does not work. They did not put in a $3 Bosch rain sensor, so not even the camera-based automatic wipers work correctly. Everything that worked in my 15 years old Chrysler 300C does not work.
It's insane that any of their Autopilot related features are legal. The system is detecting 100% of trash bins next to the road, but maximum 50% of kids crossing the road. If you don't manually disable the various driver assistance systems every time you enter the car, the "emergency lane assist" stuff will happily drive you into opposing traffic for no reasons and will do dangerous phantom emergency braking etc.
Whatever traditional car feature you are looking at - compared to the 15 years old Chrysler everything is worse. Wind noise. Audio system. Comfortable seats.
All the "But it works in my Tesla" fan boys are part of a religious cult and are simply lying. Whenever I checked, the "works for me" replies stopped when I either did a test drive together or asked for a video showing that things like wipers and assistance systems really work.
So, why did I buy this car then and did not return it?
- Their battery technology is mature. When you try to buy a EV from an "established" car manufacturers most of them still don't have a heat pump and battery temperature conditioning.
- You can BUY them. While Germany's big pride, Volkswagen, are announcing to maybe have a competitive EV in 2026, and other manufacturers have waiting lists of 6 months and up, when I wanted to buy the Model 3 I ordered it and was able to pick it up one week later. Actually being able to BUY a real car instead of vaporware is a killer feature.
- All of the nerd humor, Easter eggs etc. It's refreshing to see that they fail on getting basic car software features to work, but that at least they are having fun implementing wacky fun stuff.
Obviously due to Elon Musk meanwhile having turned into a conspiracy-spewing crazy fascist, I would not buy a Tesla car again. But if I'd want to buy a EV in Germany today with proper battery technology and acceptable delivery times, I still would not have any other choice. I would have to buy something far inferior at a higher price "just" for political reasons.
> All the "But it works in my Tesla" fan boys are part of a religious cult and are simply lying. Whenever I checked, the "works for me" replies stopped when I either did a test drive together or asked for a video showing that things like wipers and assistance systems really work.
So all those fanboys are lying, but we should definitely trust your take on this?
No. You can easily do your own research. Do a test drive. Or, if you want to verify from the comfort of your home: Hours and hours of videos to watch on YouTube just for "Tesla Wipers" alone. You then can cross-check with a search term like "Ford Wipers" or "Mercedes Wipers" to see if this really is a subject any owner of a different car brand has to deal with.
The build quality is shockingly bad, and the quality assurance basically non-existing. When I picked up the car, the doors weren't aligned properly and would not close. I had to point this out for them to correct it.
Everything that you take for granted with all car manufactures to work in a middle-class sedan does not work. They did not put in a $3 Bosch rain sensor, so not even the camera-based automatic wipers work correctly. Everything that worked in my 15 years old Chrysler 300C does not work.
It's insane that any of their Autopilot related features are legal. The system is detecting 100% of trash bins next to the road, but maximum 50% of kids crossing the road. If you don't manually disable the various driver assistance systems every time you enter the car, the "emergency lane assist" stuff will happily drive you into opposing traffic for no reasons and will do dangerous phantom emergency braking etc.
Whatever traditional car feature you are looking at - compared to the 15 years old Chrysler everything is worse. Wind noise. Audio system. Comfortable seats.
All the "But it works in my Tesla" fan boys are part of a religious cult and are simply lying. Whenever I checked, the "works for me" replies stopped when I either did a test drive together or asked for a video showing that things like wipers and assistance systems really work.
So, why did I buy this car then and did not return it?
- Their battery technology is mature. When you try to buy a EV from an "established" car manufacturers most of them still don't have a heat pump and battery temperature conditioning.
- You can BUY them. While Germany's big pride, Volkswagen, are announcing to maybe have a competitive EV in 2026, and other manufacturers have waiting lists of 6 months and up, when I wanted to buy the Model 3 I ordered it and was able to pick it up one week later. Actually being able to BUY a real car instead of vaporware is a killer feature.
- All of the nerd humor, Easter eggs etc. It's refreshing to see that they fail on getting basic car software features to work, but that at least they are having fun implementing wacky fun stuff.
Obviously due to Elon Musk meanwhile having turned into a conspiracy-spewing crazy fascist, I would not buy a Tesla car again. But if I'd want to buy a EV in Germany today with proper battery technology and acceptable delivery times, I still would not have any other choice. I would have to buy something far inferior at a higher price "just" for political reasons.