The recent legislation should remove the Tesla advantage as it pertains to superchargers later this year. It was one of the reasons suggested for Tesla to cut the supercharger team.
By late 2024 or early 2025, all EVs should be able to use the supercharger network.
I have an Ionic6, and decided against a Tesla, so my comments come from that point of view.
I decided against Tesla because I think the smaller ones look like low end Toyotas and seem cramped. The largest was fine, but at that price I had the choice of lots of other manufacturers. I also didnât like that Tesla wants to move everything to the touch screen, I prefer a few knobs and buttons which I can deal with while driving far more easily than trying to stare at a screen and drill down to find what I want. (I have that same complaint with the Ionic, just less so because most of the obvious wants are buttonized: radio/satellite, navigation, etc.)
The Ionic has a generous back seat and pretty spacious trunk. The Frunk is a joke, itâs barely big enough to put a couple boxes of cookies. (I have read that thereâs actually a lot of space underneath and that you can get an aftermarket kit to deal with that, but I havenât/wonât bother.)
If you read up earlier in this thread, I give big points to the Tesla charging network (which I donât have access to for about another year). The Ionic also alerts you to every charger you drive anywhere near, or along the route, but it includes a lot that are useless to me, such as those behind the shed at a (not my brand) car dealership. Others in this thread have tried to help by pointing me to Apps which will do what I need for long trips. Like Tesla, the in-car app updates wirelessly as new chargers are added or navigation changes.
Otherwise, for around town (max mileage on a âfill upâ: 316 miles) itâs spectacular. Acceleration is awesome, the ride is simply quiet (no engine noise, you see.) The Bose sound system does not sound as good as the one in my Infiniti, but perhaps I just havenât taken the time to balance and harmonize it yet.
One of my biggest issues is that the Tesla cockpit just looks like somebody stuck a small TV from Walmart in front of the driver; it looks, well, cheap. The Ionic (and other manufacturers) have integrated the screen into the dash so it looks more organic. Itâs also smaller, by necessity, but I appreciate the clean lines.
The last issue for me is Musk. If the car were demonstrably superior then I would have bought it anyway in spite of my issues with him - but it was his behavior coupled with the explosion of other choices (and more coming all the time) that led me to look at alternatives. I went to the Hyundai dealer to see a car my wife wanted (a hybrid SUV) and while there saw the Ionic on the lot. I loved it at first sight, and after a test drive I was smitten. I bought it the next day (and she bought hers too.)
There are lots of things to think about, but other than the ârange anxietyâ (appropriate for this thread) thereâs nothing I would do differently. Iâm counting on that issue receding now that Tesla chargers will be available, as well as Electrify America, EVgo and all the others which already are. (The car has the J connector, so I will have to use an adapter with it sometimes, but Apple has trained me not to make too much of that.)
I just stumbled across this, so I thought I would throw it into the mix:
I really really want to like that car but I personally just canât get over the downward sloping boot and that âclown frownâ (as some have called it) the window line makes. Everything else about it seems outstanding and admittedly if feels petty to care about something that I wonât even see while I am using the car.
Not completely remove. Non-Tesla owners can use the superchargers but will pay more for kilowatts. To get the same charge rate as Tesla owners, they will have to use the Tesla app and pay a monthly subscription.
A Supercharging Membership allows EV owners to Supercharge at the same price as Tesla vehicle owners when using the Tesla app. If you are a Tesla vehicle owner, you do not need a Supercharging MembershipâŚOnce you sign up for a Supercharging Membership, a monthly membership fee will be charged to your designated Supercharging payment method. Tesla vehicle pricing will then be applied to all your Supercharging sessions when using the Tesla app at select sites. https://www.tesla.com/support/supercharging-other-evs#supercharging-membership
Seems like high margin revenue.
I disagree. The Model Y frunk is very useful. I use it for groceries all the time. It can carry my Rick Steves airline carry-on bag as well as a couple of boxes of Oreos.
I also agree with Mark above in that the online updates are a biggie.
Will also say that I had a positive experience with their mobile repair. Had a seat sensor that had to be replaced under warranty. Made an appointment with Tesla service. The guy drove up the next day and did the repair in my driveway in 15 minutes.
One final point is that Consumer Reports concludes that Tesla has lowest 10-year costs, even lower than Toyota. https://insideevs.com/news/717341/tesla-cheapest-repair-maintenance-costs/
At current prices with the $7500 tax credit, I think the Model Y is a steal. Not perfect though. The auto windshield wiper function is inconsistent at best.
It looks like the design was stolen from Porsche. (Not just my take, Iâve had several people mention it to me unprompted.) Anyway, that design doesnât bother me, in fact I had an Infiniti J30T which had the same general design.
Which I will gladly pay in the rare instances that I need it, just like I pay more for gas on the turnpike because I need it. It probably amounts to an extra $10-$20 a year, tops.
I was talking about the Ionic Frunk. Itâs ridiculous, even though several people have told me thereâs lots of room down there (and it comes with that usable space when sold in Europe.) I donât know why Hyundai would choose to put a plastic âlidâ over it, but thatâs what it is. Silly.
Yup, though I suspect the cost might increase if superchargers get overrun by nonTesla vehicles and Tesla owners complain en masse.
Would also note again that not all superchargers will be available for nonTesla use. Tesla has something like 25,000 supercharger stalls in the USA, of which about 15,000 are being made available for nonTeslas. Who knows whether that number will increase or decrease.
In the long run it probably doesnât matter with players like WalMart and BP coming on line. In the short run, it probably matters depending on how many long trips one takes.
I donât find much use for my model 3 frunk. Basically it contains all my mobile charging stuff (mobile adapter, various outlet adapters, a huge and heavy extension cable, etc). And it also has a change of clothing and a towel (always travel with a towel!) I think I open the frunk once every 2-3 months, and thatâs mostly to clean out leaves and twigs in case theyâve gotten in somehow (the cabin air intake is under the frunk lid).
Iâve also had only positive experiences with mobile service.
So far, this is the worst thing about my Tesla. Tesla for some reason decided that they can do without a water sensor and instead uses the front camera(s) to determine if there is rain on the windshield. But it is way way way inconsistent. Most of the time, Iâll be driving along with no rain in sight, could even be bright sunshine, and suddenly the wiper swipes a few times dry. That serves to smear dead bugs all across the windshield. Last week I did a 650 mile trip and there were lots and lots of dead bugs smeared across the window when I got home and cleaned it. Unfortunately, and sadly, this is an issue that they arenât likely to be able to fix with software. The one thing they might be able to fix is to remove the requirement of having wipers set to auto while in either of the assistive driving modes (autopilot or FSD). Of course, if the worst thing about your car is how the wipers work, then itâs probably a pretty good car. 
Check out a Tesla for yourself. The Tesla fans will tell you that a Tesla is the best thing since sliced bread. It may be for them, but probably isnât for everyone. Like every other car make, it has itâs good and bad points.
Try out a couple, find the one that works for you. Or maybe find that a hybrid or (GASP!!) an ICE fits your needs better.
âPeter
We finally test drove the tesla both the 3 and the Y and they are really nice. Now trying to decide betwene them, the 3 has a really good financign deal right now (2% rate), but the Y is bigger and can fit more stuff inside. Not sure which one to get. Also Tesla has the best prices of all, couldnât get a straight answer from hundai about the actual price out the door. Stopped at a Nissan dealer, but they werenât very helpful and the ariya is way overpriced according to everything I read online. Leaning heavily to Tesla now. Might buy now or maybe wait til after summer for next model year.
Not a concept that applies to Tesla. They make small incremental changes from time to time and will do an overall pimping to change to a new version, but that is after multiple years.
This is kind of true for most manufacturers. They make small incremental changes for 4, 5, or 6 years, and then do a big model changeover with big changes. What CAN be said about Tesla is that sometimes those small incremental changes arenât so small. For example, mid-2021 they decided to remove USS (ultrasonic sensors) from most of their vehicles (all the model 3 and model Y cars). The other thing that can be said about Tesla, and not so much about others, is that they add software features constantly.
Now as far as Tesla major model changes, they just did one for the model 3. And there were substantial changes made, most notably for me, they added the ventilated seats that I really like. Unfortunately, to upgrade (âtrade inâ) my 2021 model 3 to a 2024 model 3 would cost me north of $20k, and ventilated seats arenât worth $20k to me right now.
There are rumors that the model Y will have a major model upgrade sometime next year. That is what is stopping me from buying a new model Y right now, I donât want to buy a model Y in August just to see a completely new model come out in March with features (ventilated seats) I really want. Iâve been looking at used model Ys from Tesla and noticed a very strange thing over the last 3 weeks - it seems as if the inventory has almost completely dried up, and the remaining ones have higher prices that just a few weeks ago. While 3 weeks ago, I could scroll through literally hundreds of used vehicles to choose from, now there are only tens of vehicles at higher prices to boot. The other issue is that my wife thinks we should keep at least one ICE (HEV or PHEV) vehicle in our household in case of power outages. And I am beginning to agree with her. So later today we are going for a test drive in a PHEV.