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Steve Wozniak May Swap His Tesla For A Chevy Bolt (siliconbeat.com)
An anonymous Slashdot reader quotes a San Jose Mercury News article about "Apple co-founder and electric vehicle fan Steve Wozniak."
Woz posted a picture of himself, smiling, next to a new, white Chevy Bolt. General Motors gave Woz the fully electric sedan for an extended test drive. He liked it. "I expect to be switching cars soon!" Woz wrote in a photo caption.
The battery-powered Bolt is due for release late this year. The four-door hatchback has an advertised range of 200 miles per charge, with a sticker price around $37,500. The EV will compete head-to-head with the Tesla Model 3. The Tesla entry-level sedan, expected to start at $35,000, will be released late next year.
It's interesting to read Wozniak's later comments on the post. "A lot of things wrong with the Tesla model S are done correctly (my opinion) in this car... It gets down to my product ideas of balance and getting the most from the least. Try to make things simple and affordable but very adequate. This car hits my sweet spot."
And in response to the obvious question, Woz replied "Maybe one Segway would fit. And a seat can be folded down."
The battery-powered Bolt is due for release late this year. The four-door hatchback has an advertised range of 200 miles per charge, with a sticker price around $37,500. The EV will compete head-to-head with the Tesla Model 3. The Tesla entry-level sedan, expected to start at $35,000, will be released late next year.
It's interesting to read Wozniak's later comments on the post. "A lot of things wrong with the Tesla model S are done correctly (my opinion) in this car... It gets down to my product ideas of balance and getting the most from the least. Try to make things simple and affordable but very adequate. This car hits my sweet spot."
And in response to the obvious question, Woz replied "Maybe one Segway would fit. And a seat can be folded down."
As someone who'd love an electric car, I'm already out of the running with a family of four children. I don't have the cash for a "second" car
Electric cars are still bleeding edge. The amount you save on gasoline, even over the full life of the car, will not pay for the premium price. You don't buy them to save money. You buy them to help change the world (and maybe for the convenience). If battery improvements continue at their current pace, the financial break even point is still five or ten years away.
Seems like all I hear about Tesla is "we're working to become awesome" and from their owners "it's true, they are awesome."
My wife has a Tesla. Yes, their customer support is awesome. So are their cars.
You can afford to be awesome when you're selling $100k luxury cars with probably a profit margin (excluding R&D costs) of $10k-$20k each.
When you're building $30k cars with razor-thin margins of a few hundred dollars each, it's a whole 'nother ballgame. I would love it if Tesla can keep up their current policies and support with the Model 3, but I seriously doubt they'll be able to. Even the free supercharges for life is questionable for the Model 3.
And in response to the obvious question, Woz replied "Maybe one Segway would fit. And a seat can be folded down."
I'm trying to see the obvious here, but all I can come up with is "Do you have any random comments? About the car, life, universe or anything?"
Praise be to those that are wealthy. If we do what they say, we'll be just like them someday.
I hired a Tesla Model S with Insane mode for a day so I could properly try it out and do all the things one does with a car in normal use. While it does feel like driving a spaceship and is absolutely phenomenal performance-wise, I'm not going to buy one for a number of reasons. Chiefly, the user interface is atrocious and it's impossible to safely do anything with the main screen unless you are pulled over. I also found the rear seats to be very low and hard to get in and out of and Tesla's paint color options are sad.
I'm looking forward to hiring a Bolt for a day so I can properly try it out as well.
Ideally, I'd get a Tesla drivetrain in a BMW or Mercedes coach.
The Tesla may look nicer, but the Bolt's body style looks a lot more functional and space efficient.
As far as Tesla quality, we really don't know what they will deliver when mass producing a much cheaper vehicle. And from what I've read on some financial reviews, there is a good chance that the Tesla will cost more than initially suggested.
My gasoline car has a range of 410 miles and it can be refueled in under 5 minutes
If you regularly drive 400+ miles in one trip, your family only has one car, and it is important that you can refuel in only 5 minutes, rather than taking a 20 minute break after 6 hours of driving, then here is the solution to your problem: DON'T BUY AN ELECTRIC CAR.
For plenty of other people, electric cars work well.
It's boring. It doesn't drive smoothly (the transitions between modes are not good -- at least on the gen 2 Prius that I drove).
Fundamentally, there is nothing wrong with it, but it is not exciting to drive. If your ideal car is merely an appliance that gets you from A to B, then it's OK.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!