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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.
Praise be to those that are wealthy. If we do what they say, we'll be just like them someday.
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.