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I happened on this piece on the Quora website:
Is Teslas sale going down in Europe fast?
Yes. But it isn’t for the reasons that CNN tells you.
My Dad’s closest friend is an immigrant from Germany. His cousin is named Christian and lives near Munich. He works for a company that manufactures and tests auto parts. He tests parts and is part of a team that evaluates and approves auto parts. He gets paid to drive for four hours in the Bavarian Alps testing car parts. He also sounds exactly like Arnold Schwarzenegger, which I absolutely love.
Anyway.
A couple weeks ago I had a chance to talk to him (remotely). While we were chatting I asked him about why Tesla sales are down in Europe.
He gave me a long answer. Like 10 minute explanation.
He never once mentioned Musk.
See here is the thing: Tesla’s are shit cars. And they’re expensive shit cars. He knows this because he makes car parts that end up in BMWs, VWs, and a few Renaults. He sent me this article and blog. Both are dated December 2023.
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-musk-steering-suspension/
You're Supposed To Be Glad Your Tesla Is A Brittle Heap Of Junk | Defector
Read these articles. These are not one offs or a failed part. These are systemic problems with the cars.
And Christian told me that in Germany they sell for 60,000+ Euros.
BMW’s I5 was launched last summer. It is similarly priced, but unlike Teslas the wheels don’t fall off when you’re doing 180 on the autobahn. Most Germans see this is a rather important feature of their BMW.
VW has hybrids that sell for less than half of what Teslas do. And their axels can actually support the weight of the cars in question.
So Germans can support a German made car, spend less, and feel secure that their car door won’t fall off while they’re going 150 on the autobahn. All three of these are key selling points.
And in case you think I’m being flippant. All three of the issues are actually reported in the articles I posted.
Spontaneous combustion is also something BMWs are not famous for.
Tesla Fire: Digital record of Tesla fire incidents
This is only the first issue.
Teslas have almost zero resale value. A Tesla bought for 70,000 Euros in 2020 will get less than 10,000 as a trade in item. That car loses 15,000 Euros a year in value.
In general EV cars suffer on the used car market because of the cost of replacing the battery, but Teslas are almost worthless after 5 years because you have the battery issue and the wheels falling off issue.
That is a major consideration for people.
He also pointed out (anecdotally now) that because of these issues Teslas fill up junkyards faster than any other cars, and their batteries are an environmental nightmare. He is of the opinion that Tesla is simply trading one kind of environmental damage for another, though that is just his opinion.
Though anecdotal, a quick google search tells me he is probably right about some of this. From January 2023:
Hundreds of Brand New Teslas Piling Up in Junk Yards
and from earlier this year, and from a more official source.
Brand-New Teslas Are Showing Up in Junkyards
They break down a lot, are prohibitively expensive to repair, and have no resale value. So people scrap them with less than 10,000 miles/16,000 kms on them.
After he explained this all to me he told me that this is fairly common knowledge in Germany and Austria, and assumed it was fairly common knowledge elsewhere in Europe. He pointed out that Germans have never liked American cars anyway. Too big and too cheaply made. Teslas are the living stereotype.
This is a man who has driven every German car made in the last 50 years. Seriously, he has taken a Trabant for a test push. He has also driven most European and Japanese cars, and a few American ones.
He flat out said that Teslas were in the bottom five of any cars he has driven, and he has driven several models of them. But he did concede that Trabants were worse. So I guess Teslas have that going for them.
Though I might suggest that they will ultimately belch out the same amount of smoke. Teslas just do it all in one go.
That was his explanation.
After he finished explaining this to me I did ask about Musks’ politics. I asked him what effect he thought the Nazi salute and the AfD interviews had.
He smiled and said “it didn’t help.”
21.3K views
View 950 upvotes
View 7 shares
Is Teslas sale going down in Europe fast?
Yes. But it isn’t for the reasons that CNN tells you.
My Dad’s closest friend is an immigrant from Germany. His cousin is named Christian and lives near Munich. He works for a company that manufactures and tests auto parts. He tests parts and is part of a team that evaluates and approves auto parts. He gets paid to drive for four hours in the Bavarian Alps testing car parts. He also sounds exactly like Arnold Schwarzenegger, which I absolutely love.
Anyway.
A couple weeks ago I had a chance to talk to him (remotely). While we were chatting I asked him about why Tesla sales are down in Europe.
He gave me a long answer. Like 10 minute explanation.
He never once mentioned Musk.
See here is the thing: Tesla’s are shit cars. And they’re expensive shit cars. He knows this because he makes car parts that end up in BMWs, VWs, and a few Renaults. He sent me this article and blog. Both are dated December 2023.
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-musk-steering-suspension/
You're Supposed To Be Glad Your Tesla Is A Brittle Heap Of Junk | Defector
Read these articles. These are not one offs or a failed part. These are systemic problems with the cars.
And Christian told me that in Germany they sell for 60,000+ Euros.
BMW’s I5 was launched last summer. It is similarly priced, but unlike Teslas the wheels don’t fall off when you’re doing 180 on the autobahn. Most Germans see this is a rather important feature of their BMW.
VW has hybrids that sell for less than half of what Teslas do. And their axels can actually support the weight of the cars in question.
So Germans can support a German made car, spend less, and feel secure that their car door won’t fall off while they’re going 150 on the autobahn. All three of these are key selling points.
And in case you think I’m being flippant. All three of the issues are actually reported in the articles I posted.
Spontaneous combustion is also something BMWs are not famous for.
Tesla Fire: Digital record of Tesla fire incidents
This is only the first issue.
Teslas have almost zero resale value. A Tesla bought for 70,000 Euros in 2020 will get less than 10,000 as a trade in item. That car loses 15,000 Euros a year in value.
In general EV cars suffer on the used car market because of the cost of replacing the battery, but Teslas are almost worthless after 5 years because you have the battery issue and the wheels falling off issue.
That is a major consideration for people.
He also pointed out (anecdotally now) that because of these issues Teslas fill up junkyards faster than any other cars, and their batteries are an environmental nightmare. He is of the opinion that Tesla is simply trading one kind of environmental damage for another, though that is just his opinion.
Though anecdotal, a quick google search tells me he is probably right about some of this. From January 2023:
Hundreds of Brand New Teslas Piling Up in Junk Yards
and from earlier this year, and from a more official source.
Brand-New Teslas Are Showing Up in Junkyards
They break down a lot, are prohibitively expensive to repair, and have no resale value. So people scrap them with less than 10,000 miles/16,000 kms on them.
After he explained this all to me he told me that this is fairly common knowledge in Germany and Austria, and assumed it was fairly common knowledge elsewhere in Europe. He pointed out that Germans have never liked American cars anyway. Too big and too cheaply made. Teslas are the living stereotype.
This is a man who has driven every German car made in the last 50 years. Seriously, he has taken a Trabant for a test push. He has also driven most European and Japanese cars, and a few American ones.
He flat out said that Teslas were in the bottom five of any cars he has driven, and he has driven several models of them. But he did concede that Trabants were worse. So I guess Teslas have that going for them.
Though I might suggest that they will ultimately belch out the same amount of smoke. Teslas just do it all in one go.
That was his explanation.
After he finished explaining this to me I did ask about Musks’ politics. I asked him what effect he thought the Nazi salute and the AfD interviews had.
He smiled and said “it didn’t help.”
21.3K views
View 950 upvotes
View 7 shares
