Would-be Tesla buyers snub company as Musk's reputation dips

[groundloop]

Source: Reuters

The ranks of would-be Tesla buyers in the United States are shrinking, according to a survey by market intelligence firm Caliber, which attributed the drop in part to CEO Elon Musk's polarizing persona.

While Tesla continued to post strong sales growth last year, helped by aggressive price cuts, the electric-vehicle maker is expected to report weak quarterly sales as early as Tuesday.

Caliber's "consideration score" for Tesla, provided exclusively to Reuters, fell to 31% in February, less than half its high of 70% in November 2021 when it started tracking consumer interest in the brand.

Tesla's consideration score fell 8 percentage points from January alone even as Caliber's scores for Mercedes (MBGn.DE), BMW (BMWG.DE), and Audi, which produce gas as well as EV models, inched up during that same period, reaching 44-47%.





Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/would-be-tesla-buyers-snub-company-musks-reputation-dips-2024-04-01/

[spooky3]

1. Musk and TFG--brilliant profit maximizers nt

[Eyeball_Kid]

2. Tesla has several non-fascist competitors who make very good electric cars.

Musk appears to be allied with Russia's Putin, and he is opposed to US support for UKR.

[Baitball Blogger]

3. Tech has done more for Elon Musk, than Elon Musk has done for Tech.

[brush]

6. Yeah, Tesla will be better off if it could somehow ditch Musk.

He didn't invent anything anyway, just bought in.

That stainless steel pick-up is a disaster...it rusts. Whoever heard of stainless steel rusting?

[PSPS]

11. "Whoever heard of stainless steel rusting?"

That happens when it isn't stored, fabricated and handled properly. It becomes contaminated and loses its properties. Just using the same tools on both stainless and other steel will render the stainless useless.

Stainless steel, when fabricated correctly, provides excellent corrosion resistance. When misapplied, this will not be the case. Precautions must be taken to prevent contamination of stainless steel surfaces during fabrication. This is possible with the proper precautions, when done in a shop in controlled conditions, and more difficult when installation is carried out in a project field location.

There are several ways that stainless steel can become contaminated during fabrication. The three major causes are contamination with carbon, chloride or mild steel. To have proven results, It is important to eliminate all of them.

Contamination by mild steels occurs just by contact with the stainless steel. This might be caused by contact with tools such as screwdrivers, files, drills and polishing tools that have already been used on mild steel. Or it may be caused by grinding dust produced by using power tools or falling particles of welding and flame cutting on carbon steel in the general proximity.

Contamination by chloride, while less common, can be caused by contact with hydrochloric acid, or even, in extreme cases, from salt in sweat if not cleaned appropriately.

Contamination by Carbon occurs due to welding of stainless steel to carbon steel, flakes from welding carbon steel in the general proximity, or even some pen or markers used to write on both carbon and the stainless.

It’s common to see rust on process equipment caused just from welding or grinding on carbon steel in the general proximity. Grinding stainless steel welds with mild steel brushes can also leave the pipe covered with polka dots of rust in short order. Once embedded in the stainless steel, it is very difficult to remove all of the rust spots permanently. Once the rust has bloomed, if left untreated, it can progress into pitting corrosion and will haunt the owner from that point on.

[Scruffy1]

22. There are many different stainless steels.

They are generally grouped as martensitic and austenitic. The most commonly used ones like 303 are only somewhat corrosion resistant. I have no idea what Tesla uses.

[ProfessorGAC]

23. 304

They use N-304, which is austenitic. A surprising choice because its resistance to chloride attack is pretty poor, and at least a third of the country uses salt on the roads.
In our industry, 304 would only be used for hot soft water.
Everything else was 316 & up.

[EastBayGuy]

4. What could go wrong when you have the genius behind Xitter running the show?

I live near Tesla's California factory and employees hate him.

[MenloParque]

5. Had a recurring issue with my Model S that Tesla wasn't resolving. Saw that my Tesla dealership had a beautiful

2022 Porsche Taycan on the lot. I traded my S for that Taycan and so happy I did. This vehicle is better in every way than the Tesla. Also, VERY happy about my AMAZING trade in value for my “EXCELLENT CONDITION” model S. I saw the Service manager and smiled as I walked past to get into my new trade-in

[Zorro]

9. Tesla doesn't have dealerships

[MenloParque]

10. What?!? What do you call Tesla Sunnyvale CA on El Camino? They have Service and Sales with both new and used inventory.

I’ve seen in some states they just have a small showroom where you cannot just go in and buy but that’s not the case in larger California showroom/service centers.

[Zorro]

13. I'd call Tesla Sunnyvale a Sales and Service Center

Not a dealership.

Tesla Sales Centers are distribution points for picking up new (and used/inventory) Teslas sold through their online ordering system.

I'm quite surprised to hear they had a used Porsche "on the lot" for resale, since that would be very, very unusual indeed. But then I'm only familiar with SoCal Tesla Sales and Service Centers.

[spooky3]

17. The "sales and service centers" in the dc metro area

Have multiple Teslas in stock. Go to the dealer websites and you can search them. You seem to be splitting hairs here.

[Zorro]

19. There is a difference between a dealership and a sales and service center

That is why Texas and Michigan dealers tried to prevent Tesla from opening up their sales centers.

Tesla sales centers may have "inventory", but they are primarily resale demonstrators or new units that people ordered but didn't pick up by the time they were supposed to. They are not traditional dealerships with adjacent used car lots onsite.

[spooky3]

20. Let's agree to disagree. Bye. Nt

[spooky3]

14. There are seven--more if you expand the area a bit--in the DC metro. Nt

[Zorro]

15. Sales and Service Centers

Not dealerships.

[spooky3]

16. What else do dealers do, but sales and service????? Nt

[kimbutgar]

7. My hairdressers husband was going to buy a Tesla and had to put a deposit for one

He paid $2500 and then finally heard after 1 month it would be 6 months until he got the car. He needed a car sooner than that so he cancelled the order. They kept $750 of the deposit. He swore that he would never buy a Tesla then and ended up buying a Nissan hybrid car.

[Initech]

8. Thankfully now there's plenty of alternatives.

The Kia EV6, Honda Prologue, and Ford F-150 Lightning all look very tempting. Time to flush Musk and his white supremacist BS!

[truthisfreedom]

12. I'm test-driving a Rivian this week.

Sold my Tesla.

[Initech]

18. I wish I could afford a Rivian! Or a Lucid Air!

That price...

[apnu]

21. I am repulsed by Musk and Tesla.

I have a 3 year old car, my next one, I hope, will be electric. We like to take long road trips, and are waiting for faster charging and more charging stations. When we do buy a new car, it won’t be Tesla. That brand is poison to us.