There's a reason ONE and only one 100% electric car company has really made it, and it wasn't the simple aspect of the vehicles being electric. Nobody but the "I'm smugly 'saving' the Earth" idiots (or those in Commifornia wanting the passing lane sticker) actually wants a Prius. There are a handful of people who want the efficiency, if they're driving a ton of miles, but they don't actually want the car itself.
Tesla understands something important. If you want to sell something, people need to want to buy it. It's much like the same concept of why none of us buy HiPoints, despite (allegedly) functioning fine and being significantly cheaper than Glocks. Both are bricks, but the HiPoint is even more ugly and has the laugh factor to go with it. Nobody wants to be the guy who shows up to the range with his HiPoint just like nobody calls his friends over to check out his new Prius.
Tesla spent time designing a car that looks good, and looks unique. It looks high end. Oh, and it just happens to be electric and loaded with cutting edge, almost working tech. The Prius, especially the new ones, look like a 5 year old designed a spaceship with wheels. The Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, etc. all look boring and borishly pedestrian. It's no wonder they struggle to sell the things. The best selling hybrid ever is well past the honeymoon phase; people aren't buying the Prius anymore. Meanwhile Tesla is eating their lunch. Hopefully Tesla does have a design refresh or two in the wings though, because the Model S and X are getting a little dated.
That said, I still love and will continue to drive my American pushrod V8's.
Tesla understands something important. If you want to sell something, people need to want to buy it. It's much like the same concept of why none of us buy HiPoints, despite (allegedly) functioning fine and being significantly cheaper than Glocks. Both are bricks, but the HiPoint is even more ugly and has the laugh factor to go with it. Nobody wants to be the guy who shows up to the range with his HiPoint just like nobody calls his friends over to check out his new Prius.
Tesla spent time designing a car that looks good, and looks unique. It looks high end. Oh, and it just happens to be electric and loaded with cutting edge, almost working tech. The Prius, especially the new ones, look like a 5 year old designed a spaceship with wheels. The Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, etc. all look boring and borishly pedestrian. It's no wonder they struggle to sell the things. The best selling hybrid ever is well past the honeymoon phase; people aren't buying the Prius anymore. Meanwhile Tesla is eating their lunch. Hopefully Tesla does have a design refresh or two in the wings though, because the Model S and X are getting a little dated.
That said, I still love and will continue to drive my American pushrod V8's.