Legacy Automakers Hate Tesla
Why? Because Tesla forced them to make EVs.
Ford, GM, Honda, Toyota and the rest didn't want to make battery electric vehicles. They didn't even want to make hybrid vehicles, and only started doing so because if they didn't, they couldn't sell any of their cars in California. But then they got that law changed, but Toyota was already heavily invested in hybrids, so they continued making them. In fact, it was GM that killed the electric car back in 2002 (a whole documentary was made about this).
So now they are all forced to make EVs so they don't lose market-share to Tesla. But they're going there kicking and screaming. Why? Because to tool up to make EVs will cost them lots of money and therefore lose them lots of profits, and their #1 goal is to maximize profits. Plus, their EV sales will cannibalize their gasoline car sales, losing them even more money. Plus, auto manufacturers sell to dealers, and the dealers sell to you. The dealers don't make much money on the sale of the vehicle; they make the majority of their profits on out-of-warranty service, parts, add-ons, and financing. So they stand to lose lots of money because EVs hardly require any service or parts, and that was the bulk of their profits. There are already dealers who've opted out of carrying EVs! So the business model that worked well for gasoline vehicles sucks for EVs. So the automobile dealers hate Tesla too, because they see the handwriting on the wall.
So now that the legacy automakers are being forced to make EVs, they all want to be perceived as #1. And they are all trying to make the public believe that they are already #1 in the EV space. Some, like GM, even lie and say that they are "the leader in the EV market" even though they are currently not selling any EVs and Tesla has been selling them for 10 years, and Tesla has 68% of the worldwide EV market, and the EVs that GM had been selling were catching on fire and burning down people's homes. But this doesn't stop GM from lying... something corporations do very well.
Here's Honda emailing everyone on their email list bragging about how they will have a "100% zero-emission vehicle lineup"... but by 2040. Sure, they could do it sooner, but that would lose them lots of money, and they don't care about the environment, like Tesla does.
Notice above, under "Driving an electric vehicle has its perks", they use the term "zero-torque acceleration" in one of their four boxes. They don't even know that this is not the correct phrase. It's "zero RPM maximal torque acceleration". The phrase they used means nothing, and will not be adopted by EV makers. And another box said, "Reduced automotive emissions". Oops! That's wrong too. EVs have zero emissions. It's hybrid vehicles that have reduced emissions. So do you trust them to design EVs right when they can't even get their promotional material right? Really, how much do they care about what they're doing?
And their first real EV won't be out until 2024. By then Tesla will have become the Kleenex/Bandaid of the EV industry, and some legacy automakers will have gone bankrupt. Why? Because of Tesla's goals. Honda's goal is to make as much profit as they can, and to nickel and dime you to do it, while Tesla wants you to enjoy your car as they accelerate the adoption of sustainable energy technology for the sake of the planet and its inhabitants.
And once people realize that Tesla vehicles have "Dog Mode", "Joe Mode*", and "Fart Mode", and can stream Netflix videos and have video games and their own charging infrastructure, it's game over for the legacy automakers, because they simply can't replicate what Tesla did and will continue to do going forward. Having a gigantic headstart doesn't even begin to describe Tesla's lead... their mission statement puts them in a class by themselves.
Bottom line: Tesla wants to make EVs... Honda does not. They've been forced to by Tesla. Which company do you want to give your money to?
To
see GM's CEO lie to the American people, click here.
*
"Joe Mode" is a feature that was added to all
Teslas via an over-the-air software update. A Tesla customer tweeted
Tesla's CEO Elon Musk, asking if there could be a feature added that
would soften all the car's beeps and dings so that when his kids were
sleeping, those car sounds wouldn't wake them up. Tesla's CEO tweeted
back, "Good idea! We're on it." And three weeks later all
Tesla cars had this feature, and its name – "Joe Mode"
– is named after the customer, Joe Richardson, who made the request.
Can you see the CEO of Honda, Toyota, GM, or Ford doing that? No way.
And THAT's "why a Tesla?"
Oh, and "Dog Mode" was another feature requested by a customer.
Seems she had left her dog in her Tesla in Florida in July (very hot
out) when she went into a store to do some shopping. The AC was on,
but while gasoline cars need to have their engine running for the AC
to work, EVs have no engine, and their AC is electric, so you can't
tell that it's on from outside the car. A passerby saw the dog in the
car and assumed the AC wasn't on (no engine noise), so she called the
Police who were just about to break the window of the car when the owner
showed up. Close call. So the owner tweeted Elon Musk asking for a button
that would turn on the AC and place a large sign on the screen that
showed the inside temperature. And thus was born "Dog Mode",
which all Teslas had two weeks later. But I'm sure that all other carmakers
would be that responsive to their customers.
