All my objections to Tesla melted away after I took one for a test drive. They outclass the competition in every way. It's not just the software, it's the driving experience. The Model 3 is a rocket ship and handles like a 911 for half the price.
Plus Tesla serves customers who don't want a silly crossover -- most other brands are only making EV crossovers. If you want a smaller car you don't have very many choices, and most of them cost more (e.g. Porsche Taycan, the Audi version of the Taycan).
I have autocrossed various cars competitively including a model 3 and a 911 GT3.
There is nothing "Bad" about the model 3 handling, but nothing good either. It is vastly under-tired for how heavy it is, but of course you can fix that with big wheels and tires. It also has no adjustable front camber, a necessity to set up a car to handle decently. Its just got a totally normal suspension, and is atypically heavy with atypically narrow tires.
Now does it set good times on certain tracks? Absolutely, because it has 500 horsepower from "idle" up to a pretty decent speed. On tight, short tracks it can power out of corners in an absurd manner.
But the "handling" is really kind of bad, which can be fixed in the same way you can fix any cars handling (aftermarket coilovers, a proper alignment, and big tires)
Ok, it all works the same on public roads too, and isn't as good as a 911 there either?
I realize there is a valid point here that actual handling doesn't matter other than "the steering feels fun to me for whatever reason" and sure, the Tesla does that decently. So does a Mazda CX-50 crossover for some reason. (I dunno why but they gave it the sportiest steering feel ever)
All my objections to Tesla were validated after I took one for a test drive. It felt cheap, the ride was fine but nothing special, and the control scheme (with that touchscreen) was awful. I also can't agree with you at all on the handling. It certainly handles better than a Honda accord, but nowhere near a 911 unless you're driving in a straight line. Teslas are hard to beat in a straight line thanks to the torque from the electric motors.
Also, as a practical matter, you have to ride the accelerator pedal in a Tesla because the car will roll to a stop in a very short distance if you don't. With most other cars, you can hover your foot over the brake to prepare for an emergency. I assume that some fraction of the people whose Teslas "accelerated out of control" when they were trying to hit the brake didn't realize this.
When you get used to it, driving other cars just feel dangerous. Like if for any reason if your feet leave the pedals the car will just fly out of control and not slow down.
Even taking your foot off the brake at an intersection will cause the car to drive right into it. That seems crazy when coming from a car that when it is stopped, it remains stopped.
Holding the brake is like holding the trigger of a grenade.
It may seem odd, but it is pretty key to reaction time - studies on this have shown that it takes about 2 seconds for an emergency stop when you're actively using the accelerator pedal (which is almost 100% of the time your Tesla is rolling forward), while it only takes a little under a second to do an emergency stop when your foot is over the brake. The car rolling forward when no pedal is applied is actually a safety feature, weirdly (although an accidental one).
Yea, but the Tesla can brake faster automatically in an emergency faster than I can realize an emergency is happening.
And again, when I drive cars that don't slow down without input, or creep, it just feels more out of control and dangerous. The Tesla is inherently safer by quickly slowing down when no input is applied.
I'm sure that it feels safer, but a lot of people felt safer in cars without airbags too.
Also, relying only on auto-braking is a really bad idea. A lot of people have died doing that (not just in Teslas). It works 99.9% of the time, but that other 0.1%...
Having a car quickly slow down and stop automatically is inherently safer. Most other cars will continue coasting/creeping until they hit something. There's really no way to spin how that is better/safer.
The single-pedal braking can be turned off in the settings. I have no idea why coasting and hovering over the brake is ever a good idea in any circumstances, but if you really want to do that, you can.
if you are driving defensively? you may think there is potential for brake usage in the upcoming section of highway, so you might take your foot off the accelerator and hover the brake just in case. I believe this is pretty common.
at least when I drove a model s this wasn't really possible because the car would slow rapidly when I took my foot off the accelerator. nice to know that can be disabled, ill look for it next time I'm driving a tesla
Plus Tesla serves customers who don't want a silly crossover -- most other brands are only making EV crossovers. If you want a smaller car you don't have very many choices, and most of them cost more (e.g. Porsche Taycan, the Audi version of the Taycan).
This is probably a product of where you are. I see plenty of actual EVs in a lot of shapes and sizes and from what I can tell, price ranges. (Not actually in the market for a car, so I'm unsure of any sizes). Of course, I'm in Norway and there are many electric cars on the road and they've been building the infrastructure for them - and the mix of brands available and what brands are cheaper than others would vary quite a bit from, say, the US.
Plus Tesla serves customers who don't want a silly crossover -- most other brands are only making EV crossovers. If you want a smaller car you don't have very many choices, and most of them cost more (e.g. Porsche Taycan, the Audi version of the Taycan).