Electric cars are a new phenomenon. You don’t need to be a genius to figure that the old stock will be gasoline and diesel.

My Californian Fiat 500e is the most reliable car I've ever owned.

On the other hand, my friend's Model 3 has some recall or problem roughly every six months.

So, I guess it depends on which EV you buy, but I'm pretty sure the most reliable EVs are more reliable than the most reliable ICEs, simply because they have fewer moving parts (quite literally).

Yep, fewer moving parts tends to mean more reliable. Jet engines versus piston engines in aeroplanes is an example that's not about electricity, the difference in reliability is enormous, maybe 100:1 ratio.

Recall problem as in a software update?

No, stuff he had to go to the shop for.

At one point, they had to replace the brakes, then the whole chassis suspension (or something like that, I'm not sure if I understood exactly what he said), then one of the cameras didn't work anymore, and then the windshield wipers didn't come on automatically. Something breaks or needs to be replaced due to a recall at oddly regular intervals.

I also know someone who's Tesla also seems to have constant problems.

Even so, they love the vehicle, underscoring that the EV drivetrain is such a step up from ICE that if everything around it is mediocre, it doesn't matter.

I doubt that is the norm. Tesla does have very high customer satisfaction numbers.

Depending on how consumer satisfaction surveys are phrased, it totally could be the norm, given this:

> Even so, they love the vehicle

I.e. if Tesla owners are constantly having maintenance issues but manage to still love their vehicles despite that, then their satisfaction is still high.

Unreliable ?

Unreliable what? How?