[jlbnjmn]

I agree the Accord hybrid lacked the proper street cred to sell well. The pitch for a Prius was green points and fuel savings, but when you do the math the fuel savings is insubstantial and the green points were offset by the general feeling of driving a cheap cooler. (I remember finding the acceleration in my 4 cylinder Camry thrilling after 5 miles test driving a Prius.) Oh, and that "benefit" came at the cost of added mechanical complexity and upfront investment.

However, I didn't see many outside the liberal left coast crowd virtue signaling with their hybrids.

But that's not the case with Tesla. Of the Tesla owners I know, the majority also own companies and environmentally agnostic.

The only Prius owner I know personally was fresh out of college working an entry level sales job.

Oh, and as for the driving experience of a Tesla, performance models are quite literally quicker than many roller coasters. You might try driving a performance Model S sometime to experience the surprise first hand.

I assume you haven't, because very few Tesla skeptics have.

[snypher]

>but when you do the math the fuel savings is insubstantial

What does this mean? I drive ~900 miles a week on a car that cost $6500 used, and makes ~48MPG.

Personally I'm sick of being branded as a left-coast-virtue-signaler for owning a vehicle that makes sense for my use.

[jlbnjmn]

If you felt labeled by my post, I failed to communicate well and I apologise.

> a car that cost $6500 used

That's the smart financial decision. The math works better when buying used. By that same math, I had a '97 Suburban with a 5.7l V8 that cost me less to own and operate than a new Prius, but only because I bought it used.

If I buy a new car, though, it's going to be a BEV. The driving experience and cost savings are more than incremental.