[ajross]

> Why is it objectively better to have less rear visibility?

Because it's an artifact of the tapered afterbody that makes the cars the most energy-efficient on the road. Teslas beat every other EV on range, and the tiny handful of cars that do better (Lucid Air being the most notable) do so with significantly larger batteries. Everything has tradeoffs.

FWIW: a few years of driving a van in my youth cured me of reliance on the center mirror anyway. This is very much an ejectable feature in my mind, something very much worth trading for ~30 miles of extra range or whatever.

There are plenty of other quirks like this. The Y has a very poor turning radius (to reduce the void size in the wheel wells) too. It only comes in five boring colors. The third row seating is real and useful, but the headroom is comically small (same tapered afterbody). Everyone has their own list. The car isn't perfect.

But it's absolutely as close to perfect as anything else I've driven.

[clouddrover]

> and the tiny handful of cars that do better (Lucid Air being the most notable) do so with significantly larger batteries

The Lucid Air does it with both a bigger battery and better efficiency.

[ajross]

I think the Air is sort of the exception that proves the rule. Though it's also early and independent verification on production vehicles is still in the future. They're only barely shipping right now.

[clouddrover]

No, there are no rules being proven. The Air is just a more efficient car.

The Mustang Mach-E has greater range for less money than the Model Y:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSmSiOo-v8s

That's more battery for your money.

[ajross]

The Mach-E RWD variants with the 88 kWh battery get about the same range as the Y with 77.8 kWh. That's significantly less efficient, not more.

[clouddrover]

I didn't say the Mach-E was more efficient. I said you get more battery for your money.

In the end what's going to matter to most people is how far they can drive for the money they spent.

You should also watch the video. Tesla's EPA range figures are inflated. You need to do range tests in the real world (like in the video) to see more practical results.

[ajross]

> I didn't say the Mach-E was more efficient. I said you get more battery for your money.

In response to my point that Teslas were more efficient than other cars, though. I guess I don't understand "battery for your money" as an advantage. If you buy a pickup instead of a sedan, do you usually claim that it has "more fuel tank for your money" when people complain about gas mileage? Ford ships a slightly cheaper car with a significantly more expensive part. That's bad for Ford and at best a wash for the consumer (though it does cost more for electricity, that's a small pert of operating an EV). That's a disadvantage, right?