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by phailhaus 1178 days ago
> the iPhone had a ton of issues when it launched

Tesla came out with their first car in 2008, so we are not talking about a "first gen iPhone" with the Model 3 (which came out in 2017). The point is that Tesla is squandering their huge lead.

2 comments

> squandering

https://twitter.com/ICannot_Enough/status/161212131982648934...

I wish I could squander like that.

That's a silly chart.

It's charting % change from 2021 - 2022 vehicle sales.

If you add a couple other manufacturers from the [1] source data, this becomes more apparent. Rivian sales were up 12-million% in the same time period. Doesn't mean Rivian is crushing the market.

This chart is showing that Tesla went from selling 331,000 vehicles in 2021 to 491,000 vehicles in 2022. And while Toyota (by comparison) looks bad on the tweet you linked, they sold about 5x the vehicles that Tesla did in the same time period.

Tesla's growth in that period can largely be chalked up to being "a vehicle manufacturer with EVs in stock and available to sell". That special position is starting to erode, and will erode further with time.

When customers can easily choose between a range of EVs available from a range of manufacturers, things like, "can I trust my vehicle to warn me when I'm about to back into another car" will matter a lot more.

I personally don't think Tesla is going to tank, but I do think they're going to have to work to be competitive to a different standard than they have in the past.

[1] https://www.autonews.com/sales/dec-us-auto-sales-market-slid...

"1/5th the size of Toyota and growing 44% yoy" isn't the insult you think it is, lol.
This is not the forum for clever one liners in response to engaging and earnest responses. Please add to the discussion instead of devolving it.
Tesla's first car was a six-figure performance vehicle for the rich. It's goal was to make EV's cool and attractive, not for the average consumer.

The model 3 was the FIRST Tesla that the average car consumer could consider actually getting.

The Model 3 came out in 2017, six years ago. Again, hardly "first gen iPhone" at this point. But, granted, the Roadster is not a good comparison.