Connect with us

Lifestyle

Tesla’s coveted brand and supercharged role within the auto industry

Published

on

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) released a comprehensive report on electric vehicles. The ILSR’s report, Choosing the Electric Avenue – Unlocking Savings, Emissions Reductions, and Community Benefits of Electric Vehicles, authored by John Farrell, is a treasure trove for those looking to learn more about the state of electric vehicles today and their exciting future ahead. The report points out “Tesla’s supercharged role” in the EV space and highlights its happy customers, better batteries, and Uber-like opportunities.

Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has carved out a coveted brand within the automotive industry. “Tesla has proved to have its own sex appeal, beyond eco-consciousness… A Jefferies analyst surveyed 145 Tesla owners in June 2015, when the least-expensive Tesla model available had a $58,000 sticker price and most of Tesla’s vehicles cost substantially more. About 70% of respondents said they switched to Tesla from cars that cost less than $60,000. Overall, they were willing to pay an average of 60% more than their previous car to own a Tesla.”

Above: Tesla dominates customer satisfaction ratings for both the EV/Hybrid and large luxury car segments (Source: ILSR)

As evidenced above, Tesla also has sky-high customer satisfaction scores. Furthermore, the Tesla brand, as a whole, “ranks first in customer satisfaction surveys, with 91% of owners saying they would buy the same car if they were repeating their shopping process, 7 percentage points more than the next car company, Porsche.”

Tesla’s reputation is also stellar in the evolving electric vehicle battery space. “As the sole electric-only car company, Tesla leads electric car manufacturing and is in hot pursuit of less expensive batteries for its models. Based on research conducted at its first-of-its-kind Gigafactory, Tesla aims to maximize efficiency in battery production to shave down costs. From 2008 to 2015, Tesla halved the cost of its battery packs despite expanding energy capacity by roughly 60 percent in the same span.”

Aside from falling battery prices at Tesla’s Gigafactory, the company’s plans to move into the self-driving, ride-sharing space should decrease costs further to the end-consumer. “Writing in Greentech Media, Tam Hunt tabulated the possible payoff for the owners of automated Teslas, based on the $15 average hourly income for a part-time Uber driver in Santa Barbara, CA. If a Tesla owner rented their vehicle on the Tesla Network at that hourly rate for 15 hours per week, they would see $225 in weekly income, or about $964 per month.”

Advertisement

Above: Greentech Media’s Tab Hunt looks at how “Auto-Uber” functionality might soon pay for your Tesla (Source: ILSR)

Taking this to the extreme — your Tesla could eventually be free. “Even subtracting $80 per month in electricity and insurance costs, plus 35% in taxes, the monthly takeaway is $504. That narrowly outstrips monthly loan payments for a Tesla Model 3 priced at $27,500 (after a $7,500 federal tax credit), with $1,000 down and a five-year loan with a 5% interest rate. Under those circumstances, Hunt estimates the ‘cost’ of ownership is a net positive $4 per month. Following Hunt’s logic, and assuming regulators sign off on both the introduction of automated vehicles and Tesla’s rideshare plan, a driver with good enough credit to access favorable financing could essentially own their Tesla for free (minus a $1,000 down payment).”

===

Note: Article originally published on evannex.com, by Matt Pressman

Source: ILSR

Advertisement
Comments

Lifestyle

Elon Musk seemingly confirms Cybertruck gift to 13-year-old cancer fighter

Diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of brain and spine cancer with no cure, the teen has undergone 13 surgeries by the time he was 12.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk has seemingly confirmed that he will be sending a Tesla Cybertruck to 13-year-old Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel, a 13-year-old Houston boy fighting brain cancer. The teen was recognized as an honorary Secret Service member by U.S. President Donald Trump during his address to Congress on Tuesday. 

A Chance Meeting

The Tesla CEO’s Cybertruck pledge was mentioned during DJ’s short interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. When Collins asked the 13-year-old what he told the Tesla CEO, DJ answered that he asked for a Cybertruck.

“I said, ‘can you do me a big favor, when you get back to Houston can you send us a Cybertruck down there?’” the cancer fighter stated.

Daniel noted that Musk responded positively to his request, which was highlighted by Collins in a post on X. Musk responded to the post with a heart emoji, suggesting that he really will be sending a Cybertruck to the 13-year-old cancer fighter.

Teen’s Cancer Battle Inspires

Diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of brain and spine cancer with no cure, Daniel has undergone 13 surgeries by the time he was 12. During his speech, Trump highlighted the 13-year-old’s long battle with his disease. 

Advertisement

“Joining us in the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true,” Trump stated.

Daniels officially received an honorary badge from U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran, to much applause during the event.

Surprisingly Partisan

While Daniels’ story has been inspiring, Trump’s focus on the 13-year-old cancer fighter has received its own fair share of criticism. MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace, while referencing Daniels’ love for law enforcement, noted that she is hoping the 13-year-old never has to defend the U.S. capitol against Trump supporters. “If he does, I hope he isn’t one of the six who loses his life to suicide,” Wallace stated.

Anti-Musk and Trump accounts on X have also thrown jokes at the cancer fighter’s honorary badge, with some dubbing the 13-year-old as a “DEI hire” that should be looked into by DOGE.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Lifestyle

Tesla owner highlights underrated benefit of FSD Supervised

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk has been pretty open about the idea of FSD being the difference maker for Tesla’s future.

If Tesla succeeds in achieving FSD, it could become the world’s most valuable company. If it doesn’t, then the company would not be able to reach its optimum potential.

FSD Supervised’s safety benefits:

  • But even if FSD is still not perfect today, FSD Supervised is already making a difference on the roads today.
  • This was highlighted in Tesla’s Q4 2024 Vehicle Safety Report.
  • As per Tesla, it recorded one crash for every 5.94 million miles driven in which drivers were using Autopilot technology.
  • For comparison, the most recent data available from the NHTSA and FHWA (from 2023) showed that there was one automobile crash every 702,000 miles in the United States. 

FSD user’s tale:

  • As per an FSD user’s post on social media platform X, FSD Supervised was able to help him drive a relative to a medical facility safely even if he was exhausted.
  • During the trip, the driver only had to monitor FSD Supervised’s performance to make sure the Tesla operated safely.
  • In a vehicle without FSD, such a trip with an exhausted driver would have been quite dangerous. 
  • “This morning, Tesla FSD proved to be an absolute godsend. I had to take my brother-in-law to the hospital in Sugar Land, TX, which is 40 miles away, at the ungodly hour of 4 AM. Both of us were exhausted, and he was understandably anxious about the surgery.
  • “The convenience of sending the hospital’s address directly from my iPhone to my Tesla while still inside my house, then just a single button press once inside, and 40 miles later we were precisely in front of the hospital’s admissions area.This experience really underscores just how transformative this technology can be for society,” Tesla owner JC Christopher noted in his post.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Continue Reading

Lifestyle

Tesla Optimus “stars” in incredible fanmade action short film

Published

on

Credit: @SoKrispyMedia/YouTube

There are few things that prove an enthusiast’s love towards a company more than a dedicated short film. This was highlighted recently when YouTube’s SoKrispyMedia posted a 10-minute action movie starring Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, as well as several of the company’s most iconic products. 

The video: 

  • Shot like a Hollywood action flick, the video featured a rather humorous plot involving a group of thieves that mistakenly targeted a Tesla Model 3 driver. 
  • The Model 3 driver then ended up speaking to Tesla for assistance, and some high-octane and high-speed hijinks ensued.
  • While the short film featured several Tesla products like the Model 3, Superchargers, and the Cybertruck, it is Optimus that truly stole the show.
  • Optimus served several roles in the short film, from an assistant in a Tesla office to a “robocop” enforcer that helped out the Model 3 driver.

Cool inside jokes: 

  • The best Tesla videos are those that show an in-depth knowledge of the company, and SoKrispyMedia definitely had it. 
  • From the opening scenes alone, the video immediately poked fun at TSLA traders, the large number of gray Tesla owners, and the fact that many still do not understand Superchargers.
  • The video even poked fun at Tesla’s software updates, as well as how some Tesla drivers use Autopilot or other features without reading the fine print in the company’s release notes.
  • The video ended with a tour de force of references to Elon Musk products, from the Tesla Cybertruck to the Boring Company Not-a-Flamethrower, which was released back in 2018.

Check out SoKrispyMedia’s Tesla action short film in the video below.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Continue Reading

Trending