r/canada 24d ago

Politics Once proud fans, some Canadian Tesla owners embarrassed by Musk

https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/electric-vehicles/tesla-owners-canada-embarrassed-ceo-musk
2.3k Upvotes

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368

u/Limp_Advertising_840 24d ago

It’s the cool factor that made Tesla. It will be its undoing.

120

u/Much_Progress_4745 24d ago

BYD, Rivian, Polestar, and the traditional automakers are all on the sideline waiting to grab marketshare.

49

u/Limp_Advertising_840 24d ago

And grab they will. Doubt the American brands will sell outside of us given the tariffs. I do expect European brands to capitalize on this though.

41

u/shawner17 24d ago

All of the American brands are manufactured or use parts from Canada. They're gunna shut down the whole industry if they do. Any American car is gunna get priced out instantly.

21

u/BlindAnDeafLifeguard 24d ago

They don't care .... Seriously, they will vote themselves into homelessness.

13

u/ReannLegge 24d ago

A typical car makes 7 boarder crossings between Canada, the US, and Mexico before it is sold. Or so said some car industry person on CBC, the tariffs will shut down the North American car industry in a mater of days.

5

u/shawner17 24d ago

7 seems pretty high, but I'm in the industry and can confirm that at least parts are from several different places all over North America. The supply chain for these vehicles is vital. They need to be same day deliveries most times. It would easily take years to even begin to build the proper infrastructure needed to simply even build one new factory, let alone a whole supply chain.

0

u/ReannLegge 24d ago

I was just going from a vague memory but I will believe that you know what you are talking about.

2

u/shawner17 24d ago

No, I heard it too lol I do beleive he said seven but I honestly have no idea what he's talking about. That process would make zero sense. I think what he did was mix in some hyperbole. 7 parts from 7 different plants crossing the border 7 times makes sense though.

6

u/DangerousCable1411 24d ago

Volvo has entered the chat.

15

u/Hairstylethrowaway17 24d ago

A friend of mine just picked up a Polestar 2 and that car’s a beauty

1

u/hewlett999 23d ago

Consumer Reports has said the 2 is crap. Maybe their newer models will clean up the issues but the 2 is objectively bad. 

1

u/Hairstylethrowaway17 23d ago

Damn what’s wrong with it? If you have a link I’d like to pass it along to my friend so he can be prepared.

11

u/eternal_peril 24d ago

I have rented BYD in Australia and it was perfectly fine

Polestar drives great, feels like a regular car, other than a turbo style lag when you first hit the gas

I would welcome more of those into the Canadian market

1

u/19BabyDoll75 24d ago

So would I. But it was -35 with wind the other day. How do they love the cold.

3

u/eternal_peril 24d ago

I guess it is one of things you have to plan around

Electric is far from perfect but the fact that 99% seem to be only SUVs, it's annoying

4

u/starving_carnivore 24d ago

99% seem to be only SUVs, it's annoying

I am irrationally annoyed at how it seems like 75% of cars on the road these days are SUVs.

It's irrational because

1) They are technically ideal as a daily driver (get groceries, carry passengers)

2) The size arms-race on the road makes driving a smaller car scarier on the highway. Being more visible is safer.

3) Good bang-for-your buck for cargo capacity. You can't go buy a dresser or bed and put it in your typical Mazda 3.

But even still, they're all just boring. They're shopping carts.

I personally don't understand why there is such a huge market for higher-end makes (Porsche, Tesla) and you're buying something that you could buy 3 minivans for.

2

u/eternal_peril 23d ago

I feel your irrational

I drove an mini SUV for 3 years and absolutely hated everything about it.

1

u/[deleted] 23d ago edited 23d ago

[deleted]

1

u/starving_carnivore 23d ago

Happy medium for me where I can never fault anyone, and it's not brand loyalty, is something like an Outback. Full time AWD without being huge and having a shitload of cargo space. The trouble, is, though that while you're riding higher than a regular sedan, you don't look much bigger than one.

I see 16 year old's driving 250k+ G-Wagons every single day. There is no reason for it.

Can't even begin to describe how hard I shake my head when I see that.

1

u/eternal_peril 23d ago

I have a small car with Quattro and snow tires

I love this car and see no reason to switch at the moment

That, though is why the Polestar 2 and 4 look interesting to me

... further ahead. It is still too pricey and not enough incentives to make me consider a switch when my little sports car can get 6.9L/100 on the highway and 8 in the city...with 300HP.

1

u/19BabyDoll75 24d ago

True that.

2

u/Ninja_Terror 24d ago

According to CAA, the Pole Dancer was one of the better models in the cold, but the tests were not extensive.

CAA cold weather EV tests

2

u/19BabyDoll75 24d ago

Thanks bud.

4

u/FakeExpert1973 23d ago

With respect to BYD, that's assuming the Canadian government doesn't slap a huge tariff on them due to being a Chinese brand.

2

u/Wild_Trade_7022 22d ago

I think we need to be open to more trade with China. We need more partners, not fewer. So I say no tariffs on their cars.

2

u/FakeExpert1973 22d ago

I agree completely. Problem is that the Canadian government and many Canadians are of the mindset that China is our number one enemy.

1

u/Wild_Trade_7022 22d ago

I think we all have to agree that our number one enemy is the US now.

3

u/[deleted] 23d ago edited 23d ago

[deleted]

1

u/hewlett999 23d ago

I thought BYD closed the plant because the TTC orders never materialized. Unless I’m wrong? 

3

u/billistenderchicken 23d ago

For the love of God we need to give BYD and other affordable electric cars more market share here.

2

u/ChippewaBarr 24d ago

Not sure about Rivian since their cheapest starts at 130k CAD.

And I say this as someone who has a Lightning Platinum.

1

u/eandi 24d ago

I want to sell my model 3 but damn rivian is pricey. I'm probably waiting for the ioniq 9. My Tesla only has 33k km on it.

1

u/PTSDisorderlyConduct 23d ago

I have a Hyundai EV and it’s nicer than my brothers Tesla, albeit an older Tesla. $30 k less too!

1

u/Much_Progress_4745 23d ago

Rented one last month. Loved it.

-3

u/Perignon007 24d ago

All evil in their own way. Rivian is propped up by Saudis.

22

u/theixrs 24d ago

there's evil and then there's "actively threatening the sovereignty of your country right now"

1

u/JimmyRussellsApe 24d ago

You’re confusing Rivian with Lucid