Want To Avoid Buying An EV That’s Connected To Elon Musk? Buy These Instead

[Editorial: since this video was filmed, the claim Elon had banned "Weird" on Twitter as a slur was debunked. We apologize for this inaccuracy. However, the other quoted items have been double-checked in their authenticity as far as we can determine with the tools available to us]

For nearly fourteen years, Tesla has dominated the electric vehicle market around the world with its range of high-performance electric vehicles, complete with reliable fast-charging.

But as Tesla CEO Elon Musk's political outlook on life has headed ever towards the far right, many potential customers are now put off buying a Tesla.

So today, we're examining the alternative EVs on the market that don't have any ties to Elon Musk, his recent social media mutterings, or indeed Tesla.

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00:00 - Introduction
01:20 - Why some people aren't interested in a Tesla any more
02:27 - If you skipped the list...
03:23 - How we picked our recommendations
04:26 - Model 3 alternatives
06:05 - Model 3 Performance alternatives
06:23 - Model Y alternatives
08:34 - Model Y Performance alternatives
09:21 - Model S alternatives
12:25 - Tesla Model S Plaid alternatives
13:18 - Model X alternatives
16:21 - Model X Plaid alternatives
16:54 - Tesla Cybertruck alternatives
19:34 - Nikki's personal favorites
20:47 - Thanks, and Goodbye!

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Links:

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Presenter, Script, Audio: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Camera, Editor, Colorist: Michael Horton
Art and Animation: Erin Carlie
Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
© Transport Evolved LLC, 2024
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[typhooni]

Now give us the political leanings of the CEOs and board members of VW, BMW, Mercedes, BYD, MG, Volvo, etc, etc
need to understand their political leanings on subjects unrelated to cars.

[martincday]

Even taking Musk out of the buying consideration, the alternatives are serious challenges to the Tesla range, buying an alternative would not be cutting off one's nose to spite one's face, in many cases they would seem to be the better car.

[newscoulomb]

I would definitely include the Ultium options as alternatives to the Model Y. The Cadillac LYRIQ and Chevy Blazer EV and Equinox EV are all very similar in size to the Model Y, with very similar feature sets, pricing, and range. For me, the fact that it's now possible for the average person to walk onto a Cadillac or Chevrolet dealership and drive off in one of those models makes them worthy of consideration.

[WilliamDeanPlumbing]

Buying American made, massive support, tons of aftermarket accessories and support, fantastic charging infrastructure, service at my home if needed, not Chinese tofu, makes it higher on my list than what the ceo likes or dislikes.

[milohobo]

Thank you, I didn't understand the different Tesla models to begin with. This helped. Still happy with my Bolt EV, though I will likely upgrade my wife's car next which is currently a Toyota Corolla 2017 ICE.

[espritst]

Another great video, thank you! Great choices for the alternatives.

[CCARL]

Agree. This dude has changed. He's going from being the cool positive guy to an increasingly paranoid and irritable old man. Also he still runs Tesla as a start up company not a mature manufacturer. He has failed to ramp up service center support as sales have increased. so it's hard for people that have maintenance issues that can't be fixed with an over the air update to get timely appointments.

[robertbetancourt]

Thanks! Is there financing to buy a Canoo LDV 130 in California?

[GNiessen]

We got the Hyundai Ionic 6 and love it. Just wish it had a 360 degree camera view standard. Even the Nissan Leaf had that in 2018. It can't be that hard.

[newscoulomb]

19:35 I should actually have given more thought to my list of alternatives, considering I'm about to trade in/sell my Chevy Volt, but I'll still need a capable backup vehicle.
Model 3: I consider the KIA EV6 to be more of a direct Model 3 competitor because it is a bit smaller than a standard SUV (only 50 cu/ft of overall cargo), so my personal pick would be the KIA EV6 Light Long Range RWD.
Model Y: For the more traditional crossover SUV, my personal pick would be the Chevrolet Blazer EV RWD.
Model S: If I was in the market for a high-end EV sedan (I'm not), my personal pick would have to be the Audi e-tron GT, with styling being the only real reason I would pick it over the Porsche Taycan.
Model X: Again, not in the market for a larger SUV, but my personal pick at the moment would be the Rivian R1S.
Cybertruck: My personal pick here would be the Chevrolet Silverado EV 3WT. I don't need the extra range for towing, and the lower price and additional payload and towing capacities matter more to me.

[theninjineer]

XD the way I laughed on the "very dirty" outtakes. Thank you so much for this video!

[johnlabernik]

EQS is $30k more than a Model S. Ioniq 5 is $4k more than Model Y. You better really hate some guy on the internet you’ve never met for that kind of money.

[anothercasualobserver]

Hi Nikki, I love the show! Would you please do a video on GM's current V2H model lineup and their home energy center capabilities going forward? The lease term on my Bolt finishes in April and I'm considering a new Equinox EV lease/purchase and GM's complete home energy package for backup power. Thanks!!!

[ddeightonuk]

I am a Tesla shareholder and hopefully take an informed view, whilst not agreeing with all of Elon Musk's opinions. However, I think it is a bit childish, although your right to base a purchase decision on them. What are the moral standards of say VW and their involvement in Dieselgate? Or the manufacturers, many Western who bought components made with slave labour. What about the managers of Chinese EV makers who aren't able to criticise the CCP? A lot of double standards here.

There is also a good chance that all those buying EVs without onboard FSD computing power will have worthless vehicles sooner rather than later.

Dave Takes it On released an excellent video on Autonomy today to which I commented

"A faultless analysis Dave. There are other advantages. The resource and energy intensity of mobilty at system level will be vastlty reduced for countries, as will wear and tear on road surfaces through unneeded acceleration and last minute breaking. Flexible mobility will be available to a wide range of citizens that now are disadvantaged, disabled and the visually impaired for example.

This transition is often compared to the change from the horse to the IC Engine, but it is far more profound and happening faster.

Societies are not grasping this 'Tesla Paradigm' reality, particularly the USA.

The implicit Tesla Paradigm can be stated "our mission is to minimise the integrated Resource, Energy and mobility Intensity of societies at system level at continually reducing 'Loss to Society'

'Loss to Society' is that loss of time, ingenuity and limited resources arising from the creation, use and disposal of non-essential value, of not doing the right thing right every time; on a balance of probabilities."

[stevewausa]

Great reminder of just how much the market and our choices have improved in a very short time.

[cadude]

Nikki,
This was nearly exactly what I was looking for. I can't afford a new EV here in California but could do maybe a lease return or used Kia 6. That would be nice.

[JamesWomack]

I would never buy a Tesla, purely based on my dislike of Musk's antics of late. Irrelevant in the big picture, since I also can't possibly afford one (or even to insure one).

I'm quite happy with my 2016 VW e-Golf. It's the right size for my needs, it's fun to drive, and its incredibly limited range (all of about 85 miles per charge) isn't a problem for my limited in-city driving.

There's a car on the market for everyone and for every use case. The idea that Tesla is the best EV for everyone is simply incorrect.

[scottwilson]

Whenever I comment on news articles about Tesla in the Washington Post, I point out to people that, whatever they think of Elon, to not apply that more broadly to EVs, since much of what's going on in EVs is not Tesla. Whenever they replace their next car, they should at least test drive an EV, since they would be doing themselves a disservice if they didn't. It's painful to say, but I think there's no doubt that Elon is hurting the Tesla brand.

[EnricoDonelli]

Great video, thanks. A couple of months ago I faced this exact same dilemma, and I (sadly) opted for an ID.4 instead of a model Y

[nozomikurai]

We were looking at a Model Y, but have since decided on a Ford Mach-E. However, now that Nikki mentioned that BYD will start selling in Canada, we may just wait for that.