Aside From Tesla, Electric Cars Suck and Will Continue to Suck
Popular YouTuber Marques Brownlee — who also goes by ‘MKBHD’ — posted a video today that gave the world one of its first glances at Mercedes-Benz’s upcoming luxury electric sedan, the EQS. While the vehicle isn’t even officially revealed yet — we haven’t even gotten a price for it — it’s already evident to me that Tesla is still the king of the electric vehicle space.
What Do We Care About in a Car?
In his video, Marques talks about how with the EQS, Mercedes absolutely nailed the quality. From the doors opening on their own and closing with a soft touch, to knowing which mirror you’re trying to adjust just by looking at it, to massaging you while you drive, to having 8 USB-C ports and 2 Mini-HDMI ports, the EQS is spacious, comfortable, and over-the-top.
The interior’s of Tesla vehicles, on the other hand, are barren, as minimalistic as possible, and often don’t use the best materials. However, Tesla is far and away the #1 electric car company and, in my opinion, will continue to be #1 for a long, long time. Why? Nobody else understands why people buy Teslas.
Features like Sentry Mode, Autopilot, and even the idea of Full Self Driving are enough to sell a Tesla. Tesla isn’t trying to be something it’s not. The interior may be minimalistic but the software experience is second-to-none. The infotainment experience is not only futuristic in theory but futuristic in practice. That last bit is funny because the Model S was introduced in 2012. Almost 10 years later, that original Model S is still better than most 2021 competitors. Those competitors’ vehicles are uninspiring and lack a soul.
Traditional automakers like Mercedes are either trying way too hard to be something they’re not, or not trying hard enough to be something they wish to become. I’m sure the EQS will be enjoyable to drive, but the entire experience will be as forgettable as that name. In the video, MKBHD talks about how the software experience feels like it’s from 2014. He even pulls out a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 — which was released in 2014 — out of the rear center armrest. Mercedes pitches the vehicle as having a 55"+ screen due to combining a bunch of screens at the front of the vehicle for the driver and passenger.
What’s the good in one big screen, or lots of smaller ones, if they’re all terrible? It’s 2021 — there’s no excuse for slow, laggy, touch interfaces. I understand cars aren’t smartphones but for something that’s expected to be $100K+ (from Mercedes, no less), you would think you’d get a fantastic infotainment. Don’t get me wrong, it seems to be very practical and do everything you might need it to do — however, it doesn’t do what you want it to do. The voice assistant is slow and likely limited in its capabilities. There’s noticable lag when interacting with the screen at all. The reverse camera is pixelated and choppy. The whole car is a good idea in concept, but is terribly executed in practice.
The EQS will be a forgettable entry in the swath of electric robots released by traditional automakers — I say robots because they’re soulless and uninspiring. Whereas Tesla focuses on its strengths (premium tech, premium electrification), the EQS and similar entries fail to stand out. The Porsche Taycan is a great initial counterpunch by traditional automakers, but it fails to stand out on the electric side. It’s fast, has innovative charging standards [compared to other traditional automakers], but lacks enough unique tech to position it as a Tesla-killer.
The Taycan looks fantastic and has lots of screens, but it lacks meaningful, futuristic features like Sentry Mode and Autopilot. Furthermore, Tesla has cemented itself as a tech company, too, and is consistently on top of the tech in its vehicles. From constant over-the-air software enhancements to brand new features being released years into ownership, Tesla vehicles offer experiences previously unthinkable in a car, and not just because they’re electric.
One other thing — the Taycan starts at $80K, which puts it out of reach for most people. While Tesla’s Model 3 can get pretty pricy with all the add-ons they offer, it’s clear nonetheless that Tesla has a massive advantage over traditional automakers on multiple fronts, which include:
- A far more convenient and spread out charging network
- Extremely intuitive software and the mindset of a tech company
- Existing market share and notoriety
The Taycan is a fantastic product and a great offering, but it gets lost in a sea of genuine trash like the BMW i3 which was a paltry attempt from the German automaker at electrifying the brand. The i3 is everything wrong with traditional automakers’ efforts in the electric vehicle space. It looks terrible, and is such a disservice to the BMW image. Everything about that vehicle feels forced — especially the fact that they’ll continue making it ’til 2024. From the design to the performance to the lack of features, the i3 is living proof that traditional automakers need an entirely different approach to EVs.
The design of most non-Tesla electric cars is what really bothers me. Traditional automakers seem to force these extremely over-the-top designs that they think an electric car should look like. Are these supposed to be futuristic? They either look way too childish or not serious enough. For a long time, Tesla’s vehicles were the only electric cars that actually looked good — their cars wouldn’t embarass you in front of your friends when they saw it parked in front of your house. With the Porsche Taycan, traditional car companies are starting to catch up but I feel that, overall, they’re not trying hard enough to compete in the space.
Volkswagen and GM are making big moves with their ‘mostly-in’ mentality on electric vehicles, but I still don’t feel they’re doing enough. Most of the designs they’re coming up with are too ‘electric-y’ — that’s my word for shitty-looking designs from traditional automakers. I feel that most of these companies need to start from scratch or just stop trying to be something they’re not. Make a good looking car that’s fun, performant, and has a soul. We don’t need voice assistants in cars — they all suck and everyone wants Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
We don’t need a shitty 7 year-old tablet built into the rear passenger armrest. We need traditional automakers to take electric vehicles seriously. They’re the future and I can tell that these companies see and know that, but I can’t tell if they don’t care or if they’re trying way too hard and totally failing.
