It is a compliance car, to reduce the emissions overall of the fleet they sell allowing them to sell more high profit ICE cars. They are likely losing money on each sale as well.

I think the Kona is a great start and wish it would have a better chance, but it is crippled from the beginning.

On a positive note, it is a step in the right direction to rev up that part of the company, as they will need the experience for future success when they can no longer rely on ICE sales

Yes, I agree. Hyundai has better quality control than Tesla:

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1115659_tesla-model-3-q...

Agreed. The Kona's fit and finish is miles ahead of the Model 3, and the interior comfort is the same for...1/4 the cost of the Model 3? Tesla's got quite a bit of work cut out for it if it hopes for the $35k Model 3 to stand a chance in the marketplace, since it'll being facing a ton of competition by the time it comes out (if ever).

I think another advantage Tesla has is the Supercharger station access.

Supercharger access is becoming less of an exclusive as well. Electrify America is putting in a lot of stations (there's a couple near me right now, with about a dozen more planned) that support 150kW now (30 more than a Supercharger), and 350kW as soon as there's a car that can take it.

Like the Porsche Taycan:

https://electrek.co/2018/07/30/porsche-taycan-all-electric-p...

Even though I've only used superchargers 4 times in 6 months, it absolutely solves the EV roadtrip FUD in a way that nobody else has figured out yet.

[1] https://insideevs.com/november-jaguar-i-pace-sales-u-s/ [2] http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales-data/tesla/tesla-model-...

I live in the most EV friendly region in the US and I hardly see I-Paces. Meanwhile Tesla is just crushing it here.