> If it was the choice between Musk's offering and a car from a bland manufacturer without an asshole at the helm that still did everything the Tesla did?

I think most people know what Elon Musk is like. He promises a lot. He delivers a lot too. But his promises are always optimistic and running ahead of delivery. That's especially true on timelines, but true on other matters like functions or capabilities as well. I think most people take that into account when processing his statements, and mentally subtract some of the over-optimism from them.