I think it's because people who buy a Tesla are fans of Tesla, so the well known reliability issues aren't a problem to them. They aren't buying a Tesla for practical reasons like affordability and reliability, they're buying a Tesla because they want to own a Tesla. It's the same as people who buy poorly made expensive designer clothes and accessories.

Helping move away from petro-powered transportation is a huge incentive for a lot of people. And it's not like Teslas are terrible or have a worse driving experience than other cars.

There is a reason that every single electric car made by anyone is sold far in advance, including non-Teslas where charging on road trips is still a sub par experience.

> Helping move away from petro-powered transportation is a huge incentive for a lot of people.

If somebody was serious about this as their primary motivator, they'd buy a much more reliable / affordable vehicle like the Bolt or Leaf.

satisfaction is subjective, reliability is more objective: "how many times have you needed to get this car serviced in the first N years?"

what's more, the cognitive biases that lead someone to convince themselves they're satisfied with their purchase apply whether speaking to friends or a formal survey