Consider the possibility that this is solely due to their dominance in battery tech, and despite rather than because of their uh… creative UX.

Right, which means it’s an immaterial concern until it’s causing customers to go elsewhere. Until then, the customer clearly doesn’t care enough to not buy the vehicle. Demand > supply. That’s all that matters. Opinions don’t drive financials, sales do. I understand this is an inconvenient truth for those with strong opinions on the topic.

I mostly was saying this as someone who strongly considered buying a Tesla but was sufficiently underwhelmed with the test drive experience that I went with a different make. But maybe you’re right, they don’t need me as a customer.

I don’t want to buy the vehicle because of touchscreen buttons. I can afford it.

You’re basically saying “he’s rich, so whatever he’s doing must all be right all the time”

No, I’m saying you don’t have to cater to the whim of every possible customer, as long as there are enough customers who will consume your product supply potential without gripe. There is a difference.

This is no different than having a SaaS product and ignoring small, vocal minorities of customers. You grow fast by accommodating the mass market. You die by entertaining the minority’s demands. Let the people who don’t care for your opinionated product go elsewhere and max your revenue, margin, and volume (whatever that intersection is).

I am not saying consumers demanding physical controls are wrong, just that a) they should shop elsewhere if they want that and b) Tesla is wildly successful without offering it. I genuinely don’t understand why that thesis is contentious.

Consider the possibility that physical buttons may be something existing tesla owners may not mind or even may like. If so they would have more customers, not less.

I can attest to this. Only bought a Tesla because of the batteries and supercharger network. Once the supercharger problem goes away, I’ll be buying a different brand EV

The lack of buttons in the Model 3 are my biggest gripe with the car, and the single biggest reason I'll never buy a car with only a touch screen ever again. My son drives the cheapest Kia on the market, and not only does it have well designed and placed buttons and knobs, to use them never requires I take my eyes off the road.

I can't even turn off the heat seaters in my Model 3 without looking at the screen. Even then, hitting a finger tip sized zone while fighting bumps and road vibrations means you hit everything but the button you want.

Things can have bad aspects and still be commercially successful. Commercial success is not an all-out counter to criticism of manufacturer decisions, and should not be the only driver of such decisions.