When you say a failure for cars, let's get more specific.

As far as driving experience goes, I'd say it's pretty fantastic. The handling, acceleration, level of customizability - it's unlike any ICE vehicle on the road. The fit/finish issues did exist, but they are largely a thing of the past for their mass market models (can't speak for Cybertruck.)

More importantly I'd say is how fantastic the software is. No other auto manufacturer comes anywhere close, and it's what makes the car stand out for me. I care an awful lot less about the grade of leather and the level of fit/finish when I can have a car with such a dramatically better software experience, and I expect more and more people will eventually figure this out.

Let’s see how that software is in 2050. That’s what is stopping me from getting a new car—my current car is a 2001 Pontiac and I think I reasonably have a few years left with it before my maintenance bills eclipse a car payment. What are the chances the next car I get will have that kind of longevity?

If you plan on keeping a car for 17+ years you must know you are in a small minority. And even so, I’d be more willing to bet on a manufacturer with a deep software integration. Software can be updated, and continuously improving software is where Tesla is staking its future.

In 2050 current Teslas would be 30+ years old. What world is 30 years the standard for a car lifespan? Most cars would have 250k miles by the time they’re 20, which is nearly the end of life of most vehicles. Sure you can find examples of 500k++ mile cars, but that is not the norm.

> What are the chances the next car I get will have that kind of longevity?

Almost 0. Unless you want to keep dumping loads of money into it. Even from Toyota or Honda, you aren’t going to get that kind of reliability. Which is very sad.

> how fantastic the software is

When you say their software is fantastic, can you get more specific.

My only experience with Teslas is rentals and the touch screen and UI were rather annoying. Especially since it was necessarily to interact with to do basically everything.

I did back to back rentals with a Camry and a Model 3 and while the Tesla had advantages, I didn’t need to think about how to do anything on the Camry.

You’re really going to have to justify this because aside from some silly things like removing ultrasonic sensors I really like my Model Y.

Fast acceleration, cheap to run, good charging network for my rare long journeys. Probably save 4 hours a year in petrol station visits. Car is preheated every morning and fully charged. In terms of my specific needs there are no downsides.

Anything's a failure when you ignore all of its success.

If you define failure as the first new major car company in a century, then yes.

Sounds like you’ve never driven a Tesla… am I right?