There's little question that Tesla is leading the charge when it comes to the world transitioning from internal combustion-powered cars to electric vehicles, but there are other options, and some are quite good.
The YouTube channel, E For Electric recently took a look at "Tesla vs the competition" and analyzed the comparison based on safety, price, technology, range, long-distance driving, and service. While we might have preferred more specific details on some of the competing brand's EVs, the host examined the topic from a "Tesla vs the field" approach.
The host, Alex Guberman, starts off talking about safety and rightly explains that Tesla makes some of the safest cars available today. He also notes that most electric cars are also very safe, largely because manufacturers can engineer in longer crumple zones because there's no ICE engine in the front of the vehicle.
Guberman then shifts gear to pricing. While there is a Standard Range Plus Model 3 available for $39,190, there are other EVs that are less expensive, especially when you consider that most of them still qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit. Tesla's tax credit expired in 2019 followed by General Motors losing its EV tax credit in Q2 of 2020. Electric vehicles from all other automakers still qualify for the tax credit, giving them an opportunity to have a price advantage over Tesla.
When it comes to technology, Guberman gives the clear advantage to Tesla, and we can't really argue against that.
Next up is driving range, and that's a pretty easy one because Tesla is currently the king of long range EVs. However, that's going to change soon. In 2021 we'll be getting new EVs from automakers other than Tesla with 300+ miles of range, and some will even go more than 500 miles on a charge. That's something we've never seen before.
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Guberman transitions from range to long-distance driving, which is kind of the same topic but you then have to consider the fast-charging networks currently available. While some of the DC Fast charge networks like Electrify America in the US and Ionity and Fastned in Europe have made tremendous progress of late, Tesla's Supercharging network is still the gold standard of high-speed charging. Therefore, Tesla holds a decided advantage in this category.
Lastly, Guberman talks a bit about how Tesla's service is lacking. Tesla is growing so rapidly that it has struggled to keep up with customer service. Tesla's build quality has been highly criticized and often for good reason. In many areas, Tesla doesn't have enough or in some cases any service centers, unlike the traditional brands which have a mature network of dealerships.
It appears that Tesla is on the verge of making improvements in its service department, and reports say that Tesla will open an average of one service center per week in 2021, adding over 50 new centers to assist customers. If that comes to fruition, it should definitely help improve the level of service available for the brand.
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Source: E For Electric