LOL! I’m losing it.
I’ve seen driving behavior like that for over 40 years.
just a tangent:
Chile is the country with the most car brands in the world (testmarket for LatAm) - so it is a highly competitive car market with brands you never heard of … (Gamut from sub 10k cars to 400k bentleys)
Chinese makers today (after having entered only 15 years ago) hold 1/3 of the market. The reputation has vastly improved (in 2015 the avg. opinion was “decent, cheap car, but 20 years behind a japanes/corean car” … in 2025 the avg. opinion is " good, cars - quite ahead in appointments compared to euro/jap cars, and ride quite as nice as a compact Toy/honda/Mazda"
anectode:
Wifey “upgraded” (against my advice) from a Volvo to a chinese MG - and it is a clear step up in ride-quality and overall usability experience … plus we just had to do planned maintainance (unlike the Volvo, which was quite a drama queen). The price for the Volvo was twice the price of the MG. Rides nicer than my civid, too.
MG=SAIC group (Volkswagen joint venture in china)
So yeah …a select group of chinese will be very dominant in the worldwide car market in the near future (Saic, Geely, BYD, Chery, GWM,…), especially facilitated by the fact that the world converted into a one-size-fits-all type of car - the SUV
1st thought: APPL
Q: what would you do if Teslas on the used market come down to just half of what is being asked now … and they just became too good a deal to pass …
IOW: what is your price ???
there is a point where I would jump (w/ lots of bumper stickers)
That point is coming. Used prices are cratering, which makes it painful for people wanting out of the image to sell. But… with tariffs new car prices are going to climb and although I wouldn’t buy a Tesla for love or money, it may be a good option for people. I see people buying other logos on Ebay and putting them on Model 3s. As has been pointed out, buying used doesn’t put money in Elmo’s pocket.
Is Tesla still remotely removing features from cars that get resold?
If Musk sold out and had no role in the company, and Tesla new car prices went WAY down, and appropriate bumper stickers were available…
I’d still buy another brand.
This was my opinion of Musk in 2022, in this thread:
Fair to say my opinion of him has dropped further since then. By great, great leaps and bounds.
As has been pointed out, yes it does. If there is demand for used Teslas, that keeps their price up, which also helps maintain the price and sales volume of new Teslas.
Everyone gets to make their own decision about who and what they want to support. But don’t pretend you aren’t supporting Tesla and Musk by buying used.
I wouldn’t buy one, unless i couldn’t find any other car. Even ignoring Musk, Teslas have a lot of features i actively dislike. Like, all the controls are via that giant touch screen, and where they are and how they work changes with updates. I don’t like the learning curve if driving a new car. I don’t want to randomly experience that whenever Tesla management thinks they have something nifty and new.
I mentioned in the AWD EV thread that I loathed the stench of Musk, and, at the time I was shopping that the high prices (for the features I wanted) made the Tesla a sub-optimal choice for me and my wife. Nor did I personally care for their interiors and instrument cluster/infotainment choices. But budget and other needs meant I at least looked at them when they started getting major sales (due to their internal and external competition around a year ago).
Then and now, I’ll admit to a streak of practicality as while we’re fully comfortable, we’re not as wealthy as some. If, (note the huge IF) it were the best option (in terms of features) for someone needing an EV at the lowest cost, and price was an issue, I wouldn’t scream at them for buying a used Tesla.
BUT.
As pointed out in this thread and others, these days there are plenty of comparable EVs out there in the same range new (not as many used, granted) - and often at comparable or lower prices unless Trump continues to provide cushy Tesla boosting assistance.
So I won’t absolutely judge someone buying a used Tesla, and while it contributes in a sense to their continued presence, it certainly does so less than buying a new one. Not everyone has the same financial choices that many on the SDMB do.
Still? Has that happened?
Realistically, if prices on the used market continue to fall, demand for used Teslas will increase to the point of providing a floor below which they won’t fall further. In stock market terms this is called a “support level”. Realistically, this will still be way more than I’d be willing to pay for a Tesla.
And I say this as someone who doesn’t give a shit about “status” or what anyone thinks of the car I’m driving. The two times that I’ve owned what would be considered upscale luxury cars, I bought them because they were beautiful and comfortable, not to show off to anyone.
Yet despite generally not caring what anybody thinks about the car I drive, I still wouldn’t own a Tesla, for three reasons. One is that the brand is just so toxic now that I guess it actually would bother me that anybody thought I supported Elmo. Another reason is that, knowing how Elmo loves to meddle with details of design minutiae, every time I got into it I’d be surrounded by unconventional design elements that were only there because Elmo thought they were great ideas. Like the complete lack of any conventional instrumentation on the Model 3 in favour of having absolutely everything on that ridiculous oversized iPad glued to the center of the console, or the recessed door handles that pop out to greet you as you approach the car, except when they don’t because they’re frozen under a layer of ice. Or doors that you can’t open from the inside, either, if the battery fails in an emergency (there’s a secret mechanical release, but most people don’t know about it).
The third reason is the amount of control that the company has over the software and the updates to it, which is such a central element of the car’s functionality. I simply don’t trust them, especially not with a lunatic like Elmo in charge.
“Open the door, Tesla!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Wolfpup.”
Apparently, some Tesla owners are changing the badges on their cars to make them seem something else. This might be the best course for a Tesla owner.
The first two are nicely done (I especially like the upscale Audi badge). The Cybertruck one is idiotic – you can put whatever nameplate you want on it, it’s still an embarrassing piece of shit and there’s no hiding it.
I’m pretty sure the owner is aware of that. But I appreciate his or her wonderful sense of humor, all the same. 
It reminds me of VW bugs back in 1970-ish that covered the front with a RollsRoyce style hood.
To add to the collection, here’s a couple more rebranded Teslas – a “Subuwu”, and the world’s ugliest Rivian! If I was doing the Cybertruck rebranding, I would have very small print just above the “Rivian” logo that says “I shoulda bought a”.
The bottom image is from a mock ad on Jimmy Kimmel showing Teslas being vandalized. The “Tesler” name comes from the Orange Genius’s pronunciation when he was trying to promote the brand on behalf of Elmo in what must have been the first ever infomercial done from the White House, in keeping with the quiet dignity that has been the hallmark of the Trump administration.
that is a valid concern, especially if we project EMs mental decline a couple of years into the future … I am pretty sure he has the technical means to disable a couple of million Teslas worldwide at the drop of an (idiot)hat.
Once, 'merica slides deeper into autocracy (x fingers that it will not happen) … with all checks and controls under his fingers (DOT, SEC, NHTSA) … just to own the liberals…
Don’t like it? … well then sue me!!!
ps: I assume one can take a Tesla off-line (after all, it needs a celphone-chip/radio/antenna to be online), right?