Why the Mustang Mach E is better than the Tesla Model Y

[Jimrpa]

Truth. Last summer I looked really hard at skipping out on my MME reservation and just buying a Model 3 LR. I was annoyed at Ford's horrible lack of communication, so I went and test drove a model 3. I liked it a lot, especially the sporty size and quickness. So I did more research, and the more I did the more I realized that all the baggage associated with it just wasn't for me:

• Before doing my test drive, I read the manual to familiarize myself with the car. I realized immediately that my wife would have a hard time getting used to the UI because you have to drill into the screen even to adjust the steering wheel or turn on the wipers. She would try it once and say "forget it". That's OK, because it would be my car so not that big of a deal - but still something to factor in the decision.
• I watched a ton of videos, and slowly a pattern emerged. Most people unconditionally loved their cars and Tesla even when there were major defects and Tesla basically told them "too bad, it's in spec".
• More concerning was the obvious push from Musk to just get cars out the door regardless of whether they were correctly assembled or not. This was obviously done solely to ensure he made his bonuses. It went beyond just misaligned panels; nuts and bolts were simply not installed. OK, limited cases but clearly there was a problem and Musk tried to solve it by firing the people who were afraid of covid despite his promise that he wouldn't.
• Then, figuring I could learn more of the inside story I went onto a Tesla forum. That was eye opening. Clearly there was a personality cult involved, and I knew if I did get a Tesla I would not ever join that community of former high-school bullies and acolytes.
• Those things were all concerning, but what finally did it for me was when I also researched getting Solar panels. On Tesla's own forum person after person told the same story of problems and that Tesla's direct sales model (which is a euphemism for being placed in email jail) left them paying for something that didn't work and they had no way to get it fixed.

Now, a fan of Tesla will probably classify that as "Tesla hate". But, just like the facts that @trutolife27 brought out: everything I wrote is true. At one time I really admired Musk because his mission was to try to save humanity from itself. Somewhere along the way that changed to "do whatever is necessary to get more fame and fortune", and I am not interested in furthering that goal.

Like everything else the Mach E has its warts and clearly the software isn't fully baked yet. That's normal - every major new innovation is imperfect and requires several iterations to meet its potential. That is especially true for software. Ford appears to be doing everything they can to own the problems and fix them rather than gaslight and blame their customers. I respect that as much as I once respected Musk.

I have friends who are definitely Tesla fanatics, and literally worship Elon. I just want to reiterate this point:

• More concerning was the obvious push from Musk to just get cars out the door regardless of whether they were correctly assembled or not. This was obviously done solely to ensure he made his bonuses. It went beyond just misaligned panels; nuts and bolts were simply not installed. OK, limited cases but clearly there was a problem and Musk tried to solve it by firing the people who were afraid of covid despite his promise that he wouldn't.

Several years ago, there was a major accident and fire at the Ford Rouge plant. Bill Ford personally went to the plant. His concern wasn't with getting the plant back on line. His concern was with the health, safety, and welfare of the workers.

It's not tough for me to decide which company I'd rather do business with. I'm not saying Ford Motor Company is perfect, but the leadership in the past 15+ years has been pretty solid.

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[timbop]

I have friends who are definitely Tesla fanatics, and literally worship Elon. I just want to reiterate this point:

Several years ago, there was a major accident and fire at the Ford Rouge plant. Bill Ford personally went to the plant. His concern wasn't with getting the plant back on line. His concern was with the health, safety, and welfare of the workers.

It's not tough for me to decide which company I'd rather do business with. I'm not saying Ford Motor Company is perfect, but the leadership in the past 15+ years has been pretty solid.

I have to say I've been pretty impressed with Bill Ford over the last year and a half. From what I understand from some Ford employees I know, Farley has really been making a difference too - much more so than Hackett. Farley's a car guy, Hackett was not.

 

[LagerHead]

Even more amusing is that she apparently never turns on the windshield wipers, as my actual sentence was (emphasis added):

you have to drill into the screen even to adjust the steering wheel or turn on the wipers.

We live in a climate with frequent rain. So the wipers on both our Tesla's have been turned on hundreds, if not thousands of times over the last 3 years. We never have to "drill into a menu" to turn them on. 99% of the time they come on automatically when it starts raining. Sometimes you want them to come on sooner so you just half-press the button on the end of the turn signal stalk. If you want washer fluid to spray you give the same button a full-press. It's so easy it's comical.

Most of the negative things that get repeated endlessly about Tesla are false or misleading.

 

[LagerHead]

I have friends who are definitely Tesla fanatics, and literally worship Elon. I just want to reiterate this point:

Several years ago, there was a major accident and fire at the Ford Rouge plant. Bill Ford personally went to the plant. His concern wasn't with getting the plant back on line. His concern was with the health, safety, and welfare of the workers.

It's not tough for me to decide which company I'd rather do business with. I'm not saying Ford Motor Company is perfect, but the leadership in the past 15+ years has been pretty solid.

Does Ford have the same safety standards for Mexicans (where the Mach-e is manufactured)?

Remind me again how much Ford cares about the well-being of American workers?

 

[trutolife27]

Does Ford have the same safety standards for Mexicans (where the Mach-e is manufactured)?

Remind me again how much Ford cares about the well-being of American workers?

They sure do. By the way, they are not Mexicans they are people. Are you a racist? Sure sounds like it. Since I work for ford I guess I can speak on the second part. Ford cares a lot if you ask me. Always have taken care of us workers and our families.

 

[trutolife27]

 

[The Electric Duo]

The unconfirmed translation is that she was yelling about a brake failure on her Tesla.

https://gizmodo.com/shanghai-auto-show-disrupted-by-protester-shouting-tesl-1846710753

 

[LagerHead]

The unconfirmed translation is that she was yelling about a brake failure on her Tesla.

https://gizmodo.com/shanghai-auto-show-disrupted-by-protester-shouting-tesl-1846710753

Sounds like a real drama queen trying to get attention. She probably should have taken her car to a service center to get it fixed, LOL!

 

[LagerHead]

They sure do. By the way, they are not Mexicans they are people. Are you a racist? Sure sounds like it. Since I work for ford I guess I can speak on the second part. Ford cares a lot if you ask me. Always have taken care of us workers and our families.

It's well-known that Mexico does not have the same labor standards that US workers enjoy. Ford doesn't build the Mach-e in all the way in Mexico because it costs more!

I mean, why do you think they move manufacturing jobs out of the country? It's not like their customers are requesting Mexican made cars! Use your head.

And you can leave the race card where it belongs. There is nothing racist about calling Mexican citizens Mexicans. Are you saying I'm not an American, I'm just a person? That's offensive.

 

[The Electric Duo]

Sounds like a real drama queen trying to get attention. She probably should have taken her car to a service center to get it fixed, LOL!

That's a rather judgmental opinion based on no info. And to top it off you use a gender disparaging remark.

 

[dbsb3233]

It's well-known that Mexico does not have the same labor standards that US workers enjoy. Ford doesn't build the Mach-e in all the way in Mexico because it costs more!

Of course it doesn't cost more. It would be dumb to pay that much. The cost of living in Mexico is much lower than it is in the US. A good salary there costs a business less than than a good salary in the US, thus why many manufacture there. Just like it costs Tesla less to build in China.

Doesn't mean it's not a good salary for the market.

 

[The Electric Duo]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't Ford built many models over the years at that plant? And didn't Ford have the highest percentage of domestic production of US automaker again last year? And Steve those employees members of the UAW? And didn't Tesla and Elon just get reprimanded by their anti-union tactics?

 

[trutolife27]

It's well-known that Mexico does not have the same labor standards that US workers enjoy. Ford doesn't build the Mach-e in all the way in Mexico because it costs more!

I mean, why do you think they move manufacturing jobs out of the country? It's not like their customers are requesting Mexican made cars! Use your head.

And you can leave the race card where it belongs. There is nothing racist about calling Mexican citizens Mexicans. Are you saying I'm not an American, I'm just a person? That's offensive.

Your statement was nothing about the cost of building in the United States or Mexico. You said safety. You can twist it but safety is not what you meant by cost.

If you don't understand racism then you must need to learn about your statement. You implied a people from another place are not getting the same safety like other people in another place. Maybe you need to read your statement better. It is a very racist statement. You basically said ford builds the mache in Mexico because they don't have to be as safe with "Mexicans as you called them" as Americans. Sir that is racist 101.

Just to be sure I reached out to a few of my fellow friends from there. Let's just say they were not happy with your remark. One even said you can clearly see you were trying to point out that ford builds the mache there because they don't care for "Mexicans" safety.

Your arrogance blinds you, sir.

 

[timbop]

I mean, why do you think they move manufacturing jobs out of the country? It's not like their customers are requesting Mexican made cars! Use your head.

Europe is a major market for the Mach-E due to the regulations/fines regarding fleet co2 emissions. Europe placed tariffs on cars built in the USA in response to steel tariffs put in place by the US. By making the car in Mexico, Ford is able to avoid those tariffs on an already expensive vehicle.

As for safety protocols, Ford absolutely is treating workers in Cautitlan better than those who were fired from their jobs in Fremont for whistle blowing about inadequate safety protocols.

Use YOUR head.

 

[All Hat No Cattle]

Back on topic. Exposing Tesla so-called quality. From today's Wall Street Journal.

Tesla Faces New China Test After Woman’s Auto-Show Protest Goes Viral
Demonstrator draws wide sympathy after climbing atop Tesla Model 3 sedan and shouting allegations about faulty brakes, and videos show her being dragged away


SHANGHAI—A single protester with a disputed claim about the safety of Tesla Inc. electric vehicles has hit a nerve in China, sending complaints about the company ricocheting across the Chinese internet and refocusing attention on alleged quality issues in a critical market for Tesla.


The woman climbed atop a Tesla Model 3 sedan at the Auto Shanghai expo on Monday, shouting allegations about faulty brakes on Tesla vehicles while wearing a T-shirt that read “The Brakes Don’t Work” and “Invisible Killer.”


Videos uploaded by visitors then showed her being dragged away by security guards, who had previously attempted to use open umbrellas to hide the woman from onlookers. When the Journal visited the Tesla stand later on Monday morning, the company had beefed up security.

The protest at the Tesla booth, a rare public display of defiance in China, was picked up by state media outlets and quickly went viral on the Chinese internet. Within a few hours, more than 150 million people had viewed a hashtag of the incident on China’s Twitter -like Weibo platform, remarking on how Tesla’s booth had become “a platform for rights defenders.”



Many users sympathized with her plight, with one accusing Tesla of “hoodwinking Chinese consumers” and others calling on the public to turn to Chinese competitors. Another user with more than 5 million followers who claims to have purchased three Tesla vehicles said in another widely liked post that he never had any problems with the braking system but offered up his own litany of complaints about other alleged glitches.

Tesla Quality Issues Threaten Its Dominance in China EV Market

Chinese regulators are taking a close look at Tesla operations after recent videos on social media appear to show a Model 3 battery fire and malfunctioning vehicles. WSJ explains how possible quality issues with Tesla cars could threaten the EV-maker’s meteoric rise. Correction: Tesla’s revenue in China was $6.66 billion in 2020, according to the company’s SEC filing. An earlier version of this video incorrectly stated that the figure was $66 billion. Photo Illustration: Michelle Inez Simon

A company media representative at the booth said that the protest was a matter for the police and that she couldn’t comment on the allegations of quality defects.


Tesla said in a statement on Weibo that the protester was a Tesla customer from Henan province whose father was involved in a February accident in which his Model 3 had crashed into another vehicle.


The woman had demanded a full refund, claiming that a technical problem with the car had caused the crash, according to Tesla. However, the company said that the woman’s father had crashed due to excessive speed. The company said it had been in contact with the woman and was willing to help her find a solution.


In an earlier statement concerning the accident, the company identified the woman as a Ms. Zhang, who has staged other protests against the company.


The woman’s claims couldn’t be independently verified, and she couldn’t be reached for comment.



On Tuesday, Shanghai police said Ms. Zhang disrupted public order and would be detained for five days after damaging the car on which she had climbed. Another woman was warned for disrupting public order but wasn’t detained, the police said in a statement posted on Weibo.


In her own Weibo post following the incident, a woman claiming to be Ms. Zhang said that her father and mother were in the car and were injured and hospitalized. She said that she would seek justice through the legal system and that the incident exposed the true face behind Tesla’s vaunted brand. By Monday evening, the post had been shared more than 2,000 times and had garnered more than 17,000 “likes.”


Grace Tao, a Tesla vice president and one of the company’s top executives in China, in an interview last month with Chinese online automotive news channel Dongchedi, said technical problems were rare and were treated seriously whenever they came to light. “I can say confidently that most [of these customer complaints] are based on a misunderstanding,” she said.


On Tuesday, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary that Tesla’s response has been “arrogant.” It said car makers operating in China must have respect for the market and accept “supervision from customers.”


Tesla has maintained a relatively low-key presence at this year’s auto show—which alternates annually between the cities of Beijing and Shanghai—and held no launch events, in contrast to most of the other auto makers exhibiting here.


Even so, the protest served as the latest publicity setback for Tesla in China, ensuring that the American EV maker became the center of attention for the wrong reasons.

Tesla sales have grown rapidly in China since the company began building cars in Shanghai more than a year ago. March was Tesla’s best month in China to date, with 35,478 made-in-China Model 3 and Model Y cars sold, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
As it has grown, though, the company has faced a growing chorus of complaints from disappointed customers, including several allegations of brake failures, prompting regulators in Beijing to summon Tesla for a public dressing-down over quality problems in February. The company responded by vowing to make improvements.


Chief executive Elon Musk spoke last month by video link at the China Development Forum, a high-profile government conference, to deny that Tesla vehicles could be used to spy on Chinese facilities.

The government had earlier banned military personnel and employees at state-owned companies from driving Tesla cars in case they were being used to send sensitive data to the U.S.

—Raffaele Huang and Bingyan Wang contributed to this article.

Write to Trefor Moss at [email protected]

Copyright ©2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Appeared in the April 20, 2021, print edition as 'Musk Faces New China Test After Woman’s Protest.'

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