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All I’m saying is that I don’t necessarily trust CR’s opinion as the final word on any product.

Here’s a discussion of what CR did to the Subaru BRZ:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51307

They gave it as bad an overall reliability rating as they possibly could on the basis of two “problem areas”, specifically body integrity and audio system. At worst, these are annoyance issues, and have nothing to do with the mechanical integrity of the car. Every other rating category was above or much above average.

When they publish stuff like this that makes no sense whatsoever, you develop a certain mistrust of their methodology and motives.

As for the Tesla, yes, from all I’ve read, it’s a great car for what it is.

But it simply isn’t a practical solution for all types of travel that you would need a car for. No pure EV is that.

It’s fine for local use if that’s all you do, or if you can afford an additional conventional vehicle for longer distances.

“Petrol based fuels require only a can for portability, be it a five gallon jerry can or gas tank. No additional bulk such as any chemical reaction battery requires. The bigger the battery the greater the weight which requires more power to move. Bulk of such robs any vehicle of usable volume for passengers or freight.” —Covenantor

“I’m telling you...there are certain limitations to storing electricity which can’t be overcome. As long as gasoline is readily available, electric cars simply won’t be economical.” —rottndog

“But it simply isn’t a practical solution for all types of travel that you would need a car for. No pure EV is that. It’s fine for local use if that’s all you do, or if you can afford an additional conventional vehicle for longer distances.” —Fresh Wind

Like ckilmer mentioned, battery prices have been falling quickly, from $800/kWh a few years ago, to around $250 to $300/kWh today (depending on who you ask), to $180/kWh once the GigaFactory is online in a year or so.

I think the most attractive vehicles with a battery are the plug-in hybrids. These have smaller batteries, ranging from 20 to 50 miles, that allow you to do your daily driving on electricity, but they still have a gas engine & tank for whenever you go farther. Since it costs between one-half to one-quarter as much to go 100 miles on electricity than it does on gasoline, these kinds of cars can 1) pay for their price premium in a few years and 2) reduce our OPEC funding by 90%.