[EVer1]

The Tesla roadshow hit town, and we had our test drive today. The Tesla seems an excellent car; I'll leave it to others to compare the Model S and Karma in detail - as for example the Tesla representative did today.

My spouse was filling out the test drive disclaimer when I heard "Fisker" a couple times behind me. I turned around and listened into the Tesla representative comparing the two for a customer.

The assessment was not favorable to the Karma! When he noticed me listening, the representative asked if I was interested in Fisker. He said he didn't want to be offensive (confirming that he knew he was bad mouthing the Karma.) I said I was interested in all EVs, competing ideas are a good thing for new technologies. The other customer quickly agreed. That settled the representative down, and he said that it was true that if Fisker is successful it will be helpful to Tesla, but that the Fisker failures, which he enumerated as three recalls, releasing a car before it was "ready" and some other implied but unstated issues, reflect poorly on all EVs, in particular the Tesla. He went on to explain that Fisker is a design company, and that Tesla is an engineering company.

I disengaged, and the other customer sought me out. (It was a long wait for the test drive.....). He wanted to know what I thought. I think he is going to test drive a Fisker, after I shared that although my spouse may purchase a Tesla, I wasn't planning on trading in my Fisker.

They are both exciting and innovative vehicles. I was just sorry that the Tesla representative felt it necessary to bad mouth the competition. At this point the EV world ought to be pulling together. Adoption of the EV model is the issue at this point, not which brand.

 

[dennis]

He went on to explain that Fisker is a design company, and that Tesla is an engineering company.

Does that mean, by implication, that Tesla is not a design company?

 

[SoCalGuy]

I'm hoping to do a test drive of the Model S in the next couple of weeks. Will report back, but so far what I've read/heard/seen, it appears to be a great, well-engineered car. We'll see how it handles on the road!

 

[AnOutsider]

I'm never a fan of succeeding by pushing down and standing on the competition. Win by being the best, not bad mouthing. In the capacity of a Tesla employee, that rep should likely have kept their comments to themselves.

 

[Fabulist]

That settled the representative down, and he said that it was true that if Fisker is successful it will be helpful to Tesla, but that the Fisker failures, which he enumerated as three recalls, releasing a car before it was "ready" and some other implied but unstated issues, reflect poorly on all EVs, in particular the Tesla.

The rep seems to have forgotten that Tesla also had huge problems with its first car and was at the brink of financial collapse before being rescued by Elon Musk's personal fortune. It's easy for them to be smug at this juncture but it took them a while to get here.

I agree that the current state of the market can easily support multiple companies and each company's success helps all the others.

 

[smoothoperator]

He went on to explain that Fisker is a design company, and that Tesla is an engineering company.

Does that mean, by implication, that Tesla is not a design company?

Elon Musk has said over and over again that Fisker is a design company and that Tesla is a "tech" company; ridiculous imo. Whenever Fisker is brought up at any Tesla store I have been to, they always talk about the problems the Karma has etc...