I’ve driven the Tesla killer – and it’s not what you think it is | Opinion

Elon Musk has announced that Tesla owners will now be able to proudly display the country of origin of their cars, via a new programmable rear-light cluster, the software for which will be automatically uploaded to all of the company’s vehicles globally this week.

Teslas built in China will now show a digitised version of the Chinese flag, or a panda eating a piece of bamboo, while American-made Teslas will turn their rear running lights into either the shape of an AR-15 assault rifle, or the letters “MAGA”. 

Customers whose cars were made in China but would prefer that people thought otherwise can have the option of showing the American logos, at a subscription cost of $US8 a month.

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All right, so it’s possible that I’m exaggerating, or just entirely making that up, but I honestly wouldn’t put it past Elon because I do increasingly believe he’s capable of anything, and lately, it feels like he’s more likely to make misstep. Indeed, after last week’s decision to trash one of the best-known brand names in the world and replace it with an “X”, he might even rename Tesla altogether.

Allow me to give him credit for a moment first. If you’ve seen the documentary about the early years of Tesla (The Elon Musk Show, SBS on Demand), and you really should, you’ll know just how miraculous it is that Musk ever got the company off the ground, let alone in the black. 

Partly this is because he was taking on the might of the world’s established car companies with a combination of ego and an inhuman work ethic, and partly it was because he was also trying to send rockets into space at the same time. 

The success of Space X doesn’t really get as much credit as it deserves, because there’s more chat around Tesla, but turning himself into a rocket scientist (not to mention launching Starlink satellite internet and very nearly inventing a brain implant technology) is perhaps his greatest achievement.

But then he bought Twitter, for far too much money, and proceeded to do so many silly things that tech-nerd aficionados are now seriously discussing the possibility that it might fall off its perch and become a dead parrot company within weeks. 

Charging people – including huge celebrities – who’d been giving your company their hugely valuable content and stickiness for years, for free, $8 a month for a blue tick they’d always had for nothing was a spectacular own goal. The fact that bad actors would buy said blue ticks and use them to pretend to be famous people or corporations was as predictable as Musk attacking Mark Zuckerberg after he launchd his Twitter competitor, Threads, which went on to sign up 30 million new users in its first 24 hours and 100m in its first week.

When I saw a prominent Australian Twitterer post “I’m out of here, this is my Threads handle, see you there”, I really began to take the talk of Twitter’s demise seriously.

Which made me wonder, despite Tesla’s seemingly indomitable position in the electric-car market, will a Threads-like competitor rise to crush it, and leave an already financially battered Musk with barely two billions to rub together?

It’s an enticing prospect. Personally, I’m not totally convinced by the Tesla experiences I’ve had (yes, the comment section is below, fire away, fan boys and girls). They are quite wonderful to drive, but they are flawed, with the lack of a visible speedometer or a head-up display only the most obvious of those errors.

Most tellingly, though, I just don’t think the interior or the touchpoint feel premium enough for the price. Indeed, whenever people talk about Tesla being a competitor for Audi, BMW, Benz et al, I just don’t buy it. Nor would I buy one. 

Theoretically, Porsche (with the excellent Taycan), BMW (I love the i4 very deeply) and Audi (the gorgeous RS E Tron GT) have already beaten Tesla at the top end of a market it’s theoretically playing in, but on price, they’re really no competition at all. Kia and Hyundai might also be seen as challengers to Tesla, but would be more so if they were $30k cheaper.

Realistically, I think the biggest threat to Tesla, then, the “Threads” of the EV world, will come from beneath, and specifically from China. 

I’ll admit I’ve had doubts about Chinese cars, and build quality in particular, in the past, but just recently I drove the new MG4 Electric and was completely blown away by what a giant leap forward it was, not just from other MG product, but from anything that country had previously produced. 

And this MG4, with its impressive ride quality, potent acceleration and almost attractive styling, can be had for under $40,000. If the Chinese can do this now, when they’ve only really just started taking electric vehicles seriously (compared to Tesla, which started in 2008), where will they be in a few short years?

Outselling Tesla? It still seems unlikely, if possible, but then so did the idea of Musk buying Twitter and flying it into the ground at high speed.