What’s best in life?
That doesn't mesh with the reality we know.'
Nobody hates how the Hummer looks? Uh, I find it utterly horrible! Wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. It looks fat, pretentious, gimmicky and lacking in purpose. Yuck. Then again the only Hummer I actually like is the H1 (and Humvees). It boggles the mind that its sales are increasing, but I guess that is indeed the stigma factor of the CT (it's actually weird to say anything could have more of a stigma than a Hummer) and despite the CT price, it isn't very 'luxurious' in the kitsch sense (which doesn't appeal to me, but seems to appeal to others).TL;DR:
GMC benefits from aesthetic normalcy, brand neutrality, and cultural familiarity/nostalgia. Tesla suffers from brand politicization, aesthetic provocation and totally avoidable social friction. Or what I typically refer to as simply “political headwinds.”
Cost being equal (read as: too damned high), many consumers will avoid controversial options which is exactly what the CT is: CONTROVERSIAL. In every meaning of the word.
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Full Nelson:
A couple of things, some of which, some people won’t like:
1. It’s got a traditional, cool, boxy look. So… aesthetics. If it were aesthetics alone, I would 100% be driving a Hummer right now. That, despite the fact that I absolutely love the way my CB looks! I like the way the Hummer looks even better.
2. No political headwinds. GMC is a traditional company. They’re not going to ostracize 50% of the buying market through political action, let alone antagonize their core customers who made them a success in the first place.
3. Alignment with tastemakers. Traditional car guys and YouTubers love Hummers. Kids love them too, but as stated above- kids don’t move vehicles. DriveTime, Throttle House, and more traditional car outlets can’t help but love the Hummer brand. These same guys either are full on haters of the CT or disinterested.
Even when the gas ones were in their prime, environmentalists didn’t have much that stuck to say about the vehicle’s looks, other than that it was excessively large and wide. They complained about its impact. The Cybertruck is hated for its looks, and in terms of brand ambassadors, you’re talking Elon, who’s polarizing as hell, versus Schwarzenegger.
Conan wins! Nobody hates the way the Hummer looks. It’s hard to identify an individual associated with GMC at all, let alone someone to hate. They’re not giving you a reason to.
This matters. Honestly, had I known all of the crap we were going to have to deal with, I might not have pulled the trigger. That’s just the truth. I might’ve gone Hummer or just waited for the Scout.
Just a simple example: heading to SoCal tomorrow, and I am concerned about driving my CT—not because of range or anything other than where am I going to park it overnight (in Hollywood) where it’ll be safe from potential vandals? I have never had to consider that with any other vehicle in 40 years of owning my own cars.
I wouldn’t be concerned AT ALL if I were driving a Hummer EV, my Vette, or my FJ (even my other Teslas to a lesser degree). We have a vocal group of cranks here who like to shout everybody down who has anything remotely negative to say about this brand or its founder, no matter how benign or accurate.
I’m not a paid brand ambassador. I bought my car at arm’s length. I own it. I’m not here to carry water for Tesla or Elon. It’ll never happen. I love what I love. I hate what I hate. I say what I mean.
In the last seven days, we’ve had at least three or four major posts about negative consequences of owning a CT—whether it’s vandalization at the airport, being disinvited to an event, or whatever else.
Tesla’s board, fanboys, and sycophants can pretend that these things aren’t real and aren’t depressing sales. But fat meat IS, in fact, GREASY. It always will be.
that can't be true - I have seen every month for over a year every month 70-100 old Foundation Series and a few AWD and Beast Cybertrucks parked in a huge somewhat hidden parking lot near a Tesla shop .... near a Costco in Mesa - They have been sitting there for a year plus -
Most of these are the discontinued rear wheel drive. They may be using up inventory of parts producing them. Check out Joe Tegmeyers video of them being built in Texas.
Joe made a drone video on October 8 that appears to show large numbers of freshly made RWD Cybertrucks in the outbound lot at the Austin factory (starting at 5:54). Joe assumed that they were RWDs because they lacked tonneau covers (see 7:04).
Tesla doesn't need to make volume sales to any other company. They would loose money doing that. But Elon owning both companies, doesn't loose anything by selling to himself. This is a first for SpaceX, because it's the first time that Tesla has had a vehicle that SpaceX can use. But Tesla has sold its cars to the boring company.
