No Question Tesla Can Build Nice Car, What Matters Is Can It Do It at 35K$ Price Point?

I think that Tesla just needs to continue to evolve and improve their vehicles. They already have a pretty well drawn out plan so far, and it will just take hard work and continual improvements to keep them competitive. Hopefully the profits from the steady production of Model 3s will fuel this progress. Tesla's GigaFactory should reduce the battery cost for their whole lineup of electric models, just as GM plans to refine and re-engineer their batteries to reduce to future cost. I think that the more automakers who competitively innovate and advance battery technology, the better the chances are to lower the cost and improve the weak points of batteries.
Tesla is smart to come out with an electric truck because it is a BIG market with a great commercial and consumer appeal. Ford (and GM even more) could easily come out with a competitive electric truck, but it may take Tesla to prove the market to be profitable first before they commit themselves. There is a huge profit margin already in big trucks and SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade, and even though many people think about electric economy cars, the market that Tesla have proven is with luxury and performance vehicles. I doubt that producing a coupe version of the Model 3 would put much of a dent into Mustang, Camaro, or Challenger sales, but they certainly could build a sporting high performance 2+2 coupe if they wanted to. Part of the appeal of the American Ponycars is that they have very sporty styling, good handling and braking capabilities. And the entry level models Start around $25K, so Tesla will more likely compete against European performance, near-luxury models first because their higher price and capability would be comparable. GM has all of the technology from the Volt and Bolt to build BEV and especially PHEV versions of their whole model lineup pretty quickly, but what is their incentive? Right now they are making far more profits off of their regular gasoline and diesel models. So I think that Major American automakers will change from having 1-2% of their overall sales being BEVs to say 5-10%. It is just more likely that we will see that change over the next 5-10 years, as opposed to the next 1-3 years.

REgardless of the positive claims, the reason I would never consider buying a Tesla is 1) Autopilot - a $5,000 death trap 2) terrible engineering for collision repair - when a 4 by 1 inch paint defect/scrape requires a $6800 two man day repair, I'll pass 3) Tesla batteries are prone to self ignition and ignition during crashes 4) Tesla Superchargers are now only half as fast as the worldwide CCS charging standard used by everyone except Tesla. 5) Tesla charges $9,000 for $3200 worth of batteries in their long range version - that's pure larceny. 6) Tesla's prices are outrageous -high optioned "$35,000" Model 3 cars sticker for well over $70,000. Calling the (non-existent) Model 3 a $35,000 car is pure fraud.

Rubbish Kent. You have been drinking the anti-Tesla Cool Aid too long. Autopilot is one of the best autonomous systems on the road today. With only a couple serious accidents so far, nobody likes to mention the thousands of accidents that occurred in the same time frame around the world from inattentive, drunk, impatient drivers who crashed, without any computers there to watch their back or save them. It is simply a weak argument to say that a developing safety system that doesn't work 100% perfectly is better than having no automated safety systems. It's like calling safety belts unsafe because of the rare instances where they fail. If you do not like Tesla's engineering, pricing or their cars in general, that is fine. There are many conventional cars that will better suit your personal sensibilities.