Why the Chevy Bolt vs Tesla Model 3 rivalry is BS
The short answer:
The Tesla Model 3 and the Chevy Bolt are the next generation of electric cars that should make electric cars as common as the pavement in our streets. (The above image shows the Tesla Model 3; click here to see the Chevy Bolt. Images via Tesla.com and GM.com)
Some would make you believe that there’s a rivalry between the Tesla Model 3 and the Chevy Bolt. In my opinion, the Chevy Bolt vs Tesla Model 3 rivalry is BS. Full stop. Since everyone is pressed for time, let me tell you in 3 sentences why I believe that the Chevy Bolt vs Tesla Model 3 rivalry is BS. Here are those 3 sentences:
The Tesla Model 3 looks like bacon smells. The Chevy Bolt? Not so much.
The long answer:
The Tesla Model 3 and the Chevy Bolt are the next generation of electric cars, which should make electric cars as common as the pavement in our streets.
This idea is getting a ton of attention in the media, and you have likely heard, read or seen something about these two cars. That’s understandable. The appetite of the world to move away from burning more oil in a significant way is reaching the tipping point.
What’s not understandable in the story about the Tesla Model 3 and the Chevy Bolt, however, is why some media outlets are propagating the idea that there’s some kind of rivalry between the Tesla Model 3 and the Chevy Bolt.
There’s no such rivalry. They will never be one. It’s BS. The Tesla Model 3 looks like bacon smells. The Chevy Bolt? Not so much.
But that’s not the only reason why there is no rivalry between the Tesla Model 3 and the Chevy Bolt.
Elon Musk has turned the Tesla brand into an empowering life platform. They DO NOT just deliver a vehicle to you. They deliver something truly big: a platform to help you effortlessly show your best self to others.
When you drive a Tesla, without saying a word, you’re saying, “Smart, Sophisticated, and Savvy are my first, middle, and last names.”
Yes, Tesla cars go like jets and look like bacon smells. But that’s not why people crave and love them. People crave and love Tesla cars because they serve as the means to help them effortlessly show their best selves to others.
That’s magical. And that’s why only a few short days after Elon Musk introduced the Tesla Model 3, 400,000 people reserved one. Those 400,000 people gave Elon Musk their wallet to hold onto for them. Could something like that ever happen to a GM car?
Listen, at Tesla, there’s no car lot filled with cars with open hoods and huge stickers saying “SALE” in all caps. (Not that there’s nothing wrong with that, if you like lots filled with cars and open hoods with huge stickers saying “SALE” in all caps.)
Tesla buyers, including those who want the Model 3, are folks who are coming to the brand not from the lots of Chevy, Toyota, or Nissan, but from top brands like BMW, Porsche, and Maserati.
You could say those folks are looking for speed, innovation, and style. To us, they are looking for a way to effortlessly say to others, “Smart, Sophisticated, and Savvy are my first, middle, and last names.”