I swapped my Tesla for a BYD after getting frustrated with Elon Musk. It was the right decision, but there are some things I miss.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mahican Gielen, a radiologist in Hjørring, Denmark, about swapping her Tesla Model 3 for a BYD Sealion 7. It has been edited for length and clarity.
We live in Denmark, in the city of Hjørring, but we're actually from Holland. My husband and I are both doctors: I'm a radiologist, he's a cardiologist.
I bought a Tesla Model 3 three years ago. It was my first electric car, and I'd wanted a Tesla for years.
My kids even pushed me because they knew I was looking for a car. They said, "Mom, it should be a Tesla. That's the best car. It's a green car. It saves the planet."
I have to say, I loved that car. It was such a big step up from the normal combustion engines and had so many cool features. I still miss it sometimes.
The first time I got a bit annoyed with my Tesla was when the company started cutting the prices. I bought mine right before, so that hurt.
Musk joining the Trump administration was the final straw. I love cars, but if owning one gets overruled by the constant noise about the CEO and people asking whether it bothers me, then the fun goes out of it.
I just didn't want the headache anymore.
I know there is more to the company. But when you have a CEO who's so visible, he just becomes one with the company. And I really feel bad for Tesla because I like the brand. They were so innovative and new.
But this was a step too far. It really made me say, you know what? I'm going to get rid of this car. It's not going to get any better from here, so I'll just cut my losses.
Buying a BYD
I sold my Model 3 for 150,000 Danish Krone ($22,000) in April, having paid 350,000 Krone ($53,000) for it in 2022, and I bought a BYD Sealion 7 Excellence the same month.
[The BYD Sealion 7 Excellence starts from around 390,000 Danish krone ($59,000).]
I wasn't going to buy an SUV, but I saw the Sealion 7 in a showroom and thought it looked amazing.
It was a little bit impulsive, but I'm really happy with it.
The build quality is on a level with a Mercedes, and the car feels really premium.
Things are different, but it has so many cool features, like a head-up display and actual physical buttons, which I missed as the Tesla didn't have them.
The best thing about the car is how solid it is. I always tell people the Tesla felt like a toy car compared to this one, because it was always rattling.
Sometimes, when it was freezing, you couldn't close the door because it wouldn't catch, and when you drove the Tesla around in the rain, sometimes you would hear sloshing sounds like water was dripping in the car. So the build quality is completely different.
The range is more than enough for me, and the software works pretty well. It's a bit slower and less intuitive than the software in the Tesla, but overall, I like it.
I think it's great that Chinese EV brands are entering Europe. I absolutely believe that the market should be open, and they have something to offer.
For me, many European brands seem kind of boring. They do the same thing every time, and these brands do something new.
Even if people don't buy them, it will probably make the European brands push their boundaries a bit and do more stuff. So I think it's absolutely good for everyone if more become available in Europe.
Feature FOMO
There are a few features I still miss about the Tesla, but I'm hoping they could be added to the BYD with software updates.
The Tesla auto-locks and unlocks when you just have your phone in your bag or on you. In the BYD, I really had to get used to pushing the button on the car key to lock and unlock.
When you charged your car, the Tesla automatically opened its charger port flap and closed it again. I have been driving around with an open flap because I'm so used to it.
My kids also really loved the Tesla's 'Santa Mode,' and the Tesla app has a lot more features than the BYD one.
The feature I'm really going to miss is that Tesla automatically defrosted the windows via the app. So, I didn't have to remove ice for the last few years. It's not a problem now, but I know it's going to be annoying in the winter.
You could overlook some of the things that were wrong with the Tesla because it was so easy to use, it was almost like an iPhone. But in the end, some things are just not right.
Part of the reason I sold the car was because of the build quality. Mine was beginning to get a bit older, and I was in the shop with it more and more.
The path Musk has taken is extremely frustrating. It seriously hurts because I was really rooting for the brand. I think it's sad for a company that was so promising and could have done much more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Is a $5,000 DOGE stimulus check a real thing? What we know
In February, President Donald Trump said he was considering a plan to pay out $5,000 stimulus checks to American taxpayers from the savings identified by billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Are they happening? No official plan or schedule for such a payout has been released, and a decision on the checks would have to come from Congress, which has so far been cool to the idea. And there have been questions as to how much DOGE has actually saved. The idea was floated by Azoria investment firm CEO James Fishback, who suggested on Musk's social media platform X that Trump and Musk should "should announce a 'DOGE Dividend'" from the money saved from reductions in government waste and workforce since it was American taxpayer money in the first place. He even submitted a proposal for how it would work, with a timeline for after the expiration of DOGE in July 2026. "At $2 trillion in DOGE savings and 78 million tax-paying households, this is a $5,000 refund per household, with the remaining used to pay down the national debt," he said in a separate post. Musk replied, "Will check with the President." "We're considering giving 20% of the DOGE savings to American citizens and 20% to paying down the debt," Trump said in a during the Saudi-sponsored FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami Beach the same month. DOGE has dismantled entire federal agencies, wiped out government contracts and led the firings of tens of thousands of federal workers, leaving many agencies struggling to continue operations. DOGE checks? Elon Musk dodges DOGE stimulus check question during Wisconsin rally: Here's what he said. Fishbeck suggested that the potential refund go only to households that are net-income taxpayers, or households that pay more in taxes than they get back. The Pew Research Center said that most Americans with an adjusted gross income of under $40,000 effectively pay no federal income tax. They would not be eligible. If DOGE achieves Musk's initial goal of stripping $2 trillion from U.S. government spending by 2026, Fishback's plan was for $5,000 per household, or 20% of the savings divided by the number of eligible households. If DOGE doesn't hit the goal, Fishback said the amount should be adjusted accordingly. 'So again, if the savings are only $1 trillion, which I think is awfully low, the check goes from $5,000 to $2,500,' Fishback said during a podcast appearance. 'If the savings are only $500 billion, which, again, is really, really low, then the [checks] are only $1,250.' However, while Musk talked about saving $2 trillion in federal spending during Trump's campaign, he lowered the goal to $1 trillion after Trump assumed office and said in March he was on pace to hit that goal by the end of May. At a Cabinet meeting in April, Musk lowered the projected savings further to $150 billion in fiscal year 2026. Musk left the White House at the end of May when his designation as a "special government employee" ended. DOGE, the advisory group he created, is expected to continue without him. That depends on who you ask. On its website, DOGE claims to have saved an estimated $175 billion as of May 30, "a combination of asset sales, contract and lease cancellations and renegotiations, fraud and improper payment deletions, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings, and workforce reductions." The site says that works out to $1,086.96 saved per taxpayer. However, many of DOGE's claims have been exaggerated and several of the initiatives to slash agency workforces have been challenged in court. DOGE has been accused of taking credit for contracts that were canceled before DOGE was created, failing to factor in funds the government is required to pay even if a contract is canceled, and tallying every contract by the most that could possibly be spent on it even when nothing near that amount had been obligated. The website list has been changed as the media pointed out errors, such as a claim that an $8 million savings was actually $8 billion. On May 30, CNN reported that one of its reporters found that less than half the $175 billion figure was backed up with even basic documentation, making verification difficult if not impossible. Some of the changes may also end up costing taxpayers more, such as proposed slashes to the Internal Revenue Service that experts say would mean less tax revenue generated, resulting in a net cost of about $6.8 billion. Over the next 10 years, if IRS staffing stays low, the cumulative cost in uncollected taxes would hit $159 billion, according to the nonpartisan Budget Lab at Yale University. The per-taxpayer claim on the website is also inflated, CNN said, as it's based on '161 million individual federal taxpayers' and doesn't seem to include married people filing jointly. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: DOGE dividends: Will American taxpayers get a $5,000 check?
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Musk and the Millers Got Cozy Outside the White House
During happier times at the White House, Elon Musk was known to spend large amounts of time with Stephen Miller and his wife, Katie, even outside of work. Katie Miller, an aide in the Department of Government Efficiency, was with Musk 'almost all the time' while he was at the White House, before opting to follow him out the door last month, The Wall Street Journal reports. Her departure is thought to have caused friction among White House officials. Miller was reportedly on Musk's payroll the entire time, even when her official role was as a special government employee, according to Politico's Playbook. 'And, like … who was she looking out for?' one unnamed administration official said. The idea that Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, was a close companion of Musk now seems far-fetched. The two have since had a public falling-out after Musk condemned President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act as a 'pork-filled' spending bill and a 'disgusting abomination.' Miller, one of Trump's most loyal allies, fired back with a thinly veiled attack on Musk on X on Thursday, writing: 'The only 'new' spending in the bill is to defend the homeland and deport the illegals—paid for by raising visa fees. All the other provisions? Massive spending cuts. There is no 'pork' in the bill. Just campaign promises.' Musk unfollowed Stephen Miller on social media around the same time his attacked him online. The Journal highlighted the fallout between Musk and Miller as yet another example of Musk burning bridges and irritating allies during his stint in the White House. Of course, there was an even more explosive falling-out between Musk and another former close ally on Thursday. The simmering tensions between Musk and President Donald Trump reached boiling point with an extraordinary back-and-forth playing out on social media. Trump lashed out at Musk for opposing his One Big Beautiful Bill Act and accused him of going 'crazy' over his plans to eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) mandate implemented under the Biden administration. Trump also suggested that the quickest way to save billions in federal spending would be to terminate the government subsidies and contracts awarded to Musk's tech companies. Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that he believes Musk has 'TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome].' Responding with a furious post, Musk claimed on X: 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election,' and reposted in agreement a call for the president to be impeached and replaced with JD Vance. He also warned that Trump's import tariffs would trigger a recession later this year. Musk then dropped a 'really big bomb' in the spiralling feud. 'Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public,' Musk wrote. It is well known that Trump and billionaire child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019, were at least acquaintances. Epstein partied with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in the 1990s, and Trump flew on Epstein's private jet multiple times during that period. The two reportedly fell out around 2004 over a property dispute in Palm Beach, Florida. There is no evidence Trump was connected to or aware of Epstein's crimes. In a statement regarding the public falling-out, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: 'This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted.' 'The president is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Here's why SpaceX faces a bright future as government contractor despite Musk-Trump divorce
The public breakup between Elon Musk and President Trump has cast a pall over the future of SpaceX – but the mogul's company should remain on a solid trajectory because the two sides need each other. Trump has counted on his estranged First Buddy's privately owned firm to fulfill the administration's plans for NASA to return to the moon, ongoing operations at the International Space Station, a reported classified deal with US intelligence to build hundreds of spy satellites and expanding internet access to rural parts of America. SpaceX – known for building and launching rockets, and the Starlink satellite internet network – has approximately $22 billion in government contracts on the books, according to Reuters. That includes a roughly $5 billion deal to build the Dragon spacecraft for use by NASA, which Musk threatened to decommission in his unhinged social media rants aimed at Trump – only to later reverse course hours later. Trump threatened to end Musk's federal contracts in response to the verbal onslaught, which included the allegation that Trump is 'in the Epstein files' and that he would have 'lost the election' without his help. 'Trump could certainly cancel most deals and contracts if he wants but the government may still have to pay them – depends on the contract details,' a Republican consultant connected with Trump, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the feud, told The Post on Friday. The two men appeared no closer to a detente, with Trump refusing to get on the phone with his former DOGE cost-cutter and largest campaign benefactor after he blasted the White House-backed 'One Big Beautiful Bill.' While that makes for great theater, the split probably works in both of their favors, according to the source. 'Trump and Elon both got what they wanted here,' the GOP consultant said. 'Elon was able to distance himself from Trump in a public enough way to get his businesses back on track and Trump was able to have all of the MAGA warriors who were questioning the bill shut up or even defend it so they could defend Trump and prove they took his side.' SpaceX 'will be fine' despite the fireworks, the source added. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to comment on the war of words. 'President Trump is focused on making our country great again and passing the One Big Beautiful Bill,' she said. SpaceX did not immediately return a request for comment. As the founder, chairman and CEO of SpaceX, Musk is in total control with 79% of the company's voting shares as of 2023, according to a filing at the time. The closely held firm recently secured a $350 billion valuation. Overall, Musk and his businesses that also include Tesla, brain chip firm Neuralink and The Boring Company have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits, according to a recent Washington Post analysis. If Trump does decide to go to DefCon 5 on Musk, the billionaire's alleged drug use could be used as one possible lever to wriggle out of the SpaceX contracts. During Trump's first term in office in 2019, Bloomberg reported that the Pentagon was reviewing Musk's SpaceX security clearance after he smoked marijuana during an appearance on 'The Joe Rogan Experience' podcast. While Musk has strenuously denied misusing drugs, House Democrats this week requested details from Trump on whether he had any knowledge of Musk working 'under the influence.' The possible loss of government contracts would not be 'catastrophic' for Musk or his rocket company. 'SpaceX has developed itself into a global powerhouse that dominates most of the space industry, but there's no question that it would result in significant lost revenue and missed contract opportunities,' Justus Parmar, CEO of SpaceX investor Fortuna Investments, told Reuters. Meanwhile, MAGA firebrand Steve Bannon called for the South African-born Musk to be deported – and floated the possibility that Trump could use a Korean War-era statute called the Defense Production Act to enable a federal takeover of the privately owned company. However, the headline-grabbing proposal is likely a nonstarter. 'There's no way Bannon's idea of just taking over private companies works out long term, both because it would be litigated and because other companies would keep the US government at arm's length to avoid future similar issues,' the consultant said. 'Neither outcome is workable.'
