If there’s ever anyone who’s cut out to be an electric vehicle owner, it’s not @lukeerwintv of TikTok fame.
The creator is best known for his videos of giving back to others on the social media website, but he recently got a Tesla Model 3. To say that he’s unhappy with things is an understatement.
In the first video — filmed on a sunny day inside the car and posted on Dec. 27 — the creator describes how the large glass roof makes it “boiling hot” inside the car.
According to Tesla-centric outlet TeslaStir, the Model 3 “has a fixed glass roof that extends from the front windshield to the back glass.
“The all-glass roof has the added benefit of reducing cabin noise and making the car feel brighter and spacious with extra headroom. However, it doesn’t open as a typical sunroof would.”
And that’s a problem in what appears to be the hot Australian summer.
Next up: the features you need to pay to unlock. According to the U.S. Sun, self-driving features like Smart Summon or Full Self-Driving require additional payment to be unlocked — somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000. (Although it’s unclear whether this is in Australian or U.S. dollars.)
Then there’s the issue of Tesla’s Superchargers, which provide Level 3 quick-charging at designated stations — provided, of course, that you’re willing to pay.
“Now if you think the Tesla Superchargers are cheap — or free — they’re actually not,” Luke said. “So, to charge this car, would cost about $30 for 30 minutes to 100 percent.
It’s not all bad, as he revealed some neat tricks the car would do, but said he wasn’t quite happy with the purchase.
“I think my biggest disappointment was I thought that all the charging was free until I got the car, and found out the Tesla Superchargers actually charge like crazy,” Luke said.
Furthermore, if you kept the Tesla at the Supercharger after your car was finished charging, you’d get towed. This isn’t just like filling up gas, either — because it takes at least a half hour if you’re close to empty.
In a second video, the creator complained about “stressing like crazy” to find a Supercharger if he was on a trip.
“I’d rather own a petrol car again,” Luke said of his Model 3 ownership experience.
While one is tempted to deride a person who thought they would get free charging on an electric car — “imagine buying a car & wondering why shell was charging you for fuel,” one commenter noted on the first video — it’s a reality check for those who believe that electric vehicles are sunshine-and-unicorn-mobiles, free to charge and free of worry.
Because — make no mistake — that’s how they’re being sold. Remember Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg telling Americans to buy EVs so they wouldn’t have to worry about gas prices anymore, as if drivers all simultaneously shelling out for new vehicles was going to be balm for the country’s energy and inflation woes?
Buttigieg says you don’t have to worry about gas prices if you buy an electric vehicle…someone should remind him how out of touch he sounds pic.twitter.com/tiJVkl7wB3
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 7, 2022
Well, even if we had all gone out and bought Teslas to help ease the damage done by the administration’s energy policies, we’d still have worries — different worries, mind you, but still worries nonetheless.
Owning an EV isn’t a magical experience. There are very real flaws that might mean the headaches aren’t worth it for you. Before you jump into what’s being sold as the pain-free green future, check out whether it’s too good to be true, at least in your personal use case. It very well might be.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
