PHEV or BEV?  That question gets asked a lot now.  It's nice having extensive experience to share on the topic:  For me after 6 years of owning PHEV, where most daily miles were entirely electric, the switch to BEV a year ago was easy.  For most, between EVSE install expense, range anxiety, and not wanting to spend time charging while on the road, there is little incentive to go entirely electric though.  Owning a PHEV strongly encourages the upgrade at home to run a 240-volt line for level-2 charging without any timing pressure.  That sets up the household for their next new vehicle purchase to be a BEV, while at the same time reinforces the benefits of EV driving and turns them into advocates for plugging in.  It will become a no-brainer to purchase PHEV over time... even for those with challenging situations.  From just a standard outlet, that 120-volt connection can deliver a steady 12-amp feed.  That rate of 1.44 kW for 10 hours will provides 14.4 kWh of electricity.  For a plug-in vehicle with an average efficiency of 3.5 mi/kWh, that comes to an EV range of 50 miles.

More Propaganda.  Gotta like seeing this title: "Battery-Electric Vehicles Will Prevail Over Hybrids".  It was more of the same, that propaganda misrepresenting plug-in hybrids.  This particular line in the article is what set me off: "Analysis of extensive real-world data collected from PHEVs driving millions of miles in the US found..."  Greenwash of the past was collection of data that was easily sourced, from fleets.  We knew that meant limited vehicle sampling with restricted use.  That's the way businesses operate.  It's not representative of ordinary consumers.  It also can be extremely misleading.  Last time, we discovered only gas expenses were reimbursed.  If you wanted electric driving, you had to pay for the electricity yourself.  Who would want to that?  Needless to say, the FUD that study spread gives good reason to hold the same suspicion for this one.  I pointed that out with:  No analysis source is a big red flag.  We have misrepresentation from use of cherry-picked & outdated data on a regular basis.  People should know better than to trust claims without having the ability to make the determination on their own.  Too many people seek out propaganda material to support their beliefs, legitimizing efforts to undermine in the process.  Seeing no reference to how this analysis was performed is a blatant sign the study itself should be questioned.

4680 Failure?  It's intriguing when someone else posts the question you've been wanting to ask: "So, is this admission from Tesla that their 4680 is a failure?"  I had seen that inventory was being diverted from CyberTruck allocations to use for energy storage, but there was never really any reason why mentioned.  Assumption would be that demand is higher for storage use.  Seeing anything related to design shortcomings for automotive use won't ever happen though.  Fanboys are far too protective for that; however, a teardown provided a hint in that regard.  Why does CyberTruck have extra space within it's battery-pack area?  Supposedly, Rivian will be using a taller format cell instead... 4695.  Whatever the case, it was nice to see evidence of critical thinking.  Gasp!  Here's my contribution to the discussion:  4680 never made any sense for entry-level vehicles.  Enthusiasts turned a blind-eye though, helping reinforce the Innovator's Dilemma situation.  Then when a large portion of the 4680 production began being used for energy-storage rather than CyberTruck, the size of the problem became difficult to ignore.  CATL has wanted to significantly grow their business.  A significant source of that growth potential would likely come from North America.  In fact, that's why the partnership with Toyota ended up delivering CATL batteries in the AWD model of bZ4X and Subaru's Solterra.  Both LFP and IRA have presented an interesting twist for CATL.  They have made great strides with LFP.  Not being eligible for tax-credits from importing and having challenges setting up in the United States (note their struggle with Ford's partnership) if nothing else, has caused delay.  Hopefully, Tesla will be able to make it work.

Pathetic.  Yet another PHEV study, which enabled more comments like this: "When you have pathetic attempts from Toyota..."  Fortunately, the echo-chamber is losing audience.  As hybrids continue on their upward trajectory, finally becoming the obvious standard to replace traditional vehicles, seeing them adopt a plug takes little effort.  It's like watching manual transmissions fade away.  I remember how their were certain uses where they were preferred and provided clear advantage.  There was a point where that no longer was the case.  That is the precipice, an end reached.  This recognition of progress undermines the narrative of many enthusiasts.  They don't want to see the base moving forward in simple to follow steps.  From engine-only, to hybrid, to plug-in hybrid is not the path they want for reaching electric-only.  Their obsession with skipping those in between steps, not needing a bridge at all, is the picture they have been carefully painting... which the masses have no interest in... hence their message being stuck in an echo-chamber.  Needless to say, I was delighted to point out their futility:  Sorry, but calling 40 miles with heat-pump pathetic is just plain wrong, basically mindless rhetoric.  40 miles is more than most people drive daily.  That means you can effortlessly enjoy EV by simply recharging overnight.  Knowing how PHEV supports the purchase of a BEV next makes me wonder what happened to critical thinking.

Didn't Research.  I got my answer to the lack of being objective: "you're a dick".  That type of attitude is what comes from someone who wanted to vent about their decision.  It's how buyer's remorse plays out when they know they made a mistake and get called out on it.  Had he been trying to look at the situation in a constructive manner, the trading for would have been Song... the BYD crossover.  Getting a Seal... the BYD sedan... doesn't make sense.  I did wonder what the reference was to replacement parts.  Was there an actual problem or was he simply waiting for repair from an accident.  Far too often, you never find out from online encounters like that.  Heck, sometimes there actually isn't even a problem.  Misunderstandings are common this early in rollout.  It always takes a few years to establish expectations, since real-world data is what overcomes all the noise from rhetoric.  Whatever the case, I highly doubt we'll hear from this individual again.  He had his opportunity to vent.

Being Objective.  From time to time, someone new will posts a comment which you have no clue what the person's true situation actually was.  For example: "My bz4x won't charge above 33kw/h and has been with the dealer for 3 replacement parts since January.  They loaned me a brand new bz4x which charges around 90kw/h but still short of its advertised 150kw/h.  Range is terrible on this one at around 250 miles.  Trading for a byd seal soon."  It makes you wonder if they didn't research at all, had unrealistic expectations, or they are simply a troll making trouble.  Replies to that kind of post are easy, anyone making a "Should have bought a Tesla." comment clearly isn't trying to be objective.  What a waste of everyone's time.  I pointed out: Advertised doesn't mean much, since all estimates for all EVs only represent ideal conditions.  In other words, SOC must be low and temperature must be high.  Outside of that criteria, results will fall short.  It gets even more complicated when pre-conditioning and charger-status come into play.  So without detail, you're not sharing anything informative.

Deployed in the UK.  It is awesome having the opportunity to exchange posts with those overseas.  Discussions are so much more informative with a diverse audience.  In this case, it really paid off: "There have been ones deployed in the UK that would be meet the NEVI requirements here as far as payments go at least, the screen and NFC reader is just stupidly tucked under the charging dock on the side.  I can only assume that any Tesla installs or sells here would offer the same parts."  That is quite a revelation.  I'm hoping someone will be able to supply a photo of that.  In the meantime, my response back was:  I would suspect branding to be a big deal. That probably equates to leaving as much space on the face of the charger as possible for the third-party to wrap as they please.  It's a gamble on Tesla's part make that choice, knowing how differences challenging the status quo are a hard sell when it comes to the mainstream audience.

Whatever the case, having to deal with cords that are too short is a "shortcoming" for everyone using the chargers.  That needs to quickly be addressed before we end up having to deal with backlash from blocked spots.

How will other automakers deal with showroom floor challenges?  Sharp contrast in offerings will continue to be a problem that simply doesn't vanish overnight.  Much like the lithium supply situation, there's more at play than the impression current talking-points convey.

Their Worst Fear.  I had clearly hit upon a weakness.  He's seeing cracks in his strategy.  You can tell when the story changes.  Toyota was supposedly anti-EV, preferring hydrogen instead.  That changed to Toyota dragging their feet, kicking & screaming. That changed to racing to catch up, being so far behind.  That changed to Toyota sabotaging the market, by delivering an inferior vehicle.  Each change came about when detail was revealed to disprove the claim.  Upgrades delivered in the 2024 confirm Toyota is taking the situation seriously by addressing criticism quickly & directly.  That's their worst fear.  Doing that means the loss of an antagonist.  Not being able to frame Toyota as an enemy exposes their own shortcoming... hence so much effort to avoid detail.  I find it incredibly telling and was happy to point that out:  There it is, the avoidance.  No matter what is posted be objective and help constructive exchange along, it's a turn-around to make it personal.  Just like that brain-dead delay tactic, the purpose of evade is obvious.  In fact, gauging importance is as simple watching reaction.  I find it telling how "price" and "utility" and "longevity" were singled out.  Someone must be really worried about what's in the works.

Those all seem like reasonable minimums.  It just blows my mind how some evade quantifiers.  They know it is only a matter of time before those traits become the norm and what makes their specs standout will be dismissed as niche... want verses need.

To The Masses.  Here's another encouraging post example: "I love driving it, and love Toyota, but they could've done better with the XLE awd model."  I often like to conclude by asking a question:  Back when Prius was rolled out, the saying "JUST DRIVE IT" became the mantra.  Now with bZ4X, that saying has become "KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE".  In this case, what does "better" actually refer to?  Each person you ask has a different feeling about what's most important.  Then when you finally identify common request, there are varying degrees of how much.  The fact that there is no decisive answer is exactly why Toyota uses gen-1 as a shakeout platform.  Notice how other BEV owners still don't agree, despite having years of opportunity to figure out how to present that technology to the masses?