Photo: Steve Wozniak
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has launched himself in a pro-Chevrolet Bolt crusade on his Facebook page yesterday. It all started after he posted a picture of himself next to GM's new electric vehicle with the caption "I expect to be switching cars soon."
Wozniak is currently driving a Model S, and given his proclivity to taking long road trips, the Tesla must have fitted him like a glove. Before that, he owned a Toyota Prius, so it's clear he likes his environmentally-friendly cars. Well, as commendable as that is, it also means his options are severely restricted.
Luckily for him, you'd think the Tesla offered everything he really needed: plenty of room for passengers and luggage, good comfort, best available maximum range and, above all, access to the Supercharger network. Why is that so important? Because the last thing you need on a road trip is to waste lots of time charging your car, and with a Tesla, you can get up to 170-miles worth of juice in just half an hour.
Well, it seems Wozniak wasn't entirely happy with his Model S because he is now anxiously waiting for the Chevrolet Bolt to come out so he can trade his luxury sedan for this mainstream hatchback. Depending on what Model S version he has, he might even do it without any extra cost given Teslas keep their value so well, and the Bolt will only be $37,500 before incentives.
Wozniak is being so insistent over this move that some people are wondering whether this might be a marketing move staged by GM. His post has dozens of comments, and he's taken the time to reply to most of those where he was asked about his reasons. One of them read like this:
"Knowing myself, it may replace the Tesla. A lot of complaints about the Tesla that my wife and I have are solved in this car. It's not just some name where you have to take a side. The user conveniences are well thought out and the functionality is great. I tell everyone that the most valuable, useful car of my life was the Prius that I drove for 10 years. I don't need top-of-the-line luxury. We have a Tesla, but there is no other EV choice that's good for road trips. The Bolt will need some personal testing by Janet and myself to find out how it is on road trips. Otherwise, it's what we want. Extra features aren't the big picture, or we'd have skipped the Tesla for a Mercedes."
It seems like one of the reasons Wozniak is considering the Bolt is because he really doesn't like the Model 3: "[...] after seeing the insides and the UI, Tesla will have a difficult time selling me a Model 3. A lot of things wrong with the Tesla Model S are done correctly (my opinion) in this car. But it's still missing a place to put your sunglasses, ha ha."
At the end of the day, this is just a quick reaction following what must have been short interactions with both the Chevrolet Bolt and the Tesla Model 3 (pre-production version). He seems determined at this point, but that doesn't mean his mind can't be changed once the two models are released. But we can't help feel a bit amused when hearing an Apple co-founder's view on luxury and "getting the most from the least" ("try to make things simple and affordable but very adequate"). We guess that's the iPhone in a nutshell, right?
Luckily for him, you'd think the Tesla offered everything he really needed: plenty of room for passengers and luggage, good comfort, best available maximum range and, above all, access to the Supercharger network. Why is that so important? Because the last thing you need on a road trip is to waste lots of time charging your car, and with a Tesla, you can get up to 170-miles worth of juice in just half an hour.
Well, it seems Wozniak wasn't entirely happy with his Model S because he is now anxiously waiting for the Chevrolet Bolt to come out so he can trade his luxury sedan for this mainstream hatchback. Depending on what Model S version he has, he might even do it without any extra cost given Teslas keep their value so well, and the Bolt will only be $37,500 before incentives.
Wozniak is being so insistent over this move that some people are wondering whether this might be a marketing move staged by GM. His post has dozens of comments, and he's taken the time to reply to most of those where he was asked about his reasons. One of them read like this:
"Knowing myself, it may replace the Tesla. A lot of complaints about the Tesla that my wife and I have are solved in this car. It's not just some name where you have to take a side. The user conveniences are well thought out and the functionality is great. I tell everyone that the most valuable, useful car of my life was the Prius that I drove for 10 years. I don't need top-of-the-line luxury. We have a Tesla, but there is no other EV choice that's good for road trips. The Bolt will need some personal testing by Janet and myself to find out how it is on road trips. Otherwise, it's what we want. Extra features aren't the big picture, or we'd have skipped the Tesla for a Mercedes."
It seems like one of the reasons Wozniak is considering the Bolt is because he really doesn't like the Model 3: "[...] after seeing the insides and the UI, Tesla will have a difficult time selling me a Model 3. A lot of things wrong with the Tesla Model S are done correctly (my opinion) in this car. But it's still missing a place to put your sunglasses, ha ha."
At the end of the day, this is just a quick reaction following what must have been short interactions with both the Chevrolet Bolt and the Tesla Model 3 (pre-production version). He seems determined at this point, but that doesn't mean his mind can't be changed once the two models are released. But we can't help feel a bit amused when hearing an Apple co-founder's view on luxury and "getting the most from the least" ("try to make things simple and affordable but very adequate"). We guess that's the iPhone in a nutshell, right?
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