There’s little doubt in my mind that the term “appliance” is almost exclusively used pejoratively when we’re talking cars, and particularly so when it comes to EVs. It’s certainly not intended to be praise or a term of endearment. It is absolutely intended to mean dull, bland and boring. I believe few EV owners consider their vehicles to be any of these things, yet we often find ourselves discussing the term with members here who don’t own an EV.

 

In other words, it's safe, reliable, and practical.

Car journalism favors impractical vehicles that don't suit the majority of the public. Coupes with large displacement engines and stiff rides. The closer a vehicle is to that, the less practical and thus less of an "appliance" it is.

I don't doubt that "appliance" can be construed as a dog whistle against EV's but it didn't start out that way. And quite frankly anyone owning a FWD breadbox who claims that their vehicle is not an appliance while saying a Tesla is lacks complete self-awareness.

 

If I may butt in here. The reason I consider my Tesla's appliances is because they are on top of everything, practical. The check all my boxes. Are they track monsters? No, but if the track is in a straight line, a lot of "fast" cars, I would own them, at least to 80

I'm proud to call them appliances, that's not a derogatory word for me

 

Many of us with Model Y's call them appliances. It's not meant in a negative way. I'm into tech and appliances have come a long way from from where they were when I was young. I purchase refrigerators, dishwashers, stoves, etc... based on their tech features. The same went for our Y. It is far from bland or boring.

 

Here's a picture of my fridge


It connects to the Internet, you can browse the web, watch YouTube videos, have it alert you, had Alexa built in, it's connected to my Ring doorbell, gives me the weather, and I'm barely scratching the surface . It also sends me alerts, and I can see it's contents remotely. Now this is not a boring appliance 👍

 

Wouldn’t call a Tesla an appliance A very good product and differentiated against all other electric cars or brands.

 

I agree.
But I can see someone's point that if they bought their car for dependability and reliability and the tech- it's an appliance to them.

I can also see how someone can buy the exact same car because they value the charm, style, and character over all else- to them it would not be considered an appliance.

Appliances are not loved, nothing wrong with that. Lol

 

i love many of my other appliances too. dishwasher, toaster, coffee maker to name a few …

you’re probably right that most people see the term appliance as a put down on ev’s. when i first drove an ev many years ago (a model 3 a friend who was visiting had rented) i described it as a fast appliance because the interior was so simple and the driving experience had no mechanical sensations. and that particular car was white. but i didn’t mean it negatively. just a feeling that it got the job done without being flashy or quirky. i certainly didn’t mean it was dull, bland, or boring.

 

Source

 

Ok, how much do you love your dishwasher?

Would you buy or wear merch for you dishwasher and then go to an online forum and defend it from heritics and unbelievers? Haha

Yeah, I'm being over the top, just messing around. Lol 😁 👀 🍿 🍟 🍕

 

Don't F with my dishwasher, man

 

I have always loved dull, bland and boring cars lol

 

I wouldn't consider Teslas to be as much of an appliance car as a Camry or Rav4.

At least a Tesla can be fun, in a straight line. A camry is pure transportation.

 

fun is an understatement. my uncle is still talking and laughing about the fart cushions and santa mode where my car showed as a sleigh pulled by reindeer on the map and other cars show as reindeer.

when i had a camry for 6 months (bought off a relative because i knew it was mint) i really want to rationalize that it was reliable etc., but soon i was ready to slit my wrists.

 

The V6 Camry's were a bit more tolerable, but were always described as "boring" by every publication as compared to the competition