this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2026
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This is irrational past a certain point however, there is no reason non-electric cars won't be programmed to do shitty things to?
This is Xenophobia wrapped up in our emotions around cars, there is little evidence that Electric Vehicles are more vulnerable to being hacked than other kinds of cars, the reason everyone is nervous about this is that "western" car makers are being left in the dust because of their own stupid choices and everyone feels anxious about it. This is how it manifests, a general mistrust in electric vehicles we intuitively seem to have that is a mirage obscuring feelings of insecurity about our own societies.
America's gonna end up getting left behind
If you're comparing new electric cars to new internal-combustion cars, sure. But old internal-combustion cars are a non-enshittified option too, and unfortunately, there's no such thing as an old [mass-market] electric car.
If I could have, say, a GM EV1, or a 2001 Ford Ranger EV, or a 2001 Rav4 EV, or something like that (but with the NiMH batteries swapped for modern lithium ones), I'd totally get an EV. But those cars were all low-volume production when they were new, and are surely even harder to get a hold of now.
The Nissan Leaf is perhaps what you missed. My 2015 Leaf still has 80% SOC on its pack (75 mile range) so it is quite usable for 98% of my driving. It did have Nissan telemetry, but they've phased that out for the old Leafs, plus I simply removed the SIM. Parts available everywhere, third-party independent mechanics know the cars, and there are multiple companies offering battery upgrades, as well.
I didn't miss the Leaf, but I had ruled it out because of the telemetry. This...
...is news to me. Got a source where I can read more?
https://mynissanleaf.com/threads/replacing-nissanconnectev-with-ovms-in-a-gen1-leaf.32715/
What? Tesla is like the worst offender for this.
Which is why Tesla is collapsing as a car brand in the US, most of the people who like Musk do not really want to buy an electric car, it just seemed like the cool thing to do while getting a "self driving" "smart" car.
Everybody who doesn't like Musk won't buy a Tesla because they suck anyways.
Yes but how is it xenophobia?
Because of distrust and paranoia that is applied selectively to electric cars because they are associated with foreign made.
But this is a distrust that is primarily applied to Tesla, an American car company whose cars are made in America. You're not making any sense.
A lot of them these days are Korean, or internationally, Chinese.
We're talking about the subconscious feelings of xenophobes
The feeling comes from real world experiences with electric cars, which for 90% of Americans is primarily dealing with Tesla. Stupid door handles, stupid steering wheels, stupid touchscreen based controls. It's a real complaint, and if it's coming from Americans it's primarily complaining from the dominant electric car brand they've had experience with, which is an American brand with American made cars.
I don’t really want any car made after 2016, and will probably be buying used for the rest of my life unless car companies start acting different.
Also, it has nothing to do with hacking but thanks for showing you’re a tankie.
Ok what does it have to do with?
Also please define "tankie" for me in your own words thanks :)
Data tracking, right to repair, overall build quality, user interface, subscription services, and gimmicky features. And you’re exactly right that it applies to every modern car.
And a tankie is someone who projects xenophobia into a discussion about cars when it wasn’t even mentioned. And also capitalizes it randomly.
What?
Also they’re easily confused and distracted.
sigh