I don’t think that’s what they meant. I think they are just saying that people are still buying EVs, but they are just going to Chinese and other manufacturers instead of buying a Tesla. The article specifically calls out the stupid shit Elon has been doing.

This is why I can’t stand Kickstarter and why I won’t ever use it again. It’s no risk to the people asking for handouts and it’s the people giving their money away that take on all the risks.

You pay for something, but you may never actually see it. The product fails and you get nothing. The product succeeds and you get the product you were hoping for, but it may not be 100% what you expected. Also, it’s not like you would get anything more than that, you are not an investor.

If I’m an investor, I take a risk and I could possibly lose all my money that I put into it, but at the tail end of that, if it’s successful, I will get my money back, plus more. Same risk, but better outcome.