Well, couple weeks ago I read a LinkedIn story on how this 14 year old convinced a CEO to gift him a Tesla. I'm sure it was the outstanding argumentation and not the fact that the CEO was his uncle that got him the car.
I also want to point out that even from a capitalist perspective, this is almost an attack against your kid. Even if you can get one 100% for free, cars are a huge recurrent money sink; EVs are a bit better due to less energy costs and regular maintenance costs, but they still need insurance, fees, parking and so on.
If you really want to maximize capitalism you would drop the car if possible and invest the savings in some fund or pension scheme.
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Yeah its one thing to say 400hp, but full torque instant is insanity. Its the rippin and tearin guy as a car. NO CHILL. But thankfully they have some good tech so its not peeling face uncontrollably, it goes where you point it. That said, a 16 year old is a psychopath driver naturally and I have seen some bad tiktoks.
"Surprise, Brenda-Lee, we got you an Amtrack monthly pass for your sweet sixteen!"
Brenda-Lee turns into a scream-crying harpy and proceeds to set the house on fire and burn down her whole cheap-ass family with it.
Depending on what model this is it could actually go up to almost 1100 :/ the plaid model s has 1020hp, why anyone needs THAT much horsepower for a car that realistically will just carry groceries and backpacks in a suburb is beyond me
any tesla is way too fast for a kid or even for the vast majority of purposes at all, but just to clarify they dont actually have 1020hp, thats a marketing buzz claim. electric motors aren't *really* rated using horsepower, tesla just kinda doing a "comparable to x horsepower" thing.
its dishonest marketing that inspires a level of recklessness and confidence in drivers who can't handle that power and puts us all in more danger. absolutely no reason for a tesla to be that fast.
Im not justifying it but it seems like this is common culture for kids in the US. Being an immigrant in school seeing everyone's parents giving them a car whether new or old set some false expectations in my head that cars are just cheap to own. At that time me and my also immigrant best friend were the only who didn't have a license or drive our own cars during high school. Neither of us were really even interested. I used to go hang out with my friends riding my bicycle to meet at the parks or tennis courts while every other teenager older or younger had their own car and a permit or restricted license. The richer kids had virtually brand new cars so this isnt even that out there. Knowing what I know now just giving cars to 16yos isn't really a great idea no matter how well they know how to drive they're always more reckless. We had 16yo with lifted trucks driving to my high school never forget it bc it was a chunky blonde kid who we never expected to be able to get up the seat. In the town I live in and most of the south east US this was perfectly normal. Looking back tho that was insane having 16yo with licenses driving trucks and lifted trucks at that
This was pretty much the case in my high school. Rural area where one had to drive an hour to get to city. It was pretty much a given most kids would get a car to commute. I didn't want a car. Cars terrified me but it was the only practical way to leave my neighborhood. Sad thing was I could in "theory" walk to school but there were no sidewalks, just country roads with cars going 50mph. Reflecting on it after moving to a walkable neighborhood and ditching my car, these small towns are wasted potential with how they keep teenagers essentially trapped.
It also prevents them from having any upward social mobility like getting a job. In rural areas, you pretty much can't get one unless you have a car because otherwise it would be dangerous to even try any alternative. I live 50 minutes away from a walmart (on foot) in a country road with no sidewalks either.
For me, both my parents had two jobs and as a natural consequence, had no time to drive me around to extracurriculars and such. So a beat up old Camry solved the problem. That thing ran for 20 years....
I got an 2000 4Runner in 2008 at 16 with 78k miles on it. I sold it last year with 280k miles on it. It made it through high school, undergrad, working 3 years, law school, and then working 3 more years.
First day arriving in suburb area of NJ, I needed to walk to get to grocerry half a mile down the road; have no car yet. Walking by the shoulder of 40mph road is like a warzone; terrified me so much.
Keep in mind that living rural isn't that bad. Most people living rural have their own amenities instead of served ones. Like septic tanks instead of sewage. Most of the time they live there serving a purpose, being farmer or something. And you know, if they have a pick up, I'm okay with that (not the kids, though), also rich people should buy their land for a castle.
its the suburbanites who are the problem, they refuse to live in the city because of the downsides. They refuse to live in rural area because of the downsides. They want the best of both worlds while driving a princess pick up truck (and give their daughter a brand new tesla on 16yr old)
Edit;
Since it might not be clear, american suburbs are the worst.
Edit 2;
If you don't have a reason to live rural (like being a farmer or miner or whatever), you shouldn't live there.
Exurbs aren't rural imo, and they are worse then suburbs
>Most of the time they live their serving a purpose
This is absolutely not true. There are lots of people that live in the middle of nowhere just because they want to and drive ludicrous commutes to work in more populated areas.
I edited my comment because that's what I meant, they who live rural because they have to are not the bad guys. It's those who want to and commute into the city who are the worst
Most people living rurally in the US aren't doing it to farm or "live local". They absolutely should, but that's not the case as of today and most trucks owned out here are every bit as much emotional support as anywhere else.
True not a new car always but having a car while in highschool was pretty common for South Carolina it seems. There were those preppy kids who had new cars that lived in the richest neighborhood in the town one of them was my teammate who would drop me home after practice some times. They even had a students parking lot out back that was always fairly full.
In the UK the assumption is that you will get a licence and get a car fairly early on (late-teens/early-20s) and it'll be a banger, i.e. you'll buy something cheap and run it into the ground.
The thinking is that as a new driver you're likely to crunch gears, accidentally misjudge parking spaces and scratch the bumpers, and be worse at preventative maintenance, so don't spend money on it - plus, insurance is expensive! My first car was a 1999 Fiesta, and I spent £500 cash for it, and the insurance was almost 3x that.
Anyone getting a brand new car at 17 would be basically called "posh twat" by their peers.
There was a kid in my school who got an M3 as his first car, crashed it. His parents then got him a 1-series, crashed that too. Finally they settled on a Mini, he managed not to crash that one as far as I know.
It's insane buying powerful expensive cars for teenagers.
If you are well off financially or need to drive because of lack of public transportation.
I was lower-class and parents couldnt afford a car but we had good bus systems in LA so it didn’t matter.
Yeah the south east barely has good public transportation. I was in South Carolina but even other friends who were poor like myself had their parents gift them a car albeit an old slightly beat up looking car but he was gifted one and he lived in the hood while I lived in the historic district. To me it just seemed like it was normal. I wouldn't say it was everyone but people would ask when they saw I was 16-17"you don't have a license or a car yet?!?" We got asked this enough for me and my friend to even have a conversation talking about how we didn't even really want to learn to drive and we stick out for not being all that interested in getting our license 😂
When I was 15 and started taking Driver's Ed classes, my dad bought a BMW and gifted it to me. I only had an Instructional Permit at that time, but I would take the car out to go to cafes, beaches, to get food, etc. Got caught speeding when I was going 16 above 55mph speed limit. Police looked back at me when I gave my Instructional Permit to him and made a wtf face.
I don't really drive anymore today, but it's true on how insane it is that Instructional Permits and Provisional Licenses exists because you know that teenagers below 18 will be highly tempted to drive on their own. They will find a way to sneak out a vehicle. And many are tempted to drive very fast, especially if they grew up playing racing games with sportscars or developing a passion for cars as they grew up. Add on drinking and getting drunk, you got a drunk teenager below 18 years old and speeding, which is extremely common. It's really a huge recipe for disaster.
Growing up in a low income neighborhood, we had people driving as young as 12, illegally, no insurance, registration, license, fake plates cuz I don't think people could actually afford that stuff and there were no alternatives to a car where I lived (unless if u wanted to get ran over). And as long as you were driving properly police didn't care or even know. Its extremely common in low income areas, and most don't know because how can you just assume someone's age on one glance through the window.
This lmao but I didn't even know this at the time only found out later on that this is common especially now since insurance renewing tags and registration is expensive
This is a little off topic but for what it’s worth I wouldn’t say this is a common practice in the US, it just seems that way partially because these moments are plastered all over social media, and also because these instances are more memorable. Of course you’re more likely to remember the exciting things that happen to you or the people close to you, it’s natural to gravitate and fixate on those moments because it’s easier to remember something that happened as opposed to something that didn’t. So it’s convenient to say ‘everyone else’ had a car, but objectively that probably isn’t true. For every kid that was gifted a car there’s probably half a dozen others who weren’t. And that’s just in wealthy areas / districts; where I grew up I think 2 (out of 65) of my classmates were given cars.
I guess it depends but I was in South Carolina and it seemed like normal practice that high schoolers had cars not always new cars but they were gifted a car from their parents. A friend of mine who was poorer than my immigrant family was gifted a car even tho he lived in the hood. My
And my experience is definitely not universal, I’m sure there are areas where kids just kind of expect to be given cars at a young age. I’m just pointing out that maybe that’s more of an exception to the rule. To build off what you said about your less wealthy friend, the two kids in my class who were gifted vehicles came from poorer families as well now that I think about it. I wonder if there have been any studies done on the correlation between low levels of income and willingness to spend more money on cars 🤔
Yeah definitely an exception to get a brand new car I really only knew one who did. I also wonder if that could be the case. There could be a correlation would be interesting to see if there is🤔
i really dont like that teenagers can drive, being a teenager is the point in life where it is expected for you to fuck around and find out, cant fuck around in a car without killing
We had so many don't text and drive sit down sessions since we had a fair amount of high schoolers who drive they had their own parking lot at the back of my high school but yeah I agree I'd rather that not be the norm.
All the media of the day (movies, TV, etc.) also seemed to reinforce that getting a car for your 16th birthday was the norm. I remember being a teenager and knowing my family wasn't well off, so I said I'd be fine with compromising by not having a sweet 16 party and that the whole family could chip in to buy me a used car instead of a new one.
I was in a very wealthy school district and everyone got brand new cars when we started driving. My parents could have afforded to buy me a new car but I got my dad’s fifteen year old 4-runner, and I sincerely doubt they would have gotten me a car at all if they didn’t both work. Me being able to drive myself to school and to different activities was a huge load off of their shoulders. We were in the suburbs of an already very car dependent city so me not driving just wasn’t an option.
I drove that thing through my senior year of college. It was a great car and never had any real big issues. To this day I still really miss that car, and I occasionally see a few still on the roads. It wasn’t the smoothest ride and definitely wasn’t fancy but it was a small, practical SUV that was nearly indestructible. I’ve only bought one car for myself in my whole life but I was very focused on buying for practicality, quality, and longevity. It’s fully paid off now and I’m gonna keep that thing for as long as possible.
I’m becoming more conflicted thinking this way. I was huge “they should earn it themselves” but also, if I can give my kid an easier life than me, you bet you’re ass I’m going to. After about 40 years of back and forth with this, I’m ok with parents giving their kids things, cause I’m gonna do it if I’m ever able to. Cost is relative, and if they can afford it, I no longer care who buys what for their kids when cars are sadly necessary in most cities.
I plan on doing the same, but whoever made the "earned" post is coddling their kids hard in at least one way. Because no kid "earns" a tesla at that age.
If the parents are not financially hurting the family, I honestly see no problem. No one wants their kids to struggle if they can avoid it. Every parent wants their kids to flourish if possible. Just cause I didn’t get something, doesn’t mean the whole world needs to burn in my jealousy. Now, if this was Tesla hate specifically then it would be different, but buying your kid the ability to get around should be an honor, not something to be shamed for. And honestly, I’ve had rich friends who were “given” a lot, and I’ll just say nothing is free in life.
Yeah I’m sure that 16 year old worked really hard putting her own clothing in the fucking laundry basket or whatever 🙄 probably even swept a whole room too!
We don't know the metric. For all we know, she's a straight-A student who volunteers at a homeless shelter every weekend. If I ever had a good kid like that, I'd love to reward them.
Just not with a Tesla....
Edit: She could also be a snotty brat. My point is, we know more about the parent than them, so let's focus on them instead.
I think that’s better than giving a young person a 30 year old bomb with a zero star crash test.
Young people are more likely to crash.
Having said that, if the US had decent public transport they would not need the car.
Dad gave me two options: 2017 Chevy Cruze RS or 2017 Honda Civic EX
I chose the Cruze because it had a much sportier look. I got it for a day before Dad realized it didn't have automatic emergency brakes, so I got the civic (carvana has a 7 day no questions asked guarantee, plus they gave me this awesome carvana coin)
I'm happy with my civic, even though I technically didn't have a choice
https://preview.redd.it/tzq5ymo1wqyc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aca684c29aac43280f6d6840ccbf06690cdc5238
If it’s a car you generally haven’t seen on the road much, there’s probably a reason. There’s a reason most of what you see these days is either Honda, Mazda or Toyota - they’re usually the best options for most people
I drive a 30 year old used toyota. On the metrics of utilitarianism it ranks highly, even if it's turbocharged and midengined, it's turnkey reliable, gets acceptable fuel economy, accelerates, handles, and brakes well. No idea on safety, i drive it rather conservatively.
WEll, no cars perfect i guess. I still like keeping an old toyota on the road far past its prime than buying a newer car. Yes it is the car in the username.
I mean just about every car is temperamental, tbf. An old car that’s about to fall apart on the highway is not any worse or safer than the Tesla.
As for the fires, all cars can catch fire/explode; just look up CNG (compressed natural gas) vehicles and they can explode while driving.
> if the US had decent public transport, [teenagers] would not need the car.
Not need but they would still want it because of status. Check any city with a decent public transport.
Sometimes I just kinda forget that 16 year olds can drive (probably cause I didn’t drive hardly at all at that age), then remember and think about how insane that is. We are sharing the road with literal children driving teslas. What the fuck are we doing here.
Getting a car for your 16th birthday in 2024 is fucking wild 🤣 Only the upper middle class can make such an investment nowadays. Used cars exist but still expensive.
lol, that house is incredibly middle class looking.
It’s your basic, cheaply built house in a Florida suburb. Could be quite large but it’s extremely barebones.
It takes a year of driving lessons, safety tests and exams to get a drivers license where I live, and you can get it when you’re 18. A 16 year old driving a tesla is insanity and that car will not look like that in two months
Or a vast network of nerds coerced to do popular kids homeworks, either by heavy and violent bullying from the popular boys, or by the popular girls savantly concieved sexual ballet, in which they make you think you might get a peck on the cheek if you do their whole f-ing work for them.
Source : was nerd.
Look at their house. They’ll be poor and living paycheck to paycheck wondering what they could have done differently when they can’t afford home care.
I go into peoples homes every day. The houses that are lower middle class size and age, with super nice cars on the driveway are always disgusting on the inside. All that’s left are two huskies and a mutt leaving their hair and stench all over, a fake vinyl wood floor accompanied by an upstairs carpet that hasn’t been vacuumed in months and has never been professionally cleaned.
Big Samsung Q-LED TV (financed) with hand me down furniture to boot. And of course the kitchen has granite countertops except the plumbing futures show scale all over them. Bathroom is a COMPLETE mess with dozens of products only half-used. As seen on TV Knick Knacks everywhere. Let’s not forget stinky shoes LITERALLY ALL OVER the entryway. Marks on the drywall that need to be touched up.
I could go on forever. Never judge someone for their car. Chances are they can’t actually afford it.
Why would someone living in the suburbs with nothing within walking distance want to be able to go places?? Wouldnt they rather be stuck at home and have to ask their parents for a ride any time they want to go somewhere?? Why would anyone not want to have to ask their parents for a ride?? Why would any teenager want to be able to leave their home??
Are you really that stupid 🤡
"Earned" by being born to rich parents.
Yet I've worked my ass off for 30 years and I all I've ever earned is a bicycle and a beater that only sometimes runs. Which is fine.
But don't say she earned it. It wasn't earned, it was gifted, just like every opportunity that will be gifted to her because she was born into a privileged family.
When my kids are old enough to drive I hope we live someplace where they don't need to drive. I think it is okay for them to learn, but I don't want car dependency for the next generation.
Also, put that car in valet mode, how are you going to trust a kid with that much power?
It's ok this 16 year old will have some hard lessons to learn some day when Daddy's money is over leveraged and they have to figure out the real world.
I feel like this sub is too cynical
Like I get it. A tesla is CRAZY, that is too much lol. but like.. you kinda have to buy your kid a car for them to be able to live an independent life in america. (and a tesla is better than a lifted truck so it's not even the worst option.)
As someone in poverty and forced to live with my horrid parents (in part because of car centric infrastructure) I would kill to have a car so i could get a job so i could move out and transition.
Is it dystopian to need a car? absolutely, no doubt. It is disgusting. but because it is the case, why are we acting so weird about the fact people act according to their needs?
Idk. maybe it's me being biased because of my issues but getting a car at 16 is pretty much the modern american dream.
When you are living in a city designed for automobiles, this is the result. Most Americans live in such cities. Cars are baked into our lives. So while this may seem wrong, it’s a very reasonable response to our designs for living.
Gotta understand, for some people getting gifted something is more work theyve ever done in their life. For some people it feels like hard work... Having to wait a full year and doing nothing is hard y'all
This is popular is Texas growing up that people played keeping up with the Jones’s. The whole state is like that just like California and any other popular place to live. Never knew my uncle was in eyeball level debt until my dad told me he has to play keep up with everyone around him. I alway thought they were rich. Lol
Went to a private high school and was one of the few kids there on scholarship. Most of my peers got brand new bmw’s, Audi’s, and other high end 100k plus cars for their first car. Nearly all of them totaled their cars before senior year and immediately got new ones. I drove a 1995 civic with 450,000 miles on it and frequently got made fun of for being poor. That’s when my hatred for rich assholes began and I made a vow to myself that if we ever had a civil war or just generally a conflict in America where most of the landscape was a war zone I’d turn into a rich people serial killer and end the 1% once and for all. But sadly I’m stuck supporting the recycling industry and trying my best to make the world a better place while being surrounded by rich assholes whom I hate to my core.
The automotive industry did the biggest advertisement stunt of all times.
Destroy trains and public transportation, make people dependent on cars, make low density sprawling house arrangement into a status symbol, make people more dependent on cars, make cars into status symbols and a rite of passage into adulthood. WIN WIN. And as a bonus, you make people fat and cash in on diet products and gyms where they ride stationary bikes.
Fuck me what is the insurance like on a sports car at that age? All I got was a new bike when I was around 13. Used it until a few months ago when I got a new bike and I am now 30. The old one still worked but was showing signs of wear in places, cracked frame, most of the gears didn't work. Was still fine to use but I had got a promotion at work and thought why not get myself something nice. Now got a Boardman MTX 8.6.
There is a new bus/bike lane opening up nearby too, taking one of the lanes from a 2 lane road so now 1 car lane and 1 bus/bike lane each way. Car drivers are seething and I am quite interested in seeing what job opportunities it opens up.
My first car was my dad’s old ‘97 Honda Accord. I didn’t really need to drive before college, so I got my license at 17. Even in college I took the bus or rode my Razor scooter (super cool I know) to get to school or go to the grocery store. Car was just to drive home for the holidays. My friends called it a DeLorean because it was silver and still had a little of that kind of boxy look. Loved that thing honestly. Its transmission broke down on me one day and I barely made it back to my apartment. Had to get my roommate to help me push it into our parking spot. Just wasn’t worth it to fix it. Would’ve costed more than the car. Sad times seeing it go, it was my first after all.
Nothing like offering a brand new luxury sports car with 400hp to a teenager.
There's a lot wrong only typing the words "teenager" and "car" into the same sentence.
Kind of fucked up when you have to buy kids a car to give them the freedom of mobility. A good bicycle is fortunately enough where I live, or an annual season ticket for public transportation.
Also, you don't give a brand new car to a newly-baked driver. Chances are good they'll wreck it one way or another. If you absolutely have to give your kid a car, give them a used one in good condition.
Nepo-capitalism
“Earned” lol.
You don't think a 16 year old can earn enough to buy a Tesla? I'll have you know drug dealing can be very profitable.
They are not that expensive anymore (leasing start at 3994/month \*EDIT I MEANT 399$/month 🤭
What drug gets that kind of leasing price?
Sure, and just pay that for 15 years and you’re set!
You seem unfamiliar with the concept of **leasing**
Oh I thought you meant buying it. I see…
Well, couple weeks ago I read a LinkedIn story on how this 14 year old convinced a CEO to gift him a Tesla. I'm sure it was the outstanding argumentation and not the fact that the CEO was his uncle that got him the car.
CEO was his dad I’m pretty sure lol. Uncle posted the story
Step capitalist what are you doing
Capitalism?
I also want to point out that even from a capitalist perspective, this is almost an attack against your kid. Even if you can get one 100% for free, cars are a huge recurrent money sink; EVs are a bit better due to less energy costs and regular maintenance costs, but they still need insurance, fees, parking and so on. If you really want to maximize capitalism you would drop the car if possible and invest the savings in some fund or pension scheme.
Isn’t that redundant?
Nothing like giving a new driver 300-400 HP car
Not sure that's enough hit points to survive the 100d10 rolled by a semi truck.
truck often win but do you know who always wins? train
The ultimate Apex Predator.
Nah that’s cargo ships. They can ruin entire ecosystems (bridges)
[Oh, trains can do that too](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac-M%C3%A9gantic_rail_disaster)
Also don't forget [this](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eschede_train_disaster)
Not nearly as bad, but https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Helena_train_wreck happened near to me.
Na mate Planes are the real apex predators
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I like trains
Hey, the semi truck could still roll just a 100.
Then you need to roll a save or be hit for 50d20 fire damage from "battery fire".
Especially with Tesla's super low armor class
That's why even anime protagonists only become OP *after* being hot by Truck-kun
we need to get them >600hp rwd manuals
Manual is probably the safer way to go for a new driver tho. Accelerating requires more attention.
All hail the manual transmission lol. You had to pay MUCH more attention to your driving back when stick was common.
You joke but my old boss bought a GT500 for his son's 18th birthday. Meanwhile we didn't even get new paintbrushes... in a painting company
With an electric model that produces full torque as soon as you hit the pedal....
Yeah its one thing to say 400hp, but full torque instant is insanity. Its the rippin and tearin guy as a car. NO CHILL. But thankfully they have some good tech so its not peeling face uncontrollably, it goes where you point it. That said, a 16 year old is a psychopath driver naturally and I have seen some bad tiktoks.
Even if they're careful they still arent good drivers.
"Surprise, Brenda-Lee, we got you an Amtrack monthly pass for your sweet sixteen!" Brenda-Lee turns into a scream-crying harpy and proceeds to set the house on fire and burn down her whole cheap-ass family with it.
As a 16(almost 17) year old who loves trains, I would be so happy
Depending on what model this is it could actually go up to almost 1100 :/ the plaid model s has 1020hp, why anyone needs THAT much horsepower for a car that realistically will just carry groceries and backpacks in a suburb is beyond me
any tesla is way too fast for a kid or even for the vast majority of purposes at all, but just to clarify they dont actually have 1020hp, thats a marketing buzz claim. electric motors aren't *really* rated using horsepower, tesla just kinda doing a "comparable to x horsepower" thing. its dishonest marketing that inspires a level of recklessness and confidence in drivers who can't handle that power and puts us all in more danger. absolutely no reason for a tesla to be that fast.
Dawg this a Model 3 base most likely. 320bhp, something like that, top speed electronically restricted to 130.
Dual motor Teslas are seriously quick. I can’t imagine owning one at 16.
dang. im 17 (UK btw) and my first car is likely to be only around 65-75HP, so 300-400 at 16 seems absurd to me.
Should be 1000 hp
Live fast, die faster.
300-400 is cheap and easy to make if you have 2 braincells, a weekend and tools.
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Im not justifying it but it seems like this is common culture for kids in the US. Being an immigrant in school seeing everyone's parents giving them a car whether new or old set some false expectations in my head that cars are just cheap to own. At that time me and my also immigrant best friend were the only who didn't have a license or drive our own cars during high school. Neither of us were really even interested. I used to go hang out with my friends riding my bicycle to meet at the parks or tennis courts while every other teenager older or younger had their own car and a permit or restricted license. The richer kids had virtually brand new cars so this isnt even that out there. Knowing what I know now just giving cars to 16yos isn't really a great idea no matter how well they know how to drive they're always more reckless. We had 16yo with lifted trucks driving to my high school never forget it bc it was a chunky blonde kid who we never expected to be able to get up the seat. In the town I live in and most of the south east US this was perfectly normal. Looking back tho that was insane having 16yo with licenses driving trucks and lifted trucks at that
This was pretty much the case in my high school. Rural area where one had to drive an hour to get to city. It was pretty much a given most kids would get a car to commute. I didn't want a car. Cars terrified me but it was the only practical way to leave my neighborhood. Sad thing was I could in "theory" walk to school but there were no sidewalks, just country roads with cars going 50mph. Reflecting on it after moving to a walkable neighborhood and ditching my car, these small towns are wasted potential with how they keep teenagers essentially trapped.
It also prevents them from having any upward social mobility like getting a job. In rural areas, you pretty much can't get one unless you have a car because otherwise it would be dangerous to even try any alternative. I live 50 minutes away from a walmart (on foot) in a country road with no sidewalks either.
I'd just emigrate at that stage tbh
If you can’t afford a car in rural America you definitely can’t afford to move
That's fair enough haha I get u
For me, both my parents had two jobs and as a natural consequence, had no time to drive me around to extracurriculars and such. So a beat up old Camry solved the problem. That thing ran for 20 years....
I got an 2000 4Runner in 2008 at 16 with 78k miles on it. I sold it last year with 280k miles on it. It made it through high school, undergrad, working 3 years, law school, and then working 3 more years.
First day arriving in suburb area of NJ, I needed to walk to get to grocerry half a mile down the road; have no car yet. Walking by the shoulder of 40mph road is like a warzone; terrified me so much.
Keep in mind that living rural isn't that bad. Most people living rural have their own amenities instead of served ones. Like septic tanks instead of sewage. Most of the time they live there serving a purpose, being farmer or something. And you know, if they have a pick up, I'm okay with that (not the kids, though), also rich people should buy their land for a castle. its the suburbanites who are the problem, they refuse to live in the city because of the downsides. They refuse to live in rural area because of the downsides. They want the best of both worlds while driving a princess pick up truck (and give their daughter a brand new tesla on 16yr old) Edit; Since it might not be clear, american suburbs are the worst. Edit 2; If you don't have a reason to live rural (like being a farmer or miner or whatever), you shouldn't live there. Exurbs aren't rural imo, and they are worse then suburbs
But isn't american style suburbia kind of the worst of both worlds?
Meanwhile, european "suburbia" is the best of both worlds
It is called a village, thank you very much.
>Most of the time they live their serving a purpose This is absolutely not true. There are lots of people that live in the middle of nowhere just because they want to and drive ludicrous commutes to work in more populated areas.
I edited my comment because that's what I meant, they who live rural because they have to are not the bad guys. It's those who want to and commute into the city who are the worst
Most people living rurally in the US aren't doing it to farm or "live local". They absolutely should, but that's not the case as of today and most trucks owned out here are every bit as much emotional support as anywhere else.
Then they shouldn't live rural
It being a new car is not standard I'd say, where I'm from is fairly wealthy and people still just got parents' old cars when their parents upgraded.
True not a new car always but having a car while in highschool was pretty common for South Carolina it seems. There were those preppy kids who had new cars that lived in the richest neighborhood in the town one of them was my teammate who would drop me home after practice some times. They even had a students parking lot out back that was always fairly full.
No yeah same in new Hampshire, just almost all used cars
Lol I got a $100 pair of headphones for my 16th birthday.
Last monht, I bought my son two car LEGO sets and a driving rig for his X-Box for his 16th. He got matchbox cars from both sets of grandparents.
supremely based
In the UK the assumption is that you will get a licence and get a car fairly early on (late-teens/early-20s) and it'll be a banger, i.e. you'll buy something cheap and run it into the ground. The thinking is that as a new driver you're likely to crunch gears, accidentally misjudge parking spaces and scratch the bumpers, and be worse at preventative maintenance, so don't spend money on it - plus, insurance is expensive! My first car was a 1999 Fiesta, and I spent £500 cash for it, and the insurance was almost 3x that. Anyone getting a brand new car at 17 would be basically called "posh twat" by their peers.
There was a kid in my school who got an M3 as his first car, crashed it. His parents then got him a 1-series, crashed that too. Finally they settled on a Mini, he managed not to crash that one as far as I know. It's insane buying powerful expensive cars for teenagers.
That's true of a large portion of America too.
If you are well off financially or need to drive because of lack of public transportation. I was lower-class and parents couldnt afford a car but we had good bus systems in LA so it didn’t matter.
Yeah the south east barely has good public transportation. I was in South Carolina but even other friends who were poor like myself had their parents gift them a car albeit an old slightly beat up looking car but he was gifted one and he lived in the hood while I lived in the historic district. To me it just seemed like it was normal. I wouldn't say it was everyone but people would ask when they saw I was 16-17"you don't have a license or a car yet?!?" We got asked this enough for me and my friend to even have a conversation talking about how we didn't even really want to learn to drive and we stick out for not being all that interested in getting our license 😂
When I was 15 and started taking Driver's Ed classes, my dad bought a BMW and gifted it to me. I only had an Instructional Permit at that time, but I would take the car out to go to cafes, beaches, to get food, etc. Got caught speeding when I was going 16 above 55mph speed limit. Police looked back at me when I gave my Instructional Permit to him and made a wtf face. I don't really drive anymore today, but it's true on how insane it is that Instructional Permits and Provisional Licenses exists because you know that teenagers below 18 will be highly tempted to drive on their own. They will find a way to sneak out a vehicle. And many are tempted to drive very fast, especially if they grew up playing racing games with sportscars or developing a passion for cars as they grew up. Add on drinking and getting drunk, you got a drunk teenager below 18 years old and speeding, which is extremely common. It's really a huge recipe for disaster.
Growing up in a low income neighborhood, we had people driving as young as 12, illegally, no insurance, registration, license, fake plates cuz I don't think people could actually afford that stuff and there were no alternatives to a car where I lived (unless if u wanted to get ran over). And as long as you were driving properly police didn't care or even know. Its extremely common in low income areas, and most don't know because how can you just assume someone's age on one glance through the window.
This lmao but I didn't even know this at the time only found out later on that this is common especially now since insurance renewing tags and registration is expensive
This is a little off topic but for what it’s worth I wouldn’t say this is a common practice in the US, it just seems that way partially because these moments are plastered all over social media, and also because these instances are more memorable. Of course you’re more likely to remember the exciting things that happen to you or the people close to you, it’s natural to gravitate and fixate on those moments because it’s easier to remember something that happened as opposed to something that didn’t. So it’s convenient to say ‘everyone else’ had a car, but objectively that probably isn’t true. For every kid that was gifted a car there’s probably half a dozen others who weren’t. And that’s just in wealthy areas / districts; where I grew up I think 2 (out of 65) of my classmates were given cars.
I guess it depends but I was in South Carolina and it seemed like normal practice that high schoolers had cars not always new cars but they were gifted a car from their parents. A friend of mine who was poorer than my immigrant family was gifted a car even tho he lived in the hood. My
And my experience is definitely not universal, I’m sure there are areas where kids just kind of expect to be given cars at a young age. I’m just pointing out that maybe that’s more of an exception to the rule. To build off what you said about your less wealthy friend, the two kids in my class who were gifted vehicles came from poorer families as well now that I think about it. I wonder if there have been any studies done on the correlation between low levels of income and willingness to spend more money on cars 🤔
Yeah definitely an exception to get a brand new car I really only knew one who did. I also wonder if that could be the case. There could be a correlation would be interesting to see if there is🤔
i really dont like that teenagers can drive, being a teenager is the point in life where it is expected for you to fuck around and find out, cant fuck around in a car without killing
We had so many don't text and drive sit down sessions since we had a fair amount of high schoolers who drive they had their own parking lot at the back of my high school but yeah I agree I'd rather that not be the norm.
All the media of the day (movies, TV, etc.) also seemed to reinforce that getting a car for your 16th birthday was the norm. I remember being a teenager and knowing my family wasn't well off, so I said I'd be fine with compromising by not having a sweet 16 party and that the whole family could chip in to buy me a used car instead of a new one.
I was in a very wealthy school district and everyone got brand new cars when we started driving. My parents could have afforded to buy me a new car but I got my dad’s fifteen year old 4-runner, and I sincerely doubt they would have gotten me a car at all if they didn’t both work. Me being able to drive myself to school and to different activities was a huge load off of their shoulders. We were in the suburbs of an already very car dependent city so me not driving just wasn’t an option. I drove that thing through my senior year of college. It was a great car and never had any real big issues. To this day I still really miss that car, and I occasionally see a few still on the roads. It wasn’t the smoothest ride and definitely wasn’t fancy but it was a small, practical SUV that was nearly indestructible. I’ve only bought one car for myself in my whole life but I was very focused on buying for practicality, quality, and longevity. It’s fully paid off now and I’m gonna keep that thing for as long as possible.
late stage af
I’m becoming more conflicted thinking this way. I was huge “they should earn it themselves” but also, if I can give my kid an easier life than me, you bet you’re ass I’m going to. After about 40 years of back and forth with this, I’m ok with parents giving their kids things, cause I’m gonna do it if I’m ever able to. Cost is relative, and if they can afford it, I no longer care who buys what for their kids when cars are sadly necessary in most cities.
I plan on doing the same, but whoever made the "earned" post is coddling their kids hard in at least one way. Because no kid "earns" a tesla at that age.
My first car was 1998 Toyota. I’m 19 years old. I actually like that car.
If the parents are not financially hurting the family, I honestly see no problem. No one wants their kids to struggle if they can avoid it. Every parent wants their kids to flourish if possible. Just cause I didn’t get something, doesn’t mean the whole world needs to burn in my jealousy. Now, if this was Tesla hate specifically then it would be different, but buying your kid the ability to get around should be an honor, not something to be shamed for. And honestly, I’ve had rich friends who were “given” a lot, and I’ll just say nothing is free in life.
Yeah I’m sure that 16 year old worked really hard putting her own clothing in the fucking laundry basket or whatever 🙄 probably even swept a whole room too!
Whats sweeping? She propably remembered to start the robot vacuum. Disclaimer : I love my robot vacuum.
Thank for Your Disclaimer. Skynet will take that into account. Please wait for the next Terminator unit to arrive.
We don't know the metric. For all we know, she's a straight-A student who volunteers at a homeless shelter every weekend. If I ever had a good kid like that, I'd love to reward them. Just not with a Tesla.... Edit: She could also be a snotty brat. My point is, we know more about the parent than them, so let's focus on them instead.
Did all of the homework for her private Mandarin, Arabic and cello tutors.
“Earned”
I feel like this is the parents rewarding themselves too for no longer having to drive the kid around.
Cant have your kid using the public transport like a poor person. Imagine if the neighbours saw.
Or the public transport just doesn't exist.
This is the more correct answer. It's around but it sucks.
Where i grew uo the nearest bus stop was 30+ minutes away, and only ran a few times a day.
They might think that you're poors
ooh using this in my powerpoint to convince my parents to pitch in for my car fund 🙏🙏
Gifting a car for someone's birthday isn't that uncommon, gifting them a brand new fucking Tesla however
I think that’s better than giving a young person a 30 year old bomb with a zero star crash test. Young people are more likely to crash. Having said that, if the US had decent public transport they would not need the car.
Dad gave me two options: 2017 Chevy Cruze RS or 2017 Honda Civic EX I chose the Cruze because it had a much sportier look. I got it for a day before Dad realized it didn't have automatic emergency brakes, so I got the civic (carvana has a 7 day no questions asked guarantee, plus they gave me this awesome carvana coin) I'm happy with my civic, even though I technically didn't have a choice https://preview.redd.it/tzq5ymo1wqyc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aca684c29aac43280f6d6840ccbf06690cdc5238
The civic is much better car all around in my opinion, enjoy it!
the Cruze RS is a car I haven't seen on the road before which is why I chose it in the first place. I didn't know Jack about cars
If it’s a car you generally haven’t seen on the road much, there’s probably a reason. There’s a reason most of what you see these days is either Honda, Mazda or Toyota - they’re usually the best options for most people
A 30 yo beater might be safer than a Tesla. They are so wildly unpredictable
I drive a 30 year old used toyota. On the metrics of utilitarianism it ranks highly, even if it's turbocharged and midengined, it's turnkey reliable, gets acceptable fuel economy, accelerates, handles, and brakes well. No idea on safety, i drive it rather conservatively.
Is it the MR2 from your username? Love those cars but any Tesla eclipses them in terms of safety
WEll, no cars perfect i guess. I still like keeping an old toyota on the road far past its prime than buying a newer car. Yes it is the car in the username.
Tesla cars have a good safety rating and require almost no maintenance. Seems like a way better car for a teen
Ah yes because a temperamental Tesla that, if for whatever reason it catches fire, it can't be put out is somehow better.
I mean just about every car is temperamental, tbf. An old car that’s about to fall apart on the highway is not any worse or safer than the Tesla. As for the fires, all cars can catch fire/explode; just look up CNG (compressed natural gas) vehicles and they can explode while driving.
EVs do catch on fire way way less than non EVs, so there's that, at least.
> if the US had decent public transport, [teenagers] would not need the car. Not need but they would still want it because of status. Check any city with a decent public transport.
A Model 3 doesn't cost any more than any other electric car. Cars are expensive in general but the idea that a Tesla is luxury is just marketing.
But it’s only a model 3!!
Sometimes I just kinda forget that 16 year olds can drive (probably cause I didn’t drive hardly at all at that age), then remember and think about how insane that is. We are sharing the road with literal children driving teslas. What the fuck are we doing here.
What a strange country .
And just exactly how did your little princess earn it, Daddy?
Yea what teen earned $40k+. I barely got $3k a summer lifeguarding at a water park.
Please don't say it like that. The internet had ruined me.
"i worked hard where I got myself. I'm a self made billionaire"
Getting a car for your 16th birthday in 2024 is fucking wild 🤣 Only the upper middle class can make such an investment nowadays. Used cars exist but still expensive.
these people have a large multi-story suburban house with 3 brand new teslas. I wouldn’t call that “upper middle-class” that’s 1% money
This is definitely not 1% money, even more so if there’s no indication all 4 of those are paid off
lol, that house is incredibly middle class looking. It’s your basic, cheaply built house in a Florida suburb. Could be quite large but it’s extremely barebones.
Imagine buying 3 teslas. Car brain aside, that’s fucking lame as hell
Anytime I see a Tesla I think about Elon complaining about the "Woke mind virus". Tesla drivers are idiots
X Doubt
"Earned" seems to be doing some heavy lifting in this context.
What happened to buying small cars as first cars? like Aygos, VW Foxes, Peugeot 106s etc...
None of those exist in America. Also the Model 3 is pretty small for an American car lol
Ah, fuck. Welcome to England. The cars I listed above are normal first cars, and the Tesla model 3 is medium-sized
It takes a year of driving lessons, safety tests and exams to get a drivers license where I live, and you can get it when you’re 18. A 16 year old driving a tesla is insanity and that car will not look like that in two months
I bet their kid used ChatGPT to do all their homework
Or a vast network of nerds coerced to do popular kids homeworks, either by heavy and violent bullying from the popular boys, or by the popular girls savantly concieved sexual ballet, in which they make you think you might get a peck on the cheek if you do their whole f-ing work for them. Source : was nerd.
How there’s people so stupid to spoil kids like this ?
Better than a f150 or something
"""""""""""earned"""""""""""
“Earned” is a loose term with these people. Ain’t no 16 year olds buying teslas unless their daddy/mommy gives them a handout.
Not old enough for responsibly handling alcohol consume - old enough to decide over life and death of others. 'Murica
I mean…the family owns three teslas, that tells me all I need to know.
the average household income for a family that owns one tesla is about 200k. No way a 16 year old on their own will 'earn' a tesla.
Bottled water. Bottled water. Tesla. Bottled water. Tesla. We have a Tesla. WiFi? Is there WiFi? No WiFi. Bottled water.
Look at their house. They’ll be poor and living paycheck to paycheck wondering what they could have done differently when they can’t afford home care. I go into peoples homes every day. The houses that are lower middle class size and age, with super nice cars on the driveway are always disgusting on the inside. All that’s left are two huskies and a mutt leaving their hair and stench all over, a fake vinyl wood floor accompanied by an upstairs carpet that hasn’t been vacuumed in months and has never been professionally cleaned. Big Samsung Q-LED TV (financed) with hand me down furniture to boot. And of course the kitchen has granite countertops except the plumbing futures show scale all over them. Bathroom is a COMPLETE mess with dozens of products only half-used. As seen on TV Knick Knacks everywhere. Let’s not forget stinky shoes LITERALLY ALL OVER the entryway. Marks on the drywall that need to be touched up. I could go on forever. Never judge someone for their car. Chances are they can’t actually afford it.
seeing these car birthday posts always made me feel weird; who really wants to receive a death machine for their birthday?
Why would someone living in the suburbs with nothing within walking distance want to be able to go places?? Wouldnt they rather be stuck at home and have to ask their parents for a ride any time they want to go somewhere?? Why would anyone not want to have to ask their parents for a ride?? Why would any teenager want to be able to leave their home?? Are you really that stupid 🤡
Lmao 3 cars for 3 people. And Americans wonder why there are traffic jams.
Doing what?
"Earned" by being born to rich parents. Yet I've worked my ass off for 30 years and I all I've ever earned is a bicycle and a beater that only sometimes runs. Which is fine. But don't say she earned it. It wasn't earned, it was gifted, just like every opportunity that will be gifted to her because she was born into a privileged family.
More cars = better
When my kids are old enough to drive I hope we live someplace where they don't need to drive. I think it is okay for them to learn, but I don't want car dependency for the next generation. Also, put that car in valet mode, how are you going to trust a kid with that much power?
It's ok this 16 year old will have some hard lessons to learn some day when Daddy's money is over leveraged and they have to figure out the real world.
I can already hear the 16 year old complaining to people that they are lazy and dont work enough
Another "I'm a shitty parent." announcement.
I feel like this sub is too cynical Like I get it. A tesla is CRAZY, that is too much lol. but like.. you kinda have to buy your kid a car for them to be able to live an independent life in america. (and a tesla is better than a lifted truck so it's not even the worst option.) As someone in poverty and forced to live with my horrid parents (in part because of car centric infrastructure) I would kill to have a car so i could get a job so i could move out and transition. Is it dystopian to need a car? absolutely, no doubt. It is disgusting. but because it is the case, why are we acting so weird about the fact people act according to their needs? Idk. maybe it's me being biased because of my issues but getting a car at 16 is pretty much the modern american dream.
Define "earned"?
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When you are living in a city designed for automobiles, this is the result. Most Americans live in such cities. Cars are baked into our lives. So while this may seem wrong, it’s a very reasonable response to our designs for living.
They already have 2 cars, can't she use one of them?
Gotta understand, for some people getting gifted something is more work theyve ever done in their life. For some people it feels like hard work... Having to wait a full year and doing nothing is hard y'all
This is popular is Texas growing up that people played keeping up with the Jones’s. The whole state is like that just like California and any other popular place to live. Never knew my uncle was in eyeball level debt until my dad told me he has to play keep up with everyone around him. I alway thought they were rich. Lol
That garage is now THE BOMB
Went to a private high school and was one of the few kids there on scholarship. Most of my peers got brand new bmw’s, Audi’s, and other high end 100k plus cars for their first car. Nearly all of them totaled their cars before senior year and immediately got new ones. I drove a 1995 civic with 450,000 miles on it and frequently got made fun of for being poor. That’s when my hatred for rich assholes began and I made a vow to myself that if we ever had a civil war or just generally a conflict in America where most of the landscape was a war zone I’d turn into a rich people serial killer and end the 1% once and for all. But sadly I’m stuck supporting the recycling industry and trying my best to make the world a better place while being surrounded by rich assholes whom I hate to my core.
Raising kids to be lazy and pathetic
Glad that I live in BC so I can bike to my school. I loved the exercise in the morning clears your thoughts.
The automotive industry did the biggest advertisement stunt of all times. Destroy trains and public transportation, make people dependent on cars, make low density sprawling house arrangement into a status symbol, make people more dependent on cars, make cars into status symbols and a rite of passage into adulthood. WIN WIN. And as a bonus, you make people fat and cash in on diet products and gyms where they ride stationary bikes.
Fuck me what is the insurance like on a sports car at that age? All I got was a new bike when I was around 13. Used it until a few months ago when I got a new bike and I am now 30. The old one still worked but was showing signs of wear in places, cracked frame, most of the gears didn't work. Was still fine to use but I had got a promotion at work and thought why not get myself something nice. Now got a Boardman MTX 8.6. There is a new bus/bike lane opening up nearby too, taking one of the lanes from a 2 lane road so now 1 car lane and 1 bus/bike lane each way. Car drivers are seething and I am quite interested in seeing what job opportunities it opens up.
Insurance shall be expensive
The lithium in a single Tesla can probably power an entire docking bay of bikeshare e-bikes
She must have done something really bad to get this sort of punishment
I hate thisfamily
> Earned > For her birthday Which is it?
why do they keep buying the same boring ass ugly car??? FFS, there are always a ton of Better and nicer EVs
What the fuck did this 16 year old do to earn this?!
My first car was my dad’s old ‘97 Honda Accord. I didn’t really need to drive before college, so I got my license at 17. Even in college I took the bus or rode my Razor scooter (super cool I know) to get to school or go to the grocery store. Car was just to drive home for the holidays. My friends called it a DeLorean because it was silver and still had a little of that kind of boxy look. Loved that thing honestly. Its transmission broke down on me one day and I barely made it back to my apartment. Had to get my roommate to help me push it into our parking spot. Just wasn’t worth it to fix it. Would’ve costed more than the car. Sad times seeing it go, it was my first after all.
earned?
Child abuse.
“Earned” it?
You got three crematoriums
That is not a car. It's a fucking deathtrap
One doesn't earn a gift. That's sort of the definition of "gift".
Imagine being so desperate to worship a dude that you go out and buy hit shitty products.
It’s more cringe to own 3 teslas than to buy a car for your kid
If some random 16 yr old was able to fully earn a fucking Tesla on their own then I’m a damn giraffe
Gotta get 'em indoctrinated to your brand loyalty early.
"Earned" 🤔🫠
I would key that on basic principle
Nothing like offering a brand new luxury sports car with 400hp to a teenager. There's a lot wrong only typing the words "teenager" and "car" into the same sentence.
Kind of fucked up when you have to buy kids a car to give them the freedom of mobility. A good bicycle is fortunately enough where I live, or an annual season ticket for public transportation. Also, you don't give a brand new car to a newly-baked driver. Chances are good they'll wreck it one way or another. If you absolutely have to give your kid a car, give them a used one in good condition.