That's an interesting story, and I did some quick research to compare the two models. It looks like the Toyota Highlander sold almost twice as many cars in the US in 2019 (~219,000 vs ~114,000) and costs about $20,000 less for the most-expensive model. This is, in my opinion, not an apples to apples comparison.
I know most of us at HN--me included!--want Tesla to succeed, but I am again surprised that people are so quick to write off a brand new, low-mileage Model 3's catastrophic failure with no apparent cause. I have to wonder if it's because, when we saw the word "catastrophic" in the headline, we assumed it would be due to a battery catching fire, or autopilot steering the vehicle into a Jersey barrier.
Toyota Highlander sales figures: https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/toyota-highlander-sales-figure...
Tesla Model 3 sales figures: https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/tesla-model-3-sales-figures-us...
Price of top-end Highlander: https://www.google.com/search?q=how+much+is+a+toyota+highlan...
