This collaborative space allows users to contribute additional information, tips, and insights to enhance the original deal post. Feel free to share your knowledge and help fellow shoppers make informed decisions.
For those who want one just because: Don't go broke saving money.
Coworker got one of these last month. He has been trying to justify it by explaining to me how $50k on a car was a good investment because he truly believes they "never depreciate" and now he is "saving $200 a month on gas"
He has brought it back to the Tesla service center multiple times already. First he had to immediately get a tire replaced because there was a BOLT lodged in it from the factory making a constant thud-thud sound when he drove. Then there were various paint issues including obvious overspray on black plastic trim pieces that they didn't mask off correctly. Then there were several rattles that they tried to fix and couldn't. Then a headliner trim piece started falling off above the windshield. Then the heat stopped getting above 50°F because it was 20 below in MN that week and Tesla service was going to replace a sensor, but then the temp outside warmed up again. Oh, and he ALWAYS drives exactly the speed limit because if he goes over 65 the range gets gimped even more along with the cold weather reduction.
Each time he has had to make an appointment on his phone app, they tell him the time to show up, and he has to rearrange his entire day around it. Yet he still has his rose-tinted glasses on thinking Tesla can do no wrong. It's the honeymoon phase.
If you want a really fast car for no other reason than that, then cool, I think this is exactly the car you want. Nothing else (new) comes close to this level of performance for $50k. But if you have a perfectly fine working car that's reliable and doesn't have any glaring problems, don't think this is going to be an 'investment' or that it will save you money and put the money into a mutual or index fund instead.
Edit: and don't forget the cost of installing a 40-amp level 2 charger at your house. Your panel should be 150A at a minimum. 100A will cut it only if you have almost exclusively gas-powered appliances and charge overnight. Consult an electrician.
I have no issues with my model Y Performance. Been one of the best vehicles I have ever owned. Cost me about 250 bucks to put a 50 amp service in for my 3rd Gen charger.
Not a Tesla fanboy and I don't have an EV but I am on the sidelines keeping my eyes open. I have a family...our 2nd car is a minivan. So we'd keep that for a while for long trips. I have a 45 minute commute per day (pre-covid) and an EV would keep costs down. If I lived by myself I'd rent a car for long trips the same reason I rent a truck for the rare times I need to move something big.
As another poster has stated, gas pumps ain't gonna pump themselves w/o electricity. So you're SOL if you need gas.
In a snow storm...you're not really going anywhere. Maybe a few miles to the grocery store to stand in line for hour for groceries.
Your vehicle is more likely to be fully charged before the winter storm than fully gassed. This is because you're topping of the charge every night while people wait till they *need* gas before filling.
FWIW I used to live in Florida. Before a hurricane comes, the line for gas stations wraps around the block. Not a problem for EV...just plug it in.
If you're trying to escape a disaster zone and need 300+ mile range then yeah you can be SOL if your disaster zone is that big.
Also Tesla has what is called "Reverse 2 grid". You can charge the car when electricity is cheap...and if it gets expensive enough, Tesla can send power back into the power grid and you make money. And ironically, if there were enough EVs with this technology, it could have saved the entire state.
After watching numerous Tesla road trip YouTube videos, I'm convinced Evs are not the way to do it. Sure, they make it sound cool with the super charger stations with a Cracker Barrel next to it. I can eat while I wait for the charge. But how inconvenient is that? I would love to get a Tesla but I will never take it on a road trip longer than it's range.
I want a tow behind cart with a generator for long hauls.
everything is slicker when the rest of the country is subsidizing the ones already rich enough to buy said thing
And excusing them from paying road use tax (conventionally from tax on gas). Perhaps EV owners will need to pay an equivalent based on miles driven. I'm sure my post will get downvoted, but a miles driven tax is inevitable if everyone will be driving EV
Leave a Comment
953 Comments
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Homie you on slickdeals. Yes you absolutely would drive it if someone paid you.
Coworker got one of these last month. He has been trying to justify it by explaining to me how $50k on a car was a good investment because he truly believes they "never depreciate" and now he is "saving $200 a month on gas"
He has brought it back to the Tesla service center multiple times already. First he had to immediately get a tire replaced because there was a BOLT lodged in it from the factory making a constant thud-thud sound when he drove. Then there were various paint issues including obvious overspray on black plastic trim pieces that they didn't mask off correctly. Then there were several rattles that they tried to fix and couldn't. Then a headliner trim piece started falling off above the windshield. Then the heat stopped getting above 50°F because it was 20 below in MN that week and Tesla service was going to replace a sensor, but then the temp outside warmed up again. Oh, and he ALWAYS drives exactly the speed limit because if he goes over 65 the range gets gimped even more along with the cold weather reduction.
Each time he has had to make an appointment on his phone app, they tell him the time to show up, and he has to rearrange his entire day around it. Yet he still has his rose-tinted glasses on thinking Tesla can do no wrong. It's the honeymoon phase.
If you want a really fast car for no other reason than that, then cool, I think this is exactly the car you want. Nothing else (new) comes close to this level of performance for $50k. But if you have a perfectly fine working car that's reliable and doesn't have any glaring problems, don't think this is going to be an 'investment' or that it will save you money and put the money into a mutual or index fund instead.
Edit: and don't forget the cost of installing a 40-amp level 2 charger at your house. Your panel should be 150A at a minimum. 100A will cut it only if you have almost exclusively gas-powered appliances and charge overnight. Consult an electrician.
As another poster has stated, gas pumps ain't gonna pump themselves w/o electricity. So you're SOL if you need gas.
In a snow storm...you're not really going anywhere. Maybe a few miles to the grocery store to stand in line for hour for groceries.
Your vehicle is more likely to be fully charged before the winter storm than fully gassed. This is because you're topping of the charge every night while people wait till they *need* gas before filling.
FWIW I used to live in Florida. Before a hurricane comes, the line for gas stations wraps around the block. Not a problem for EV...just plug it in.
If you're trying to escape a disaster zone and need 300+ mile range then yeah you can be SOL if your disaster zone is that big.
Also Tesla has what is called "Reverse 2 grid". You can charge the car when electricity is cheap...and if it gets expensive enough, Tesla can send power back into the power grid and you make money. And ironically, if there were enough EVs with this technology, it could have saved the entire state.
https://electrek.co/2020/05/19/te...-features/
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Leave a Comment