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How do you deal with the 8-year limited lifetime? I evaluate a Tesla at 4x the cost of a normal car: I can get a new car for €15k lasting 15 years with a lively

by tajen 10y ago

How do you deal with the 8-year limited lifetime? I evaluate a Tesla at 4x the cost of a normal car: I can get a new car for €15k lasting 15 years with a lively second market, Teslas are ~€30k, with free supercharger network, and 8 years warranty but no road license after that, and no second-hand market for spare pieces. Have you calculated the total cost of ownership (including insurance and free petrol) and how did it compete with other cars?

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delecti 10y ago
Can you elaborate on the 8-year limited lifetime? I've never heard anyone mention anything about that before, and "but no road license after that" almost makes it sound like it's a legal thing rather than a physical/practical thing.
- tajen 10y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11233898 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11233898 Basically you can drive a Tesla past 8 years, but after any repair, it can only be re-validated for the road by Tesla. Given Tesla has no warranty after 8 years and no published pricing yet for servicing after 8 years, we don't know whether we'll be able to have a car revalidated, let alone repaired.
pmarreck 10y ago
First of all, cars are not investments, they depreciate very rapidly. So if you're already looking at the numbers when it comes to buying a Tesla, you should just not buy any car, period. Or buy a used one that will depreciate the least in dollar value. If you buy a Tesla, you expect to lose money on it, and if you're in that market, the precise amount of the loss is not as important. What I can say with certainty is that the free charging is nice, and that brushless electric motors have historically had extremely long run times before they break down. And by the time it is time to replace the battery, it will be extremely cheaper and likely much higher capacity and allowing for a higher charge rate. That is all based on extrapolating current trends in battery technology. Lastly, you're getting a car that will outperform cars that cost more than twice as much. Is that a steal? I guess it's all relative. The intangible value proposition is the experience of driving and owning one. I don't know anything about the eight year lifecycle thing, but historically, Tesla has treated past owners of its cars very well, such as offering owners of their first car a battery upgrade and things like that. I think Musk is smart enough to know that pissing off well-heeled customers is not a good long term business proposition. Whatever you've heard about "8 years and then dead" is probably hysteria or FUD

by tajen 10y ago

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delecti 10y ago

Can you elaborate on the 8-year limited lifetime? I've never heard anyone mention anything about that before, and "but no road license after that" almost makes it sound like it's a legal thing rather than a physical/practical thing.

tajen 10y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11233898 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11233898 Basically you can drive a Tesla past 8 years, but after any repair, it can only be re-validated for the road by Tesla. Given Tesla has no warranty after 8 years and no published pricing yet for servicing after 8 years, we don't know whether we'll be able to have a car revalidated, let alone repaired.

pmarreck 10y ago

First of all, cars are not investments, they depreciate very rapidly. So if you're already looking at the numbers when it comes to buying a Tesla, you should just not buy any car, period. Or buy a used one that will depreciate the least in dollar value. If you buy a Tesla, you expect to lose money on it, and if you're in that market, the precise amount of the loss is not as important. What I can say with certainty is that the free charging is nice, and that brushless electric motors have historically had extremely long run times before they break down. And by the time it is time to replace the battery, it will be extremely cheaper and likely much higher capacity and allowing for a higher charge rate. That is all based on extrapolating current trends in battery technology. Lastly, you're getting a car that will outperform cars that cost more than twice as much. Is that a steal? I guess it's all relative. The intangible value proposition is the experience of driving and owning one. I don't know anything about the eight year lifecycle thing, but historically, Tesla has treated past owners of its cars very well, such as offering owners of their first car a battery upgrade and things like that. I think Musk is smart enough to know that pissing off well-heeled customers is not a good long term business proposition. Whatever you've heard about "8 years and then dead" is probably hysteria or FUD