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"So sure, the car cost about $70,000. And it had to have its drive unit (ENGINE) replaced a few times. " That sounds like a failure to me. If this was 70,000$
by readhn 10y ago
"So sure, the car cost about $70,000. And it had to have its drive unit (ENGINE) replaced a few times. "
That sounds like a failure to me.
If this was 70,000$ FORD that had to have its engine replaced 2-3 times then people would be screaming LEMON. But since its Tesla - it is ok somehow.
Anyway what matters for taxi driver is the cost per mile. Tesla spending: 70,000 + 3,700 (electricity) + 7,000 (repairs) = ~ $80,000
Toyota camry spending: 23,000 + 10,000 (gas) + 2,000 (repairs) = ~ $35,000
Tesla: 80,000$/100,000 miles = 0.8 USD/mile
Toyota camry: 35,000$/100,000 miles = 0.35 USD/mile
Cost per mile driven: Tesla > Toyota by 2.3x
Total cost: if he was to sell Tesla today he would lose $35,000. If he sold camry today he would lose $13,000
Financially Tesla still does not make sense.
- hx87 10y agoIf the driver can charge >2.3x more for a Tesla per mile, which isn't all that ridiculous (considering the prison-grade vinyl seats, constantly yakking ad screens and near-criminal lack of legroom in Camrys with plexiglas dividers), it starts to make more financial sense.
- readhn 10y agoIf i had a choice to go to the airport for 40$ or for 92$ which would i (or >90% over people) choose? hmmmm. i'll go with 40$ thank you.
- hx87 10y agoIf I were 6'4" (193cm) or taller, I'd take the Tesla for $92 any day. Even my current 5'8" (172cm) self would hesitate taking a Toyota Camry taxi due to the lack of leg and knee room, which is why I almost always avoid them in favor of Uber or Lyft, whose cars don't have the divider.
- kamaal 10y agoI don't think you get the point here. You are not getting married to that car. You are only going to use it for a few minutes. Having to pay 2.3x just for a few minutes for zero additional utility derived isn't something most people do, Unless in a extreme emergency. Even those who are tall would agree.
- smm2000 10y agoPeople use Uber Black over UberX - many people are ready to pay for comfort even for a few minutes. Another case are business trips - neither me no company I work for cares if I spend $40 or $80 for a taxi from airport.
- usrusr 10y agoIf you were that tall you might just be used to angle both thighs towards the middle of the car while in the back seat. Rarely a problem (as long as the middle seat remains unoccupied) Source: being tall.
- bryanlarsen 10y agoIt looks like he expects it to pay off after 200,000 miles, where he was paying > $1000 a month in repairs on his Subaru. So the question is still very much open.
- readhn 10y agoSomething is wrong with his thinking if he is using Subaru as a taxi. Look at the reliability ratings.
- gwbas1c 10y agoSubarus are some of the most reliable cars on the market, and they handle Quebec winters better than Priuses.
- readhn 10y agoBetter than average reliability for subarus, you are correct i had to look it up. Surprised that audis are making a come back, i did not know they were rated better than average nowdays. Audis had some real nice lemons in the 90's/'00s. Lexus and toyota still beat them all. http://www.consumerreports.org/content/dam/cro/news_articles/cars/CR-Cars-II-Brand-Comparison-Chart-10-15.jpg http://www.consumerreports.org/content/dam/cro/news_articles...
- zajd 10y agoAre you really comparing a Model S to a Camry? Does that seem fair to you?
- readhn 10y agoWhat should i compare it to? Riksha?
- zajd 10y agoAnother luxury sports car that would be absurd to use as a taxi outside of the novelty. A Lexus LS would be more apt if you want to keep the Toyota thing going.
- readhn 10y agoSure, compare it to some flashy Bentley sedan and pet yourself on the back! The truth is Tesla is still just a toy for the rich. I cant wait to see how model 3 turns out and if Tesla indeed will be able to deliver reliable (key word) "lower" priced cars.
- dragontamer 10y agoI think a comparison to the Cadillac CTS-V is fair. Similar weight, similar size, similar costs. Both are toy cars for rich people.
- andykellr 10y agoThe problem of analysis like this is all of the things you leave out that many other people consider valuable. For example, a complete calculation for you might look like: Driving the quickest 4 door sedan ever made: $0 Driving the safest car on the road: $0 Driving a super peaceful and quiet car: $0 Driving a car without a jerky transmission: $0 Having a ton of cargo space: $0 Reducing emissions: $0 Fitting 7 people in a car (5 adults + 2 kids): $0 Not supporting the oil industry: $0 Not ever having to stop at gas stations: $0 Supporting a company driving innovation in battery storage and automobiles: $0 ---- TOTAL value of driving a Tesla vs. Camry: $0 For me, for all of the above numbers, make the numbers large enough where the Tesla is cheaper than the Camry.
- tinalumfoil 10y agoI don't know a single person that has an extra $40,000 to spend on a car because they want to not support the oil industry. Also, stopping at the gas station once a week isn't a big deal, but having to send your only car into the shop for days while it's repaired could be a huge problem.
- andykellr 10y agoWe all value things differently. I'm not saying you're wrong. To me, owning a car is more than just fuel + service costs.
- yyhhsj0521 10y agoWe are talking about taxi drivers.
- anonbanker 10y agoI spend twice as much money on Linux laptops so I don't support Apple, Microsoft, or much of the commercial software industry. I'm sure my counterpart in the automobile market is out there somewhere.
- 10y ago
- erikpukinskis 10y agoIt was a double lemon... Who said otherwise? "Tesla replaced the drive units free of charge with 24 hours" Obviously there were manufacturing defects which were covered under warrantee. The same thing happens with every brand. Tesla might be worse, I don't know. I forgive them not because "TESLA" but because a) they are a young company, b) they did the right thing by the customer, and c) they have been honest about their quality problems and put resources into fixing the production line, and d) they're doing a good thing by showing the world that electric vehicles aren't a totally stupid idea. Where does your $7,000 repairs figure come from?
- readhn 10y agoWe had electric vehicle manufacturing boom in America >100 years ago. One of the first licensed female drivers in USA was driving electric car over 100 years ago. What we need is an effective political and economic reform that supports long lasting changes in this area. Not another $100,000+ dollar toy (Tesla X) for the rich.
- surfmike 10y agoHave you heard of the Tesla 3? Tesla S and X have helped subsidize the development cost for it.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- anonbanker 10y agohe didn't answer your question about the $7,000 in repairs. that says a lot.
- gwbas1c 10y agoThe first drive unit repair was a recall. The second was after 75,000 miles. In both cases, he had his car back after 24 hours. The criteria for a lemon is that a car is repaired for the same thing multiple times, has been under repair for an unusually long time, or has a defect that impacts safety. Every US state (and this guy is in Canada) has slightly different limits. Replacing an electric motor twice, with little delay, isn't going to hit those limits. Otherwise, we'd call cars that need timing belts every 60k miles, or water pumps every 100k miles. I've had to deal with a lemon. You don't scream LEMON until the 3rd repair; and you don't scream LEMON when the second repair is at 100k miles. (The lemon law that I'm familiar with would say that a car only lasts 150k miles.)
- giarc 10y agoThere are no lemon laws in Canada, just as an FYI.
- benkuykendall 10y agoWhat are you quoting from? I can not find that text in the linked article (as of Wed Aug 17 15:44:38 EDT 2016).
- emeraldd 10y agoLooks like they updated the url at some point: http://jalopnik.com/heres-how-a-tesla-taxi-held-up-after-100-000-miles-1785360286 http://jalopnik.com/heres-how-a-tesla-taxi-held-up-after-100...
- kennywinker 10y agoYou've only included a single year of gas/electricity in your calculation. That makes no sense for something that wins in operating cost not in up front cost. Assuming repair costs even out (not a small assumption, but), in about seven years the cost of the camry and the tesla will be about even. Ever year of service after that is entirely profit (aprox. 5k/year saved in gas). Tesla: (7 years × 3700 electricity + 80000 vehicle cost) / 233,000km = 0.45 $/km Camry: (7 years × 10000 gas + 35000 vehicle cost) / 233,000km = 0.45 $/km