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>Tesla doesnt make a mass market car - even their basic sedan, starts at 35k - I can buy a nicely equipped Taurus, Fusion, Malibu , Impala, Camry or Avalon for

by vivekd 9y ago

>Tesla doesnt make a mass market car - even their basic sedan, starts at 35k - I can buy a nicely equipped Taurus, Fusion, Malibu , Impala, Camry or Avalon for less than that - and from a size perspective its far closer to a Prius or Volt (23k or 33k starting respectively). I don't know if we're comparing apples to apples here. Volt and Prius are hybrid cars, meaning they don't have the same drive capability as a fully electric car. Tesla's model 3 is a fully electric car for the same price as your average hybrid car and for less than you can get many hybrid models. There are many electric cars out there like the Nissan leaf and chevy spark at a lower price point, but they don't have the performance of the Tesla and none of them have anywhere near the 346 km range that the Tesla model 3 is expected to have. They average out at around 150 km - which is good for most every day use, but not really useful for long trips. Tesla's long range combined with it's supercharger network makes it different. A Tesla can really compete with and likely replace the average fuel powered car in range and performance. The average American family spends 1500 on fuel per year and keeps their car for about 11.5 years, that's 17, 250.00. Further a tesla will likely need less maintenance because you don't have things like coolants or radiators or oil changes. Things makes Tesla a bargain compared to fuel powered cars. Yes Tesla has been positioning itself as a luxury brand and competing with luxury brands, but I don't think this was necessarily a choice but rather due to the fact that they can't currently make an EV cheap enough to compete with the mass market brands. Musk has always said his vision was a mass market car and I think in many ways the model 3 is what the companies real goal has always been.

cjrp 9y ago
> [...] you don't have things like coolants or radiators or oil changes Surely they must still require radiators/coolant for the batteries?
- vivekd 9y ago
  Model 3 won't have a radiator, it does have a battery cooling fluid but it's not fair to think of that as automotive fluid because it doesn't have to be replenished.
Aloha 9y ago
An electric car driven 15,000 miles a year would still cost about 540 dollars per year to fuel, so that'd come out to a difference of about 11k - you're correct there about oil changes - but I wouldnt consider cooling systems - most cooling systems go 100,000 miles without maintenance, that also goes for most other major systems in the car - the exception being brakes and oil changes. I fully acknowledge that electric cars appear cheaper to run - I'm expecting additional taxation to appear to null out some of the fuel cost differential however. Bear in mind, I'm not bullish on electric cars - I think once the battery issues have been solved, and the charging network is fully deployed - and once the issue of charging for non-homeowners has been solved - Electric is clearly cleaner and better. I still think Tesla is overvalued for the market it's in (making automobiles), because of its limited potential to capture market share in that (very crowded) market.

by vivekd 9y ago

cjrp 9y ago

> [...] you don't have things like coolants or radiators or oil changes Surely they must still require radiators/coolant for the batteries?

vivekd 9y ago
Model 3 won't have a radiator, it does have a battery cooling fluid but it's not fair to think of that as automotive fluid because it doesn't have to be replenished.

Aloha 9y ago

An electric car driven 15,000 miles a year would still cost about 540 dollars per year to fuel, so that'd come out to a difference of about 11k - you're correct there about oil changes - but I wouldnt consider cooling systems - most cooling systems go 100,000 miles without maintenance, that also goes for most other major systems in the car - the exception being brakes and oil changes. I fully acknowledge that electric cars appear cheaper to run - I'm expecting additional taxation to appear to null out some of the fuel cost differential however. Bear in mind, I'm not bullish on electric cars - I think once the battery issues have been solved, and the charging network is fully deployed - and once the issue of charging for non-homeowners has been solved - Electric is clearly cleaner and better. I still think Tesla is overvalued for the market it's in (making automobiles), because of its limited potential to capture market share in that (very crowded) market.