4 ms·

buying a $35,000 Tesla has the equivalent cost of ownership of buying a $26,950 ICE car. It's not a massive amount of mental gymnastics. I definitely don't agr

buying a $35,000 Tesla has the equivalent cost of ownership of buying a $26,950 ICE car. It's not a massive amount of mental gymnastics. I definitely don't agree with Teslas practices of framing it that way, I'd rather they just show cost of ownership comparisons across a variety of cars. Especially since they can't even meet the demand they currently have, why resort to shady practices?

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
tfehring 8y ago
> buying a $35,000 Tesla has the equivalent cost of ownership of buying a $26,950 ICE car. It's not a massive amount of mental gymnastics. But only if you arbitrarily include the difference in fuel costs, which makes Tesla look cheaper, and exclude the differences in insurance and maintenance costs, which make Tesla look more expensive.
- thebluehawk 8y ago
  My experience is that insurance is the same and maintenance is cheaper with an electric vehicle.
  - tfehring 8y ago
    I haven't owned an EV, so it sounds like you would know better than I would. It was my understanding that (1) liability coverage is cheaper for Teslas but comp/collision is substantially more expensive due to the high cost of replacement parts, and (2) maintenance/repairs for Teslas are infrequent but any repairs involving the battery are extremely costly.
  - phamilton 8y ago
    But insurance is cheaper for a $26k car than a $35k car.
- Pfhreak 8y ago
  The maintenance costs definitely are cheaper than an ICE, in my experience. (Insurance and taxes, however, have been higher.)
- nickik 8y ago
  Those things are all analyzed in these overall ownership models. That's the whole point the those things. And of course you have to include full cost, ICE can not run without it, and most people want to drive their car. Of course these are avg numbers and you have to do it with your personal driving numbers and how long you want to keep the car to get a more detailed picture of the cost. However overall, pretty much all EV have a significant large part of up front cost to ownership cost so its totally fair to point that out. That said, Tesla is of course a company and they are pressing this point to aggressive and that is irritating to many of us. The overall point they are making however, is backed up by the data.
  - saberience 8y ago
    Please note that Tesla doesn’t include any estimates of depreciation for their cars. If this was intended to be an accurate cost of ownership they should include that too. However, they don’t, especially for model 3, because they know it would make them look bad.
- 7e 8y ago
  Further, Tesla does not include the costs of a home charger, nor the cost of the yearly EV tax imposed by 17 states.
  - solean 8y ago
    The charger comes with the car
Avshalom 8y ago
Except I can't buy a Tesla for 26,950. So calling that the price is a lie. No amount of gas I don't buy in the future is going to get me out the door with a Tesla today.
GhostVII 8y ago
Except you are probably cross shopping with a Chevy volt (which also has $0 gas cost). You could use the same logic to justify lowering the listed price of a Prius because it uses less gas than an SUV.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

tfehring 8y ago

> buying a $35,000 Tesla has the equivalent cost of ownership of buying a $26,950 ICE car. It's not a massive amount of mental gymnastics. But only if you arbitrarily include the difference in fuel costs, which makes Tesla look cheaper, and exclude the differences in insurance and maintenance costs, which make Tesla look more expensive.

thebluehawk 8y ago
My experience is that insurance is the same and maintenance is cheaper with an electric vehicle.
- tfehring 8y ago
  I haven't owned an EV, so it sounds like you would know better than I would. It was my understanding that (1) liability coverage is cheaper for Teslas but comp/collision is substantially more expensive due to the high cost of replacement parts, and (2) maintenance/repairs for Teslas are infrequent but any repairs involving the battery are extremely costly.
- phamilton 8y ago
  But insurance is cheaper for a $26k car than a $35k car.
Pfhreak 8y ago
The maintenance costs definitely are cheaper than an ICE, in my experience. (Insurance and taxes, however, have been higher.)
nickik 8y ago
Those things are all analyzed in these overall ownership models. That's the whole point the those things. And of course you have to include full cost, ICE can not run without it, and most people want to drive their car. Of course these are avg numbers and you have to do it with your personal driving numbers and how long you want to keep the car to get a more detailed picture of the cost. However overall, pretty much all EV have a significant large part of up front cost to ownership cost so its totally fair to point that out. That said, Tesla is of course a company and they are pressing this point to aggressive and that is irritating to many of us. The overall point they are making however, is backed up by the data.
- saberience 8y ago
  Please note that Tesla doesn’t include any estimates of depreciation for their cars. If this was intended to be an accurate cost of ownership they should include that too. However, they don’t, especially for model 3, because they know it would make them look bad.
7e 8y ago
Further, Tesla does not include the costs of a home charger, nor the cost of the yearly EV tax imposed by 17 states.
- solean 8y ago
  The charger comes with the car

Avshalom 8y ago

Except I can't buy a Tesla for 26,950. So calling that the price is a lie. No amount of gas I don't buy in the future is going to get me out the door with a Tesla today.

GhostVII 8y ago

Except you are probably cross shopping with a Chevy volt (which also has $0 gas cost). You could use the same logic to justify lowering the listed price of a Prius because it uses less gas than an SUV.