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I am not an environmentally conscious consumer and I am going to buy one when our current lease is up. I am a monetarily concious consumer who sees the value in

I am not an environmentally conscious consumer and I am going to buy one when our current lease is up. I am a monetarily concious consumer who sees the value in a high quality car which maintains its value well, has good purchase incentives. I also have a family and have seen the amazing safety record the car has put together so far and I am a hacker on top of all of it and have been to a Tesla center and explored the Model S. It is a technical marvel imho. All of these things make me want one, not some green aspect.

twoodfin 13y ago
Just out of curiosity, would you be likely to buy one without the assorted tax incentives?
- keithwarren 13y ago
  Yes, the federal is the only one that applies for me. My states has nothing in addition.
alexeisadeski3 13y ago
>I am a monetarily concious consumer who sees the value in a high quality car which maintains its value well... Wouldn't battery degradation bite into that?
- stcredzero 13y ago
  Wouldn't battery degradation bite into that? Not nearly as much as for some other cars, as it's a modular part that can literally be swapped out in 90 seconds.
- count 13y ago
  Which degrades and cost more to fix - a battery or a transmission and other mechanical parts? People act like current cars have no parts or things that go bad over time. Tesla batteries look like they should be at 85% capacity at 100K miles.
  - alexeisadeski3 13y ago
    Well that's exactly what I'm asking right?
- koenigdavidmj 13y ago
  If the quick charging mechanism is going to be "have a robot physically remove the battery and put a new one on" in a few years, then that's not as much of an issue.
  - alexeisadeski3 13y ago
    I wasn't aware that Tesla were planning to go that route! Awesome if true :)
    - dandrews 13y ago
      Swap demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZU0wnpyhF8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZU0wnpyhF8
- keithwarren 13y ago
  I will flip it before that becomes a concern, I am usually in and out of a car in under 3 years. I get bored easily.
  - sukuriant 13y ago
    Have you considered leasing? That might be more financially reasonable for you. Then again, you may be in the money range where when you sell your car, it is worth more money than you have left on the loan, so you're more or less ahead.
UnoriginalGuy 13y ago
> I am a monetarily concious consumer who sees the value in a high quality car which maintains its value well, has good purchase incentives. That makes no sense. How does buying an $89K car instead of a $25K hybrid save you money? These incentives better be of $64K in value, otherwise there is no monetary argument to be made here. Don't get me wrong, I like the Model S, I think it is a wonderful car with tons of innovative technology inside (and, no, I am not just talking about the battery power). But there is no financial argument you could make that would justify buying one over a Prius or Ford Fusion. The only reason the Model S appears to have such a good resale value is that there was a huge backlog for a while, and people were paying OVER retail price just to get ahold of one. Kind of like the Nintendo Wii the first christmas it came out, doesn't mean a Wii maintained that value over the medium to longer term.
- Consultant32452 13y ago
  You're looking at it from the perspective of a person that can't really afford a Tesla. When you look at the world and say "What's the best bang for the $100k I'm going to spend on my next car?" then you may feel a Tesla is a good monetary value based on resale value or other factors even though it's not the most economical way you could transport yourself back and forth to work.
  - alexeisadeski3 13y ago
    Tesla S competes with E Class MB, latter costs ~55-65k. 100k S Class is much better car than Tesla S.
    - keithwarren 13y ago
      I disagree on the S class. It is bigger but I find nothing else about it 'better' and certainly not 'much better'
      - alexeisadeski3 13y ago
        De gustibus non est disputandum No doubt there are components of the Tesla S which are nicer than the S Class. But taken holistically, they are not in the same class. Wheelbase, length, interior volume, rear legroom & headroom, overall refinement are all quite different between the Tesla S and M-B S. Though they do weigh about the same... But as I said, de gustibus non est disputandum.

twoodfin 13y ago

Just out of curiosity, would you be likely to buy one without the assorted tax incentives?

keithwarren 13y ago
Yes, the federal is the only one that applies for me. My states has nothing in addition.

alexeisadeski3 13y ago

>I am a monetarily concious consumer who sees the value in a high quality car which maintains its value well... Wouldn't battery degradation bite into that?

stcredzero 13y ago
Wouldn't battery degradation bite into that? Not nearly as much as for some other cars, as it's a modular part that can literally be swapped out in 90 seconds.
count 13y ago
Which degrades and cost more to fix - a battery or a transmission and other mechanical parts? People act like current cars have no parts or things that go bad over time. Tesla batteries look like they should be at 85% capacity at 100K miles.
- alexeisadeski3 13y ago
  Well that's exactly what I'm asking right?
koenigdavidmj 13y ago
If the quick charging mechanism is going to be "have a robot physically remove the battery and put a new one on" in a few years, then that's not as much of an issue.
- alexeisadeski3 13y ago
  I wasn't aware that Tesla were planning to go that route! Awesome if true :)
  - dandrews 13y ago
    Swap demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZU0wnpyhF8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZU0wnpyhF8
keithwarren 13y ago
I will flip it before that becomes a concern, I am usually in and out of a car in under 3 years. I get bored easily.
- sukuriant 13y ago
  Have you considered leasing? That might be more financially reasonable for you. Then again, you may be in the money range where when you sell your car, it is worth more money than you have left on the loan, so you're more or less ahead.

UnoriginalGuy 13y ago

> I am a monetarily concious consumer who sees the value in a high quality car which maintains its value well, has good purchase incentives. That makes no sense. How does buying an $89K car instead of a $25K hybrid save you money? These incentives better be of $64K in value, otherwise there is no monetary argument to be made here. Don't get me wrong, I like the Model S, I think it is a wonderful car with tons of innovative technology inside (and, no, I am not just talking about the battery power). But there is no financial argument you could make that would justify buying one over a Prius or Ford Fusion. The only reason the Model S appears to have such a good resale value is that there was a huge backlog for a while, and people were paying OVER retail price just to get ahold of one. Kind of like the Nintendo Wii the first christmas it came out, doesn't mean a Wii maintained that value over the medium to longer term.

Consultant32452 13y ago
You're looking at it from the perspective of a person that can't really afford a Tesla. When you look at the world and say "What's the best bang for the $100k I'm going to spend on my next car?" then you may feel a Tesla is a good monetary value based on resale value or other factors even though it's not the most economical way you could transport yourself back and forth to work.
- alexeisadeski3 13y ago
  Tesla S competes with E Class MB, latter costs ~55-65k. 100k S Class is much better car than Tesla S.
  - keithwarren 13y ago
    I disagree on the S class. It is bigger but I find nothing else about it 'better' and certainly not 'much better'
    - alexeisadeski3 13y ago
      De gustibus non est disputandum No doubt there are components of the Tesla S which are nicer than the S Class. But taken holistically, they are not in the same class. Wheelbase, length, interior volume, rear legroom & headroom, overall refinement are all quite different between the Tesla S and M-B S. Though they do weigh about the same... But as I said, de gustibus non est disputandum.