Why not drive a Tesla?

I think Musk is doing some pretty amazing things with Tesla and SpaceX. Gotta respect a guy who's actually trying to accomplish some big, consequential, visionary things with his billions of dollars, as opposed to others who just use their money to live the most hedonistic, vapid lifestyle possible. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with hedonism :).

Having said that, I don't see myself purchasing a Tesla anytime soon. I don't drive enough to warrant the high purchase price, although the Model 3 (and future models) might make that somewhat less cut and dried. If they manage to extend the range to 350-400 miles within the next 5-6 years and keep the price around $30K, I might consider it as a second car.
 
Ready said:
...... But it seems like most of this thread is just a bunch of curmudgeons coming up with all sorts of reasons to not like the car.....
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The responses reflect the OP's original request for comments on why one wouldn't drive a Tesla if money were not an issue. Most responses were pointing out some quite reasonable, practical reasons many of us don't fawn over Tesla......not "curmudgeon" at all.
 
travelover said:
my statement is that i don't really give a damn what anyone else thinks. :LOL:
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Yeah, I like the Tesla too, a lot...but I think there the obstacles I listed in my first post are too much to overcome at this point.
 
W2R said:
Yeah, that's a good point. I guess my problem is that I really don't have a statement to make.
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travelover said:
My statement is that I don't really give a damn what anyone else thinks. :LOL:
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To the OP question: "So, if cost were not an issue, why wouldn't you drive a Tesla?"

To put it another way, if cost were not a question, I still would not want to drive any expensive car (maybe rent one for the weekend, or rent time on a track instead).

I dunno, may be slightly irrational, but I feel like a target in an expensive car. I don't want to attract a car-jacker, who just might decide to shoot me or push me out at 75 mph. Like "The Millionaire Next Door", I'd rather keep a little lower profile.

Or, on the other extreme, I'd compete with Jay Leno and have one of everything, and a security detail when I'm out on a public road.

-ERD50
 
ERD50 said:
To the OP question: "So, if cost were not an issue, why wouldn't you drive a Tesla?"

To put it another way, if cost were not a question, I still would not want to drive any expensive car (maybe rent one for the weekend, or rent time on a track instead).

I dunno, may be slightly irrational, but I feel like a target in an expensive car. I don't want to attract a car-jacker, who just might decide to shoot me or push me out at 75 mph. Like "The Millionaire Next Door", I'd rather keep a little lower profile.

Or, on the other extreme, I'd compete with Jay Leno and have one of everything, and a security detail when I'm out on a public road.

-ERD50
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That's a good point. Upper middle class women who drive expensive luxury cars and/or wear expensive jewelry, get car-jacked all the time around here, even on trips to the grocery store. Pretty scary (to me).

I don't wear jewelry, and I don't drive a luxury car either.
 
Music Lover said:
Actually, I have nothing against Teslas, I just think the hype is way overblown. It's an expensive battery operated car with limitations that some people find too onerous.

And, many people simply don't like the fact that they are forced to subsidize someone's $100,000 car purchase.
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+1


But then again I have a problem subsidizing a $40K electric also....


I will also say that some Tesla owners (not all) have a "I am holier than thou" attitude and they think they are saving planet earth... and we curmudgeons are destroying it...


If the Tesla was in the $30 to $40K range I might be one to buy one... I would have to look at it and compare to others in that range... but since it is $100K there is no reason for me to even look...
 
OH, BTW.... I also do not like paying for ethanol subsidies... it is approaching 40 years and I think an industry should have been able to become profitable on its own by that time.... looks like we are paying $6 billion a year, plus whatever we are required to pay for having it in our gas...


I was trying to find out the total annual spend on electrics, but I cannot seem to find an reference to the total amount... maybe someone else can...
 
Given its batteries have a limited lifetime, an electric needs to be driven enough to be practical. If it's meant as a toy, well, that's OK too. One can garage a new ICE car for 10 years and then get it operational at little addtional cost. Not so with an electric because it will likely need a new set of $$$ batteries.

A different problem with electrics is their use of rare earths for the batteries. One could not replace all ICE vehicles with an electric because the known supply of rare earths is insufficient. Of course with greater demand, mining will increase supply, or battery technology will improve.
 
I live in small town Wisconsin. Not a supercharger close enough for it to make sense. Very few chargers at all in the area. If I lived in a big city, had the money, and could fit my legs in(i'm 6'6"), then i'd buy one for sure.
 
aja8888 said:
Yeah, about the same as a Prius of Ford Fusion..:rolleyes:...don't hang your hat on that $30K price.
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Yeah... I'm not optimistic it will actually be that low. But if it is - we'll definitely consider one.

For the Edison/Musk comparisons... One thing for sure - they both love their DC power.
 
The base price of a Model 3 is $35K. We know for sure that this price does not include the hardware for autonomous driving. It likely also does not include any interior upgrades, like wood or leather trim levels. The best guess is that a nicely optioned Model 3 will be closer to $50K.

Still to be determined is whether the Federal tax credits will be allowed when the cars finally come out. There is a cap on how many owners get the credit, and the cap is shared across all Tesla cars. I seem to recall it's around 200,000 cars in total, and that Tesla has already sold about half that many.

The tax credits don't go away completely, but they gradually get reduced until they are eventually phased out. So an early Model 3 buyer may get lucky and get the full $7,500 credit, plus some possible state incentives as well, which should put the car back down in the low $40's before sales tax.
 
Incredible performance and rich with features. I have been watching the 2013 Tesla S used prices closely. You can buy a lease return from Tesla starting at 40k.

I switched to a cheap electric car ($6,000 used) last year. It costs me $1 dollar per day of electricity to commute 50 miles. My previous German sports car would cost $12 dollars per day, plus maintenance, etc.

In my case i cannot go back to internal combustion engines...though I still admire old sports cars with multiple carburetors, exhaust sounds, etc....
 
aaronc879 said:
I live in small town Wisconsin. Not a supercharger close enough for it to make sense. Very few chargers at all in the area. If I lived in a big city, had the money, and could fit my legs in(i'm 6'6"), then i'd buy one for sure.
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It is a myth about supercharges all over the place... in Houston there are 2 places... in Austin... 0, in San Antonio... 0.... they seem to have them in some out of the way places.... so unless you are driving cross country you will not be going to them....


I was reading on the Tesla website comments about some of them.... they are not all the same and some just do not work well... one site said only 1 charger was working at a good pace, but still needed 1 hour to charge 200 miles... most of the charges were only 80 miles per hour... so a 3 hour wait to get fully charged... another showed a pic of cars lined up charging... seems that you had to even wait for a charger....

One thing I can say is that I do NOT have to wait long for a gas pump and I can always go across the street and use another....
 
GrayHare said:
Given its batteries have a limited lifetime, an electric needs to be driven enough to be practical. If it's meant as a toy, well, that's OK too. One can garage a new ICE car for 10 years and then get it operational at little addtional cost. Not so with an electric because it will likely need a new set of $$$ batteries.

A different problem with electrics is their use of rare earths for the batteries. One could not replace all ICE vehicles with an electric because the known supply of rare earths is insufficient. Of course with greater demand, mining will increase supply, or battery technology will improve.
Click to expand...

Of course, we may run out of excess electrical capacity for charging before we run out of rare earths. Difficult as it is to permit a new power plant, this may be a limiting factor, but of course, YMMV.
 
I enjoy reading about people's experiences with Tesla and notice more of them around town, but that is as close as I will get to driving or riding in one. Or in a Bentley, or a Rolls, a Ferrari, etc.
 
Ready said:
The base price of a Model 3 is $35K. We know for sure that this price does not include the hardware for autonomous driving. It likely also does not include any interior upgrades, like wood or leather trim levels. The best guess is that a nicely optioned Model 3 will be closer to $50K.
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From the Tesla website:

The starting price for the Tesla Model 3 is set at $35,000, though the average cost once options are factored in is expected to be around $42,000.
…
When you factor in options — including an extended range battery, dual motor performance package, autopilot software, and an upgraded sound system — we wouldn't be surprised to see a fully-equipped Model 3 pushing $60,000.
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aaronc879 said:
I live in small town Wisconsin. Not a supercharger close enough for it to make sense. Very few chargers at all in the area.
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Last I heard Wisonsin would not allow Tesla to sell direct to the public. They seem to want cars sold through dealers. Has that changed?
 
983days said:
In my case i cannot go back to internal combustion engines...though I still admire old sports cars with multiple carburetors, exhaust sounds, etc....
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You could always buy a sound clip on a flash drive of a performance car going through the gears or downshifting into the hairpin at Watkins Glen if you miss it. You can also put on a pair of leather driving gloves and fireproof monogrammed jacket to add a visual to the performance sounds and turbo whine/gear changing. :cool: :D
 
My "stops" on a road trip are ~5-10 minutes to get gas and pick up some food. When I can charge a depleted battery in that time, and such chargers are commonplace everywhere, then the inconvenience will no longer prevent me from considering one as an option. Until then, I'll pass on any all-electric vehicle.
 
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