I see one in the mall in Dallas when we go there.  Looks pretty cool.  I'd rather buy a Porsche with that kind of money.

Reading just this morning they don't have R&D listed on their balance sheet unlike every other car marker in the country. So R&D just magically gets a pass and Elon Musk writes a check for it or whatever.

Citation please

One almost ran me over in a parking lot where I work because it was so fucking quiet...  I heard gravel crunch, turn around and there's this big assed red Tesla.

What did they do for all of the initial customers who bought their car and 'bricked' the battery. I seem to remember the battery replacement was $40k for a $60k car.

They replaced those roadster batteries under warranty and designed the battery for the model S so it could not be run all the way to empty or be "bricked"

I've sat in an S at the showroom up in the Domain a while back. Interestingly parked almost directly outside when I stopped by there with a friend was a Fisker Karma. I have not ridden in an S nor have I driven one.

I own a Volt, and do MOST of my driving on electric only. The Volt isn't anywhere near as quick as a Model S, but a lot of the benefits of electric drive are there. It's (relative to your average 4 cylinder compact sedan) pretty quick off the line, quicker than most common cars up to about 35MPH, then it loses steam. It's quiet, and smooth. It handles quite well, and feels very solid. The center of gravity is low, but it's still somewhat heavy and the tires might let you know that from time to time. I love the flexibility of my Volt. I can go weeks or months without putting gas in it. The longest I've gone on a full tank of gas was over 3700 miles. I used to live further from work, and everything else, but a year ago I moved closer. Now it's not uncommon for me to have an "engine maintenance" run. Basically it will force running of the engine for 10 minutes if it hasn't been run in 6 weeks. I've had that happen probably 4 times over the last year.

It's STUPID convenient to pull into the garage, plug in the cord and end up having a "full tank" by the time I'm ready to go anywhere.

As far as the Model III, I like it overall. I dislike the absence of an instrument cluster in front of the driver, but I think Tesla has something up their sleeve. They just hired some dude that worked on a motorcycle helmet with a HUD... so perhaps the III will have a projected HUD on the windscreen? The other part I absolutely do not like is NO BUTTONS and NO KNOBS for controls. My Volt's center stack is all capacitive touch buttons. I do not like having to LOOK at the center console to find where I need to touch, then to make sure it actually registered. Controls on the steering wheel alleviate some of that, but not all. So as far as the III, I don't really like that everything is run by a touch screen.

I may check out a Bolt when they have one. I kinda like the design - It's kinda like a Volt, a BMW i3 and a Honda Fit had a threesome. The range is perfectly acceptable to me. If I need to drive further, I'd fly or rent something. I expect public charging stations will become far more numerous in the not too distant future.

So far the people i have seen driving them are on par with Mercedes drivers.

If I had enough money to have a garage full of cars, the Tesla would be on the short list, I think they are really cool.

I'll have to go back and find it. The reason they gave was the tech industry does it so Apple doesn't have R&D on their balanace sheet and it's normal there. But it's not done that way for car companies, which is odd when they put out numbers comparing it to other car companies. Also they released in 2018 they will have R&D of 3 cars but only selling one so it worked in their favor.



 

I wasn't going to buy one anyways, if that number is true fuck 'em.  30K in loans and subsidies is nuts from an efficiency point of view.

Did you notice that KillerB86 disappeared from this thread when I asked him to provide citation for the bullshit he's spewing?  As soon as he realized how little government money Tesla Motors has actually taken relative to other manufacturers he peaced out.

Every auto manufacturer has taken loans at some point in their existence.  Can you imagine what it would take to start an electric car company from the ground up in today's market?  The competition is insane and every one has sucked the gov't teet.  Not to mention the fossil fuel industry has been chuggin along at full steam ahead for 100 years.  Elon Musk had the balls to attempt it.  Give him 15 and see what happens.


It's like saying "I can buy a CRT  TV for $50, why would I buy the OLED Smart for $5,000"  Because you can, and it will get cheaper.  That's how the world works...

LoL!

[Deleted]

Keep talking, it just confirms what everyone thinks!

You've probably never even seen a Tesla. If you have you'd know they are driven by doctors, lawyers and other yuppie professionals. Hippies couldn't even afford the down payment.

Sack up Nancy, let's hear what you think.

I'll probably get one when I get out of school. I'll be living within a few minutes of work, so distance isn't a problem. I like the 3 quite a bit. How much were they quoting on the preorders for 3's or lease payment?

My truck is newer and paid off, so I'll keep it for hunting/longer trips since its comfortable to drive.

Not at work, but this.

My truck isn't exactly newer, but I have it and an old Honda.

I'm not sure what the lease will be like, yet.  Can't imagine it would be more than $350/ a month with a $2,000 or so initial payment. It would be on par for my old company car that was in the same class.

They are fairly common around Austin.  I see at least one every day.

You'll be waiting a while. I got on the list early in the AM. By the end of the day, there were 115,000 reserved; now the reservation list has topped 400,00 vehicles.

I'm not in a hurry, I'm still building my business' credit so I can lease one as a work vehicle when they are common place.

$35,000 is a bit above my price point.

I'll keep my fuel efficient Mazda 6 for the time being. 26/38 isn't killing me right now.

I see them everyday, and I pass by the assembly plant on my commute to the Fremont BART station.

I have no interest in the cars, or in Elon himself.



I also understand that "electric" cars are a fraud.

They are daily drivers here in the Bay Area and a dime a dozen on the road. The weather is always nice and there are charging stations all over the place. A typical owner has a Tesla for commuting and Cayenne or Range Rover to get them up to ski in Tahoe.

I went to Norway last May and was completely blown away by the number of Tesla's.  Even waaaaay outside of Oslo you'd go into a village of 100 people and there would be 3 Tesla's charging at the grocery store. Come to find they have the highest per capita ownership in the world. The government has dropped all taxes on the car, you don't have to pay to license it and most tolls are free as well. They are 99% hydro so the power is cheap and abundant, it's a perfect fit. Tesla also gets a shit ton of data off the cars in regards to how they perform in harsh climates.

Hippie car isn't quite accurate.  Liberal is closer.  

Lots of liberal morons, just look at Hollywood.

ETA:  I've seen a few, not around here though.  More Mercedes, BMW, Aston Martin, Audi...

I see them in person every day.  Have never touched one.

If I was in the market for a luxury car in that price range, I'd buy a Model S.

Not for any hippie bullshit reason. I just think they are sweet. The electric part appeals to me as I hate having to fill a gas tank every couple days. Id rather just plug in at home.  I drive about 80 miles a day, so range wouldn't be an issue 99% of the time.

Been in one for a couple hours, I was damn impressed.  This was a first gen one too, I imagine they are even better now.

At least part of my investing philosophy has been if I like/use the product and believe in the company, buy it...and they don't have to be high tech.

Some notable examples:  Apple (as you pointed out), Home Depot, Intel, Under Armour, Coke, McDonalds, etc.

Keep in mind, Musk's point of Tesla was not to be the biggest electric car producer, or the best. It was to make the electric car be taken seriously and become mainstream. He has largely accomplished that, and is (pardon the pun) on a trajectory to finish.

That's kind of how I look at them - it's a trendy, expensive, status symbol for people with money to burn, who don't have to care about the downsides of owning one.



My point.

I'd get one, but only for the performance and relatively cheap commuting cost. There are no environmental benefits

Oh, really (re:  disappearing).

I could cite you article after article after article describing the various local, state and federal tax incentives, direct subsidies, loans, tax credits, etc. but after your "well all the car makers do it" comment, would it really make any difference to you?

You know, the whole pig in mud thing.

All told, the subsidies are well over $30,000...get back to me when they're ZERO and we'll talk about economic and technological efficiency.

After all, being green is all about efficiency, right?

Oh, I forgot, it's not about spending money efficiently, it's about green no matter the actual cost.

This is the interwebz...and it's serious business.

Besides, I'm right and that other guy is wrong and I have to make him believe I'm right and admit he's wrong.

And if I can't, well, then I'll call him some names.

Let's be honest:  $50,000-125,000+ EVs aren't going to be sold in the numbers required to make a dent in carbon emissions.  Couple that with the fact that right now the U.S. gets ~50/50 coal/nat gas for electric power and it just doesn't work.

One of my partners has one.  It's a nice car.  

I'm tempted, but not yet.  There is no doubt in mind that EV's will replace internal combustion engine within my lifetime, but as an old motorhead, the simplicity of them is upsetting to me.

I'd bet you the average Tesla household has 3 cars. With at least one of them being a 4wd SUV. I'd imagine that's why they disappear in winter. You would probably see a similar thing with other cars were the Tesla not so conspicuous. In the garage goes the RWD 7 series, out comes the Land Rover. EV's are still a long ways from a one to one replacement if one car is all you have.

Yes, yes it will and has

 

Quite frankly IF I lived in a place where road salt was used I'd probably have a "winter car" too.

They're pretty nice and fun to drive. I wouldn't buy one though. I'd buy something else for the money

 

*sigh*  Ever get on car forums much?

I see them a lot around the Seattle area.  I like them, and some are fast as balls. It's a car for people with money so naturally people are going to be jealous and find ways to fault them.

I don't know if I have ever seen one on the road.