Tesla Motors opinions?

[El Chupacabra]

^^^ In other words, Teslas are useful only while under warranty.

I'm glad Tesla exists and glad there are people willing to pay to advance the battery and electric car technology, whatever their motivations may be. I'll step into the electric car world once reliability is there, battery life is 10-15 years, and travel long distance is as easy as it is with gas motors.

And no, Tesla fan boys out there, we are not at that stage now.

[dunfree]

They designed a disposable car and that’s why the fans like it.

I guess most people don’t remember that separate gas powered heaters were a thing for a long time in cars?

[couloirman]

I commute 90 minutes each way right now. Have a tesla model Y on order. Super stoked to stop filling up my tank every 3rd day.

[fomofo]

They designed a disposable car and that’s why the fans like it.

Perhaps more a matter of disposable income. I would imagine most Tesla owners for whom say $25,000 is relatively the same as $2,500 (or even $250) to other folk are probably going to upgrade to the latest-and-greatest long before their warranty expires. And when they do upgrade, maybe a trade-in, otherwise just donate for a write-off, not bother with the hassle of a private sale. Don't think they're spreadsheeting out TCO over a long haul.

Of course there are always those people who will saddle themselves with car (and other) payments beyond their own practical reach, and even those in the first group are subject to the reality that fortunes can change.

And often do, over time.

I love the idea of the convenience and ongoing economy of an electric, but I'm with Chupacabra. Assuming civilization endures in another 15 years I suspect most of the pesky details extant today will have been ironed out. It'll be an (almost) completely electric world, and price points will come down to where even those in the $250 camp will be driving e-cars.

In the interim, hedge the bet, maybe a hybrid.

And who knows what else is to come?

[bobz]

Before the supply chain/ auto chips problem basically doubled a lot of used car prices, lower tier electrics like the Leaf and i3 were going used for amounts that were pretty rock-bottom in terms of cost-of-ownership (considering gas savings), for local runabout purposes anyway. It'll be a while before frequent-ski/desert/etc-trips people like me can operate exclusively with an all-electric vehicle, but electric being a solidly affordable option for a lot of people (if only for one out of two family cars) isn't at all far off.