Hah, I'd probably hold off on that since it is up over 60% in the last month and has been up practically everyday since it hit bottom. This last crash and rebound is one of the craziest V bottoms I've ever seen. Although there are so many shorts betting against this company that who knows, crazier things can happen if they start getting margin calls.
You shouldn't let a tax credit dictate whether you're going to purchase a vehicle or not. If you would like to support American car companies and reduce pollution, do it because you strongly believe in it and want to. You shouldn't let a little monetary value get in your way of your beliefs. I do agree with you that the tax credit motivates or encourages people to purchase an electric vehicle who wouldn't have otherwise. Me otoh, when I purchase an electric vehicle, it will be because I want to, not how much rebate the government is offering me at that point of time.
So it cost $1000 to pre order. What are the chances of being able to "flip" the pre order a little closer to release? Since you can get refunded, it seems like there's no risk.
I tip my hat to you. Personally, I like the idea of having an extra $7,500 to play with. It's enough to have an impact on what I purchase. Of course, that's the idea of the credit in the first place, which I realize you understand.
Official details on the 3/31 unveil and reservation process: https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/re...3_032116&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social
Yeah, the low range and very limited charging stations is pretty worrisome. Until the range increases greatly, or plug in charging become apart of gas stations nation wide, this type of car would have some serious limitations for a lot of drivers.
The state tax on gasoline is a tax that should be raised in Texas, as the take for the state from the gasoline tax, which hasn't been increased since 1991, has declined if you factor in inflation. Texas is a state strapped for money to fund our schools, using just one underfunded thing our state government is responsible for as an example (there are many others), and due to the constant tax cuts here, tax cuts being a priority of the current state government, seemingly over everything else. Our schools are sorely underfunded, despite enormous population growth compared to the rest of the country. Texas should increase its share of the gasoline tax, in my humble opinion, and I'm just talking about the state gasoline tax. Now is a good time to do it, since the price of gasoline is so low. Gradually phase in an increase over, say, 5 years. It would bring in revenue we badly need, and that revenue is pretty steady. -
Because most of the people who can afford these cars can also afford the extra $7500. Another middle class burden that the wealthy are taking advantage of. We are not reducing dependency from foreign oil nor is it more environment friendly. Sure, its a step in a better direction, but lets not pretend its eco friendly.
Can we make deposits at the Tesla store in TX? I thought they weren't allowed to operate like a retail operation here and were more like showrooms.
1. The $7500 is not specifically created for the $100k Tesla model, it was created to incentivize any EV at what ever the price range. It just so happens that technology is more expensive initially as it is being developed(cell phone in the 80s, computers in the 70s) and price decreases as tech advances and more consumers adopt it. Now that a $35k model is coming out, more of the middle class can take advantage of the tax credit, where its benefits can be felt more. 2. 50,000 EVs or 100,000 EVs will not reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Millions of EVs will. Isn't that why you would promote them, maybe with a tax credit? Tesla has been growing at a 50% clip year over year with it's $100k vehicle, and there are still parts of the country where people haven't heard of them. Now they are introducing their $35k vehicle, perhaps it can be the beginning of making a dent. 3. An EV charging from a grid that is almost 100% generated from coal(such as W. Virginia) is roughly 30% more fuel efficient vs a comparable gasoline car. An EV charging from a grid that is more reliant on solar or hydro(such as Washington state) is roughly 70% more fuel efficient. As the national grid gets cleaner by the day, which it is, EV charging does as well. These are two separate issues that both need to be addressed - energy production and energy consumption. It is not as if EVs are forever tied to a dirty grid. But at the same time, you can have the cleanest grid in the world 100% run on renewables, but without a method of consumption(EV), you'd still need to burn gas.
Let me first say again that this is not a bad direction. Its early progress and the early adopters are bearing the brunt of the cost. What you are omitting is the cost and replacement of batteries. This is a very dirty and costly process.
Range and charging are areas that will improve over time, and may need to before mass adoption. However, the even bigger hurdle is the perception of range and charging being a problem that needs to be overcome. The average driver in the US travels 50 miles a day. With a 200-300 mile range, a Tesla has more than enough for the vast majority of drivers. For the occasions that people drive over 300 miles a day, Tesla has a nationwide supercharger network(expanding everyday) that fills up 300 miles in 40 minutes. While that does add some inconvenience to road trips, the upside is that these chargers are 100% free to use. https://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger While there may be some who travel over 300 miles a day on a regular basis and do not have access to charging at work. For these people, range will definitely be an impediment. For the vast majority of people though, the issue is the perception of range anxiety that is the issue, not the actual range. The same perception applies to charging stations. There are hundreds of thousands of gas stations in the US. To build from the ground up as many charging stations would indeed be a massive undertaking. In reality, there already are hundreds of thousands of charging stations ready-built. Every home owner already has a charging station in his garage(electrical outlet). It is actually vastly more convenient to plug in your car to charge every night like you do with your phone, and wake up every morning with 100%, as oppose to going out to find a gas station every time you're empty. For apartment dwellers this is indeed an issue right now though. I believe CA just passed a bill that requires new apartments being built to provide EV charging. And Tesla themselves are trying to address it in NYC. http://nypost.com/2016/03/17/tesla-stations-in-nyc-on-verge-of-outnumbering-gas-stations/ To dispel these perceptions regarding range and charging, Tesla will have to flat out continue improving range and charging. But as the $35k car reaches a wider audience of early adopters and you see more of them on the road, I believe these perceptions will also lessen as word gets around about their realities.
Tesla has a 8 year, unlimited mile warranty on its battery. When it is time for replacement, the cost will depend on their battery costs, which they have been continually bringing down, and will further bring down with the Gigafactory in Nevada. Yes it will be a cost for those who own their cars for over 8 years(average car ownership in the US is 4 years), however it is offset by the fuel savings. As for being dirty, the minerals in a lithium-ion battery is 100% recyclable. This is from their blog post 5 years ago, where they've made strides since. https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/teslas-closed-loop-battery-recycling-program One point though, I agree it is a good direction, however being clean or green alone will not make EVs widely adopted. People are self interested and economical by nature(nothing wrong with that), so the only way EVs will be widely adopted is if an EV is better(period) than a comparable gasoline car. This is the direction Tesla is striving, as opposed to sticking a $40k price tag on a $20k econobox(because of the battery costs) and try to appeal to the "greenies" like the other manufacturers. So to your point, the high battery costs is what impedes the other OEMs from making a compelling EV. Tesla's improving battery costs is what gives it it's advantage - it can afford to put in other bells and whistles because its batteries are cheaper. These costs will go down further with the economies of scale of the Gigafactory - which eventually should make battery replacement manageable.
They need to figure out how to get the charging rate faster since a lot of people in dense cities park on the street. Leaving your car and coming back in an hour then looking for another parking spot can be inconvenient. If there's enough critical mass with these vehicles, leaving a car somewhere for four hours would require lots and lots of chargers. Will the chargers be universal for other vehicles? Otherwise why would a city install chargers everywhere for one company? Tesla is a battery company disguised as a car company. I like what Tesla is doing but their is still a really long road ahead even if the Model 3 is popular.
when an electric car is comparable (or better) in terms of price and quality...everyone will buy one. But i am not going to pay a premium to buy an electric that I have to keep for 10 years to break even with the gas cost. Plus I can by ANY car in a gas version..only hideous crap in electric (except tesla).
Cities and utilities will continue to install street charging like they stalled parking meters. These are universally used but have much slower charging rates because lower range batteries(every other EV) cannot handle Tesla's supercharger voltage. So Teslas can charge at these using an adapter, while other EVs cannot use the Tesla supercharging network because it is proprietary(and because they physically cannot). Still, that is going to be a slow process. I think for the time being it would be best if you had access to home charging or a public garage with EV charging. Tesla's competitive advantage is its battery cost and it's autopilot technology. Their most important product is not a car but the Gigafactory being built in Nevada. It is the largest structure by area in the world which at peak production will equal the current global battery production, all in one factory. It will be capable of building and recycling batteries end to end from minerals in to batteries out. It will also be net energy neutral and run completely on solar and wind. It's autopilot technology is value added to the car, which is needed due to high base cost from battery costs. Unlike Google's autonomous technology, autopilot is less sophisticated but more practical as a driving aid that can be put on roads today. This is important because it can be monetized immediately and improved iteratively through over the air updates. In comparison, Google's completely driverless technology will need to achieve 99.9999% reliability before being allowed on the roads(where it can recover its development costs). For sure. The entire battery electric vehicle market is still less than 0.1% of the total car market. For the vast majority of people, owning a BEV is still an afterthought(or just a no). It is encouraging that other OEMs are starting to get on board(BMW, Audi, Mercedes, GM etc). Some view this as the deathknell for Tesla as competition ramps up. IMO it is actually a huge positive. Just look at the replies in this thread, the skepticism is directed not at Tesla specifically, but EVs in general. When people contemplate owning a Tesla, outside of cost the number one question is do I want to deal with a battery electric car? As more "competition" enters the market, more companies are introducing EVs to more people and educating them about their advantages. This will expand the entire EV market, and then the number one question for these buyers will be "which is the best EV?" The answer to that is what Tesla strives for, but it would be pointless if people did not consider EVs in the first place. I am not sure, you'd have to call them to confirm. Although possibly you would be able to because reservations technically are not considered a "sale", but merely a place in line.
