Buying a Tesla

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palanzo
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by palanzo »

iamlucky13 wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 10:17 pm
Tingting1013 wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:16 pm
iamlucky13 wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:00 pm West Virginia gets the largest share of its electricity from coal, at 75%. The overall US average is 24%.
It is 18% YTD and declining

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly ... table_1_01

We now get more electricity from nuclear than we do from coal.
I used the EIA data, too. It's better to stick with full-year periods than year-to-date in order to avoid seasonal effects, which are definitely present, as can be seen in the graph.

The Electric Power Monthly numbers work out to 20.01% for the latest 12 months rolling, or 23.46% for 2019 full year.

The 24% figure came from the 2020 Annual Energy Outlook. I'm not sure where the slight discrepancy came from:
https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/

The trend will continue downward, but I think the 20% share for the last 12 months is probably a little ahead of trend. We might see a slight short term uptick again, but the trend will continue downwards overall.
palanzo wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:05 pm And natural gas which is also not allowed under Green policies is 38%.
It depends who you ask. If you ask people with economics or public administration degrees who have gotten themselves elected to local positions in my area, they'll say it's not allowed, and they've passed laws to that effect.

If you ask people with actual experience planning energy generation who want to increase solar and wind, I think most of them will say natural gas is going to be a key enabler for decades to come, and a reasonable medium-term compromise considering the carbon intensity is half that of coal.
I agree with you. I was referring to your first scenario and unfortunately they do not even have degrees in economics in CA. It is not allowed. We had power outages when it is hot because natural gas power plants were shut down well before the end of their service life. It is very shortsighted and we will all be paying for it in higher costs of electricity.
Valuethinker
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by Valuethinker »

iamlucky13 wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:00 pm
02nz wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 8:15 pmThis is a favorite argument against EVs ... by those who make money off of hydrocarbons. Coal is a relatively small - and declining - portion of our energy mix. Even an EV that gets all of its electricity from coal will be more efficient than an equivalent gas-powered car. That's because electric motors are dramatically more efficient than gas engines - it uses something like a quarter the energy needed by a gas engine to produce the same amount of output.

And, our energy mix has the potential to get greener over time (it is doing just that, although slowly), so the carbon footprint of an EV will tend to go down over time. That is not true of a gasoline-powered car.
It's more than 1/4 the energy overall.

An electric car should have about 50-60% of the energy intensity of a gasoline powered car. Powerplant-to-battery-to-motors efficiency may be around 90%, while the coal plant thermal efficiency will be 40-50%. Meanwhile, a gasoline powered car will typically average 20-25% thermal efficiency.

Since coal has 1/3 higher carbon intensity than gasoline, that puts the overall carbon footprint at about 2/3 of a gasoline powered car, if the electricity were generated entirely by coal. So there is a savings, but perhaps not as large as some people expect.

And if we're talking about Tesla, their emphasis on minimizing drag to maximize range (versus competitors like Audi who are sticking with more conventional styling and layouts), actually brings that down to probably a little over half the overall carbon intensity.

West Virginia gets the largest share of its electricity from coal, at 75%. The overall US average is 24%.
A US coal fired plant should have an efficiency of around 35%. I'd have to dig out a textbook re High Heat Value v Low HV efficiency.

There are Japanese and Italian plants w run in the 40s. On the latest technology. I don't think they have North American equivalents.

Combined Cycle Gas Turbines can run in the mid high 50s, I think the latest ones at c 60%?

Standard rule of thumb is you lose 7-8% for HV and LV distribution and transmission losses.

A Tesla powered by coal fired electricity is not as clean as one powered by renewables + nuclear.

There are online calculators out there that work this out depending on your location.

EDIT

And here's your online calculator

https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electr ... sions.html

California (reading off the graph) EV 2500 lb CO2 pa, gasoline 12,000 lb CO2 pa (so roughly 1:4.5)

West Virginia: EV 9000 lb CO2 pa, gasoline 12,000 lb CO2 pa (roughly 1: 1.33)

I note the WV numbers show a *hybrid* car (not PHEV) at around 6,000 lb CO2 pa. I'd want to understand why it is so much lower.
Last edited by Valuethinker on Wed Oct 07, 2020 9:20 am, edited 2 times in total.
TheGreyingDuke
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by TheGreyingDuke »

Natural gas production and distribution leads to serious methane leaks, which is a potent greenhouse gas. By some measures, it is as bad as coal in this one regard.

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/3001 ... -emissions
"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." H.G. Wells
Jeff Albertson
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by Jeff Albertson »

Don't underestimate the importance of better integrating our electrical grids. This BBC podcast is worth the 18 minutes. The possibility of a globally linked grid, via the North Pole, is especially interesting.
Is it time to rethink the electricity grid?
Business Daily

Are our century-old grids fit for the era of solar and wind power, or is a completely new kind of electricity transmission needed?

Justin Rowlatt looks at the mess in California, where President Trump has blamed rolling blackouts on the state's rush to embrace renewable energy. But former regulator Cheryl LaFleur says one big reason is California's poor integration with neighbouring electricity grids. A US government report recommended linking all the nation's grids together, but then the report mysteriously disappeared - investigative journalist Peter Fairley explains why.

Meanwhile Britain is looking to integrate its own National Grid more closely with the rest of Europe, according to the director of the UK Electricity System Operator Fintan Slye, so that it can handle a glut of new wind power. But why not go one step further and build a global electricity grid? It's a possibility discussed by energy consultant Michael Barnard.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csz7jx
Valuethinker
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by Valuethinker »

Jeff Albertson wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 9:03 am Don't underestimate the importance of better integrating our electrical grids. This BBC podcast is worth the 18 minutes. The possibility of a globally linked grid, via the North Pole, is especially interesting.
Is it time to rethink the electricity grid?
Business Daily

Are our century-old grids fit for the era of solar and wind power, or is a completely new kind of electricity transmission needed?

Justin Rowlatt looks at the mess in California, where President Trump has blamed rolling blackouts on the state's rush to embrace renewable energy. But former regulator Cheryl LaFleur says one big reason is California's poor integration with neighbouring electricity grids. A US government report recommended linking all the nation's grids together, but then the report mysteriously disappeared - investigative journalist Peter Fairley explains why.

Meanwhile Britain is looking to integrate its own National Grid more closely with the rest of Europe, according to the director of the UK Electricity System Operator Fintan Slye, so that it can handle a glut of new wind power. But why not go one step further and build a global electricity grid? It's a possibility discussed by energy consultant Michael Barnard.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csz7jx
That's very ambitious. There are, indeed, several Interconnectors (of sort of 1 GW size each i.e. 2% of UK peak demand) operating between the UK and the Continent, and others are under construction. The UK is likely to build up huge surpluses of offshore wind-generated electricity in the future, assuming govt forecasts for rollout are met, and that will need export markets for periods of high productivity in the North Sea and low demand in the UK itself.

Globally is much more difficult.

Atlantic you have the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (expanding by inches every year). If you run the cables via Greenland, they arrive in Newfoundland, which is itself grid constrained. However Quebec (next door) does have power cables running south into New England and NY State. Probably the best solution would be to run the cable down the East Coast of the USA, offshore, thus avoiding many of the NIMBY-type objections.

Pacific you have various trenches, in particular the Marianas Trench blocks you off from Australasia, I believe (30,000 foot deep). You'd have to have a floating cable which could survive storms, submarines, dragging anchors, fishing trawlers etc. There was a telegraph cable to Australia so, thinking aloud, it must be doable.

It's more likely that we will use hydrogen (or ammonia) as a storage medium for places that produce excess electricity (vast solar farms in the likes of Saudi Arabia) that then ship it to demand centres - -so called "green hydrogen". The gas networks in many countries can be readily adapted to carry hydrogen.
flyphotoguy
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by flyphotoguy »

Enjoy the car, but maybe you want to wait for the newest one, I think I read that there's a performance version coming out or an updated version, Plaid/Plad model??? Enjoy your retirement and have fun with your new car.
iamlucky13
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by iamlucky13 »

TheGreyingDuke wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 8:33 am Natural gas production and distribution leads to serious methane leaks, which is a potent greenhouse gas. By some measures, it is as bad as coal in this one regard.

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/3001 ... -emissions
The author of that article should have looked at his own sources. Page 1 here is directly relevant
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/fi ... energy.pdf

Millions of Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent:
Fossil Fuel Combustion (mostly coal, natural gas, and petroleum): 4905 MMT
Natural Gas Systems (wells, processing, storage, pipelines, etc): 193 MMT

Natural gas comprises a larger percentage of our electricity supply, despite a lower proportion being used for electricity generation compared to coal, but a roughly equal percentage of our total primary energy use. Overall, the fugitive methane problem is a small additional consideration (a few percent...I don't have time to work it out precisely right now) not evident in tallies that look only at the CO2 produced by combustion, but it doesn't change the overall conclusion that natural gas used for electricity generation contributes significantly less greenhouse gases than coal.

However, that is actually distinct from the point I was making:

We are limited for how much of our energy demand that intermittent sources like wind and solar can supply directly. It needs to be complemented by schedulable sources, and right now and for the foreseeable future, natural gas is one of our best options for that. There is a lot of hope that better grid integration will reduce the need for complementary production, and that batteries will gradually replace gas in that role, but they have a long way to go before they are economically viable and available on the scales needed.
Valuethinker
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by Valuethinker »

iamlucky13 wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 1:22 pm
TheGreyingDuke wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 8:33 am Natural gas production and distribution leads to serious methane leaks, which is a potent greenhouse gas. By some measures, it is as bad as coal in this one regard.

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/3001 ... -emissions
The author of that article should have looked at his own sources. Page 1 here is directly relevant
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/fi ... energy.pdf

Millions of Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent:
Fossil Fuel Combustion (mostly coal, natural gas, and petroleum): 4905 MMT
Natural Gas Systems (wells, processing, storage, pipelines, etc): 193 MMT
I think this is what the science is saying that in explaining methane concentrations in the atmosphere, that number appears to be significantly too low. Satellite data is looking at the CH4 concentrations over the USA, Russia etc and saying that there's a lot more methane there than our numbers would predict.

Methane is somewhat undercounted in the GHG inventory methodologies, arguably, because the standard is the 100 year GWP, and methane only lasts in the atmosphere for 20 years. Its forcing factor is 20x that of CO2.
Natural gas comprises a larger percentage of our electricity supply, despite a lower proportion being used for electricity generation compared to coal, but a roughly equal percentage of our total primary energy use. Overall, the fugitive methane problem is a small additional consideration (a few percent...I don't have time to work it out precisely right now) not evident in tallies that look only at the CO2 produced by combustion, but it doesn't change the overall conclusion that natural gas used for electricity generation contributes significantly less greenhouse gases than coal.

However, that is actually distinct from the point I was making:

We are limited for how much of our energy demand that intermittent sources like wind and solar can supply directly. It needs to be complemented by schedulable sources, and right now and for the foreseeable future, natural gas is one of our best options for that. There is a lot of hope that better grid integration will reduce the need for complementary production, and that batteries will gradually replace gas in that role, but they have a long way to go before they are economically viable and available on the scales needed.
The intermittency problem is less than is often believed, because the wind and sun are not perfectly correlated. US load factors for wind tend to be high (for onshore wind) by world standards - a reflection of the geography (fantastic wind resource, large land mass means you are more likely to be able to site the wind farm optimally). And there is offshore wind, which often blows when onshore does not (due in part to the land-sea temperature differential, particularly at night). Agreed a factor there is how big your grid is - HV DC is relatively small in the US compared to places like Russia, Brasil and Quebec. But the US federal regulator (FERC) allows a relatively high rate of return on new investment in transmission (HV) assets (11% vs say 9% for typical state regulatory decisions for LV assets) to encourage the construction of more of them.

What you wind up having is a lot of Open Cycle Gas Turbines, and gas reciprocating engines, sitting in portakabins in fields and corrugated steel sheds, to not be used very much- hundreds of hours a year at most, not thousands (8,760 hours pa). That's why one has Capacity Markets, and most major US power markets have them (except ERCOT/ Texas). Firms bid in to provide capacity to the Independent System Operator, and the lowest bidders win the right to provide that capacity in return for a fixed payment based on MW & availability.

Batteries are at utility-scale and cost for intra-day electricity supply (e.g. that battery Tesla built in South Australia). Not for inter-day -- yet. But batteries, too, as did solar panels and wind turbines before them, are showing impressively fast movement down the cost curve -- and much faster than forecasts say 10 years ago suggested.

Demand flexibility is another part of this. The amount of time in the day when demand is at a peak is very small compared to the number of hours in the year. Granted that's not going to help you in the middle of a heat wave (I think ERCOT recorded a wholesale price of over $10k/ MWHR, when its normal price is below $100/ MWHR?). But if you can shift demand peaks onto the shoulders and outside that 4 pm-8.30pm M-F range, it can save your system (ie consumers) a huge amount of cost. This will be even more true with mass rollout of EVs.

I haven't read any good analysis about California power cuts, but I suspect local air pollution controls (which restrict when backup power can kick in) may have played a role in it. Also wildfires caused their own set of issues - power cuts for days because of the risks of HV lines triggering further fires.
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RetiredScientist
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by RetiredScientist »

From RetiredScientist

Thanks to all who responded to my post. The overwhelming response was “BUY”. That exactly what I am going to do. In early 2021, I will be the owner of a red Tesla S, long range plus.

One response talked about eating a cone of ice cream. While you don’t need it, the pleasure of the experience is worth it.
Ditto for the Tesla.
cusetownusa
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by cusetownusa »

RetiredScientist wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 11:06 am From RetiredScientist

Thanks to all who responded to my post. The overwhelming response was “BUY”. That exactly what I am going to do. In early 2021, I will be the owner of a red Tesla S, long range plus.

One response talked about eating a cone of ice cream. While you don’t need it, the pleasure of the experience is worth it.
Ditto for the Tesla.
Great! Can't wait to hear about your experience. I hope you enjoy it...and if not, you can always trade it in for something else and you will be financially fine.
delamer
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by delamer »

bloom2708 wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 11:39 am
Valuethinker wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 1:29 am I tried the grandkids argument.

That he was putting his grandchild at risk by driving in a bad/ unreliable vehicle.

Also that if he saved all his money his kids would inherit and squander it. He did see the humour in that one ;-)
I did the "unsafe" argument. I checked the air in the bald tires the other day for him and one tire had 5 pounds in it. Two had 15 and one had 30.

So not only bald tires, but unsafe inflation. Doh.

I also tried the "every dollar you don't spend, I will spend recklessly.." talk. That didn't work either. :happy
Why are you letting your kid ride with him?
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fareastwarriors
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by fareastwarriors »

RetiredScientist wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 11:06 am From RetiredScientist

Thanks to all who responded to my post. The overwhelming response was “BUY”. That exactly what I am going to do. In early 2021, I will be the owner of a red Tesla S, long range plus.

One response talked about eating a cone of ice cream. While you don’t need it, the pleasure of the experience is worth it.
Ditto for the Tesla.
Enjoy!
michaeljc70
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by michaeljc70 »

iamlucky13 wrote: Mon Oct 05, 2020 12:56 pm
RetiredScientist wrote: Mon Oct 05, 2020 11:29 am I am 78 with portfolio over two million. I have no debts and retirement income about 160K a year. I want to buy a Tesla Sedan (@$80,000). I cannot justify this purchase other than I want it. Some thoughts?
What kind of justification are you looking for? Are you uncertain about affordability or impact to the sufficiency of your retirement savings with respect to other spending priorities?

Are you uncertain if this is a reasonable purchase if you can meet your needs with a less expensive vehicle?
I think it was a case of having a hard time spending your money. Not uncommon for people that grew up and lived frugally the vast majority of their lives. Old habits die hard.

Glad the OP is going to buy one.
humbledinvestor
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by humbledinvestor »

Buy, buy, buy!
flyphotoguy
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by flyphotoguy »

RetiredScientist wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 11:06 am From RetiredScientist

Thanks to all who responded to my post. The overwhelming response was “BUY”. That exactly what I am going to do. In early 2021, I will be the owner of a red Tesla S, long range plus.

One response talked about eating a cone of ice cream. While you don’t need it, the pleasure of the experience is worth it.
Ditto for the Tesla.
Noice! Congrats and enjoy it when you get it! :sharebeer
drekce
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by drekce »

You might want to consider prepping your home before you get the car. Last year I installed the Tesla Level 2 charger in my garage about a month before I got the car. It was great bringing it home and having everything ready to go to fast charge it.
michaeljc70
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by michaeljc70 »

drekce wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 5:27 pm You might want to consider prepping your home before you get the car. Last year I installed the Tesla Level 2 charger in my garage about a month before I got the car. It was great bringing it home and having everything ready to go to fast charge it.
When I was considering purchasing a Tesla (I still am), I was going to forgo a level 2 charger. I am retired and drive <5k miles per year. I rarely go more than 20 miles in a day. Generally they charge at 3 miles/hr on the level 1 charger. So, if I was using the car 4 hours a day (unlikely typically), I could get 20*3=60 miles charge per day (plus have what is already in the battery). Plenty for me. Maybe it is worth the cost though for the level 2 charger just to not have the hassle of plugging it in all (or most) of the time. I realize most people drive more than me, but since the OP said they were retired I thought I'd point this out.
drekce
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by drekce »

michaeljc70 wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 5:36 pm
drekce wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 5:27 pm You might want to consider prepping your home before you get the car. Last year I installed the Tesla Level 2 charger in my garage about a month before I got the car. It was great bringing it home and having everything ready to go to fast charge it.
When I was considering purchasing a Tesla (I still am), I was going to forgo a level 2 charger. I am retired and drive <5k miles per year. I rarely go more than 20 miles in a day. Generally they charge at 3 miles/hr on the level 1 charger. So, if I was using the car 4 hours a day (unlikely typically), I could get 20*3=60 miles charge per day (plus have what is already in the battery). Plenty for me. Maybe it is worth the cost though for the level 2 charger just to not have the hassle of plugging it in all (or most) of the time. I realize most people drive more than me, but since the OP said they were retired I thought I'd point this out.
That sounds like it would work fine for the typical case. My concern would be when you do need to go on a longer trip and want to charge it up all the way (or above 90% at least). Assuming you only charge up to 60-70% on a daily basis, it would take forever to fully top it off. You may never need to do that, or you could always stop by a supercharger, so it might not be a practical issue.

I drive more than that and I love that I can get 30-40 miles in an hour between drives, right at my house.
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Helo80
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by Helo80 »

RetiredScientist wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 11:06 am From RetiredScientist

Thanks to all who responded to my post. The overwhelming response was “BUY”. That exactly what I am going to do. In early 2021, I will be the owner of a red Tesla S, long range plus.

One response talked about eating a cone of ice cream. While you don’t need it, the pleasure of the experience is worth it.
Ditto for the Tesla.

With $2 million cash on hand and a $160k a year in income, I'd probably buy a Polestar or a Porsche Taycan.

Tesla's are almost too common now. The design has not really changed much, but under the hood, the tech has been upgraded.
Thank God for Wall Street Bets.
1996neonloudtap
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by 1996neonloudtap »

Go ahead and buy. You only live once and I've read that maintenance costs are about half of a conventional combustion engine car.

https://www.caranddriver.com/shopping-a ... er-to-own/

Not to mention that you can always sell the car if want. Teslas depreciate less than most cars as well...

https://www.autopadre.com/depreciation- ... rs-model-3

If you scroll down the page in the link it shows the Teslas depreciation compared to other American luxury cars and the difference is quite stark.
mmcmonster
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by mmcmonster »

Maverick3320 wrote: Mon Oct 05, 2020 5:27 pm[...]Not to be that guy, but don't electric cars in essence run off the composition of the local power grid? In some places, you could be buying a coal-powered car, no?
The thinking is that it's cheaper and more efficient to clean (or decommission) one coal power plant than to fix the exhaust of the thousands of cars in the same community as the power plant.

Over time, the electric grid is trending towards cleaner sources of energy. If you're getting your car fuel from the grid, you will reap the benefits of the cleaner sources over time.
Old Guy
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by Old Guy »

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Offshore
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by Offshore »

Indulge your wants... however, a word of caution. Tesla's are not set-it-and-forget-it. There will be issues and servicing the car is difficult and frustrating. I purchased a dual motor M3 about 1.5 years ago and would not buy another Tesla. I don't want to divert the discussion so I'll leave it at that.
SantaClaraSurfer
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by SantaClaraSurfer »

Unless the OP has a change of mind, this is for anyone else making the same calculation.

In the USA, a used, Certified Pre-owned Audi Etron is probably the best deal going right now for this genre of purchase.

Worth a look if you are in the market for a BEV in the US. Massive savings off last year's prices.
Goal33
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by Goal33 »

‘99 Camry. Pay cash
oragne lovre
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by oragne lovre »

I used to drive a Camry for more than 300 thousand miles for 23 years and never thought about buying a "luxurious" car. After I drove a Tesla, I have never looked back.

Buy it. You'll smile almost every day :D
The finest, albeit the most difficult, of all human achievements is being reasonable.
Big Dog
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by Big Dog »

michaeljc70 wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 5:36 pm
drekce wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 5:27 pm You might want to consider prepping your home before you get the car. Last year I installed the Tesla Level 2 charger in my garage about a month before I got the car. It was great bringing it home and having everything ready to go to fast charge it.
When I was considering purchasing a Tesla (I still am), I was going to forgo a level 2 charger. I am retired and drive <5k miles per year. I rarely go more than 20 miles in a day. Generally they charge at 3 miles/hr on the level 1 charger. So, if I was using the car 4 hours a day (unlikely typically), I could get 20*3=60 miles charge per day (plus have what is already in the battery). Plenty for me. Maybe it is worth the cost though for the level 2 charger just to not have the hassle of plugging it in all (or most) of the time. I realize most people drive more than me, but since the OP said they were retired I thought I'd point this out.
instead of purchasing the Tesla charger, just upgrade your (garage?) circuit to a 14-50 plug and use the cable that comes with the car. That way you can quickly charge to 90+% if you want to take a road trip out of town.
marshall
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by marshall »

Tesla Model S long range price has reduced two times in the last week. You may not need to spend $80k.
harikaried
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by harikaried »

marshall wrote: Thu Oct 15, 2020 10:34 pmYou may not need to spend $80k.
Oh interesting. There's been several changes over the last few days. At least in the US, the currently available options for a Model S:

Long Range Plus $69,420, 402 miles, 3.7s 0-60mph
Performance $91,990, 387 miles, 2.3s 0-60mph

Sounds like RetiredScientist is getting the Long Range Plus where notably the price is now under $70k but didn't see the range increase that the Performance S 348mi->387mi (and Long Range X 351mi->371mi and Performance X 305mi->341mi) received. Maybe when OP purchases in early 2021, the range will be updated too? Potentially to 425mi if matching the X's increase?
squirm
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by squirm »

Was there a interior refresh on the S?
Wannaretireearly
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by Wannaretireearly »

The $100 deposit on the cybertruck has generated so much discussion and joy in my family. Sometimes is just the anticipation that makes you happy. But, I'm looking forward to my first electric vehicle :twisted:
“At some point you are trading time you will never get back for money you will never spend.“ | “How do you want to spend the best remaining year of your life?“
Think
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Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by Think »

If you think it will give you joy - buy it.

I have the common refrain, which I suppose a bunch of prodigious savers have, which is just don't see a lot of value in things.

I'm not cheap (I don't think so). I never budgeted. I was not financially savvy when young (I had credit card debt in college).

I chose to work for a bank. I was schooled by 30-50 bankers that infused in me financial discipline that is probably hard to learn at any college. (I got the bank to pay for my MBA -- oner example).

Anyhow, I really think the secret sauce was a health bankers skepticism on what provides value. Yeah, Marie Kondo is all the rage. However, trust me, all she wrote is another version of what these crusty bankers were telling me fo years.

I chalk up my wealth to being surrounding by conservative co-workers, who didn't waste, were not extravagant, and focussed on boring old fashioned values (family, simple pleasures). That's it. That was the ticket.
Normchad
Posts: 5648
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:20 am

Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by Normchad »

Think wrote: Sat Oct 17, 2020 6:05 pm If you think it will give you joy - buy it.

I have the common refrain, which I suppose a bunch of prodigious savers have, which is just don't see a lot of value in things.

I'm not cheap (I don't think so). I never budgeted. I was not financially savvy when young (I had credit card debt in college).

I chose to work for a bank. I was schooled by 30-50 bankers that infused in me financial discipline that is probably hard to learn at any college. (I got the bank to pay for my MBA -- oner example).

Anyhow, I really think the secret sauce was a health bankers skepticism on what provides value. Yeah, Marie Kondo is all the rage. However, trust me, all she wrote is another version of what these crusty bankers were telling me fo years.

I chalk up my wealth to being surrounding by conservative co-workers, who didn't waste, were not extravagant, and focussed on boring old fashioned values (family, simple pleasures). That's it. That was the ticket.
That’s really interesting.

I do think everybody would be better off to just stop and think more when they spend money. I’m guessing a lot of us fritter quite a bit away on things that simply don’t matter to us. I do encourage people to spend their money, but to make sure when they do, they spend it on whatever gives *them* the most utility.
westie
Posts: 601
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2012 7:00 am

Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by westie »

I've never seen a trailer hitch attached to a hearse. Buy the Tesla.
Jeff Albertson
Posts: 904
Joined: Sat Apr 06, 2013 7:11 pm
Location: Springfield

Re: Buying a Tesla

Post by Jeff Albertson »

Wannaretireearly wrote: Fri Oct 16, 2020 12:59 pm The $100 deposit on the cybertruck has generated so much discussion and joy in my family. Sometimes is just the anticipation that makes you happy. But, I'm looking forward to my first electric vehicle :twisted:
'The Electric Pickup Truck War Is Here'
https://ritholtz.com/2020/10/the-electr ... um=twitter
'The electrification of the pickup truck, America’s most beloved automobile, could finally jolt EVs fully into the U.S. mainstream. It also promises a huge payday for the companies that can make them affordable. The players in this potentially lucrative market aren’t just the traditional, deep-pocketed automakers, mind you: there’s a batch of well-funded startups going head-to-head in the coming fight'
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