Should I Buy a Tesla?

DerekJohnson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-WaLCToxcw

dnc

RaceBannon

https://youtu.be/l2q_-xN2N54

greenblood

I would if they bring back the tax credits

YellowSnow

No. They are gayer than Christmas.

MikeDamone

YellowSnow said:

No. They are gayer than Christmas.

Christmas is gay?

It's a pain the ass, but gay?

1to392831weretaken

Do you:

Hate cars that are really smooth and powerful?
Lack the funds to buy a high end car?
Love the smell of gasoline and think time spent at a gas station is time well spent?
Have a 300 mile commute?

If you answered no to all of those questions, you might just be in the market for a gay Tesla.

YellowSnow

1to392831weretaken said:

Do you:

Hate cars that are really smooth and powerful?
Lack the funds to buy a high end car?
Love the smell of gasoline and think time spent at a gas station is time well spent?
Have a 300 mile commute?

If you answered no to all of those questions, you might just be in the market for a gay Tesla.

Let me know when then make a mid-size, frame on body SUV that handles like shit on city roads.

BleachedAnusDawg

1to392831weretaken said:

Do you:

Hate cars that are really smooth and powerful?
Lack the funds to buy a high end car?
Love the smell of gasoline and think time spent at a gas station is time well spent?
Have a 300 mile commute?

If you answered no to all of those questions, you might just be in the market for a gay Tesla.

The truly powerful ones cost $60k or more. Not attainable for 95% of Americans. Range anxiety and waiting to recharge are also still big issues unless you never drive other than commuting to work and the grocery store.

Another question to add here:
- Do you want a car with an interior that isn't built from cheap plastic with zero design cues?

The Tesla interiors are pretty chintzy.

FireCohen

BleachedAnusDawg said:

1to392831weretaken said:

Do you:

Hate cars that are really smooth and powerful?
Lack the funds to buy a high end car?
Love the smell of gasoline and think time spent at a gas station is time well spent?
Have a 300 mile commute?

If you answered no to all of those questions, you might just be in the market for a gay Tesla.

The truly powerful ones cost $60k or more. Not attainable for 95% of Americans. Range anxiety and waiting to recharge are also still big issues unless you never drive other than commuting to work and the grocery store.

Another question to add here:
- Do you want a car with an interior that isn't built from cheap plastic with zero design cues?

The Tesla interiors are pretty chintzy.

Pretty sure it is higher than tht

1to392831weretaken

BleachedAnusDawg said:

The truly powerful ones cost $60k or more. Not attainable for 95% of Americans. Range anxiety and waiting to recharge are also still big issues unless you never drive other than commuting to work and the grocery store.

Another question to add here:
- Do you want a car with an interior that isn't built from cheap plastic with zero design cues?

The Tesla interiors are pretty chintzy.

Very few people drive further in a day than the range of even the smallest battery Tesla. If I owned one and it were my only vehicle, I'd have to stop on the road to charge less than a half dozen times per year, and this from somebody with a 70 mile round trip commute and family over the mountains. I would cumulatively spend more time at gas stations over the course of that same year with a gas vehicle.

I don't own a Tesla nor have I even sat in one, but I have a lot of experience with electrics, and there's no looking back. I have a gas truck because electrics can't tow, but otherwise everything plugs in. The overall experience is waaaaaaay better than what I had before. I would bet that today's young people have way more anxiety over their fucking phone running out of battery than we have about our car leaving us stranded, yet if you were to try selling any of them a phone with a battery that could be charged nearly instantly but only by pulling over at one of the designated charging stations on the side of the road once or twice per week, they'd tell you to fuck off. Plug in, go to bed, it's ready to go when you get up in the morning. Most convenient thing ever.

MikeDamone

In 10 years new gas powered vehicles will be less than 60%. And won't be because SJW are buying inferior vehicles, they will simply be better

USMChawk

FireCohen

USMChawk said:

@Swaye ??

1to392831weretaken

MikeDamone said:

In 10 years new gas powered vehicles will be less than 60%. And won't be because SJW are buying inferior vehicles, they will simply be better

I don't buy that battery technology will improve that much in 10 years. It'll probably be better, sure, but not a step change like from lead to lithium. Not in 10 years, at least. For at least 15 years, I've been reading "we're five years away from a battery breakthrough" articles--everything from rechargeable aluminum-air batteries to high density solid state to graphene--but none have been commercialized in the promised time frame. Solid state is coming--this is sure--and it's coming quickly, but it's not so much of a game changer without infrastructure to dump cubic amps of current into a battery at once, which currently barely exists, and I don't see the country completely converted in 10 years.

ATBSJBS, it really doesn't matter. Outside of specialized use cases like towing, racing (farther than a couple laps), and cross-country riding, electrics are already better than their gas counterparts. What will change in 10 years is that marketing will change, acceptance will grow, and small-dick internet tough guys will be forced to finally admit it.

TL;DR: They're already better for at least 60% of people, what will take 10 years is acceptance and charging infrastructure so, for instance, they're viable for people in apartments or with street parking only.

USMChawk said:

That's the best advertisement for Tesla I've ever seen! Sign me the fuck up!

dnc

1to392831weretaken said:

MikeDamone said:

In 10 years new gas powered vehicles will be less than 60%. And won't be because SJW are buying inferior vehicles, they will simply be better

I don't buy that battery technology will improve that much in 10 years. It'll probably be better, sure, but not a step change like from lead to lithium. Not in 10 years, at least. For at least 15 years, I've been reading "we're five years away from a battery breakthrough" articles--everything from rechargeable aluminum-air batteries to high density solid state to graphene--but none have been commercialized in the promised time frame. Solid state is coming--this is sure--and it's coming quickly, but it's not so much of a game changer without infrastructure to dump cubic amps of current into a battery at once, which currently barely exists, and I don't see the country completely converted in 10 years.

ATBSJBS, it really doesn't matter. Outside of specialized use cases like towing, racing (farther than a couple laps), and cross-country riding, electrics are already better than their gas counterparts. What will change in 10 years is that marketing will change, acceptance will grow, and small-dick internet tough guys will be forced to finally admit it.

TL;DR: They're already better for at least 60% of people, what will take 10 years is acceptance and charging infrastructure so, for instance, they're viable for people in apartments or with street parking only.

USMChawk said:

That's the best advertisement for Tesla I've ever seen! Sign me the fuck up!

Looks like they have you pegged

1to392831weretaken

dnc said:

1to392831weretaken said:

MikeDamone said:

In 10 years new gas powered vehicles will be less than 60%. And won't be because SJW are buying inferior vehicles, they will simply be better

I don't buy that battery technology will improve that much in 10 years. It'll probably be better, sure, but not a step change like from lead to lithium. Not in 10 years, at least. For at least 15 years, I've been reading "we're five years away from a battery breakthrough" articles--everything from rechargeable aluminum-air batteries to high density solid state to graphene--but none have been commercialized in the promised time frame. Solid state is coming--this is sure--and it's coming quickly, but it's not so much of a game changer without infrastructure to dump cubic amps of current into a battery at once, which currently barely exists, and I don't see the country completely converted in 10 years.

ATBSJBS, it really doesn't matter. Outside of specialized use cases like towing, racing (farther than a couple laps), and cross-country riding, electrics are already better than their gas counterparts. What will change in 10 years is that marketing will change, acceptance will grow, and small-dick internet tough guys will be forced to finally admit it.

TL;DR: They're already better for at least 60% of people, what will take 10 years is acceptance and charging infrastructure so, for instance, they're viable for people in apartments or with street parking only.

USMChawk said:

That's the best advertisement for Tesla I've ever seen! Sign me the fuck up!

Looks like they have you pegged

It's just like Tesla: I think a lot of you would change your minds once you've actually tried it!

BleachedAnusDawg

1to392831weretaken said:

MikeDamone said:

In 10 years new gas powered vehicles will be less than 60%. And won't be because SJW are buying inferior vehicles, they will simply be better

I don't buy that battery technology will improve that much in 10 years. It'll probably be better, sure, but not a step change like from lead to lithium. Not in 10 years, at least. For at least 15 years, I've been reading "we're five years away from a battery breakthrough" articles--everything from rechargeable aluminum-air batteries to high density solid state to graphene--but none have been commercialized in the promised time frame. Solid state is coming--this is sure--and it's coming quickly, but it's not so much of a game changer without infrastructure to dump cubic amps of current into a battery at once, which currently barely exists, and I don't see the country completely converted in 10 years.

ATBSJBS, it really doesn't matter. Outside of specialized use cases like towing, racing (farther than a couple laps), and cross-country riding, electrics are already better than their gas counterparts. What will change in 10 years is that marketing will change, acceptance will grow, and small-dick internet tough guys will be forced to finally admit it.

TL;DR: They're already better for at least 60% of people, what will take 10 years is acceptance and charging infrastructure so, for instance, they're viable for people in apartments or with street parking only.

USMChawk said:

That's the best advertisement for Tesla I've ever seen! Sign me the fuck up!

Costs for EV's are still much higher than ICE. Closing the gap, though.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmorris/2020/07/11/teslas-shift-to-cobalt-free-batteries-is-its-most-important-move-yet/#7dfcd38246b4

It is estimated that using LFP batteries will allow a 15-20% reduction in manufacturing cost. Taking calculations regarding how much of a car’s cost is batteries into account, this could make EVs a mere 10% more expensive than ICE instead of 30%, which will be easy to regain in cheaper running costs over a year or two of ownership.

1to392831weretaken

BleachedAnusDawg said:

1to392831weretaken said:

MikeDamone said:

In 10 years new gas powered vehicles will be less than 60%. And won't be because SJW are buying inferior vehicles, they will simply be better

I don't buy that battery technology will improve that much in 10 years. It'll probably be better, sure, but not a step change like from lead to lithium. Not in 10 years, at least. For at least 15 years, I've been reading "we're five years away from a battery breakthrough" articles--everything from rechargeable aluminum-air batteries to high density solid state to graphene--but none have been commercialized in the promised time frame. Solid state is coming--this is sure--and it's coming quickly, but it's not so much of a game changer without infrastructure to dump cubic amps of current into a battery at once, which currently barely exists, and I don't see the country completely converted in 10 years.

ATBSJBS, it really doesn't matter. Outside of specialized use cases like towing, racing (farther than a couple laps), and cross-country riding, electrics are already better than their gas counterparts. What will change in 10 years is that marketing will change, acceptance will grow, and small-dick internet tough guys will be forced to finally admit it.

TL;DR: They're already better for at least 60% of people, what will take 10 years is acceptance and charging infrastructure so, for instance, they're viable for people in apartments or with street parking only.

USMChawk said:

That's the best advertisement for Tesla I've ever seen! Sign me the fuck up!

Costs for EV's are still much higher than ICE. Closing the gap, though.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmorris/2020/07/11/teslas-shift-to-cobalt-free-batteries-is-its-most-important-move-yet/#7dfcd38246b4

It is estimated that using LFP batteries will allow a 15-20% reduction in manufacturing cost. Taking calculations regarding how much of a car’s cost is batteries into account, this could make EVs a mere 10% more expensive than ICE instead of 30%, which will be easy to regain in cheaper running costs over a year or two of ownership.

Both of my electrics were purchased after a cold-eyes Excel spreadsheet exercise. I ride bikes for fun, so the number one criteria for my four-wheeled transport is cheeeeeeap. On paper, they were the cheapest to own (very different than cheapest to buy. I have a Volt (which ceased production a month after I purchased because GM sold out of their subsidies and would therefore become noncompetitive due to how stupid the subsidy structure was in the first place) and a Pacifica Hybrid. So both are merely plug-in hybrids, but we rarely put any gas in either, and would never put gas in either if they had Tesla-sized packs (I filled my 8-gallon tank three times last year, partly because my work blocked off the lot with the chargers for a week for restriping). I point this out, though, because these are no Teslas. They're cars that are already nearly on par pricewise with gas equivalents. Sure, Teslas are priced as luxury cars because they're superior or equivalent in many ways to the $60K+ cars they directly compete against, but there are other much more affordable options. This number is about to grow significantly as well, as VW is going all-in with electrification and a few other manufacturers are putting in better than half-assed efforts as well (Toyota bet billions on solid state batteries, BMW slightly fewer billions, and they're not just going to piss that investment away).

What automakers are just now starting to do with upcoming model releases is finally not intentionally making their electric offerings look like rolling suppositories, and this is going to help sales a lot.

There's an honest debate to be had about whether the subsidy is fair/ethical/liberal-hippy-Commie, but it does exist for the time being--for every automaker not named GM or Tesla--so this should be taken into account when calculating TCO. Factor in purchase price minus subsidy (which can be a lot higher depending on in what state you live) minus depreciated value after the number of years you plan to own the vehicle and start adding up fuel (fuckall), maintenance (almost zero), consumables (almost zero for brakes), etc., and you'd be surprised what pops out the other end.

RoadDawg55

1to392831weretaken said:

dnc said:

1to392831weretaken said:

MikeDamone said:

In 10 years new gas powered vehicles will be less than 60%. And won't be because SJW are buying inferior vehicles, they will simply be better

I don't buy that battery technology will improve that much in 10 years. It'll probably be better, sure, but not a step change like from lead to lithium. Not in 10 years, at least. For at least 15 years, I've been reading "we're five years away from a battery breakthrough" articles--everything from rechargeable aluminum-air batteries to high density solid state to graphene--but none have been commercialized in the promised time frame. Solid state is coming--this is sure--and it's coming quickly, but it's not so much of a game changer without infrastructure to dump cubic amps of current into a battery at once, which currently barely exists, and I don't see the country completely converted in 10 years.

ATBSJBS, it really doesn't matter. Outside of specialized use cases like towing, racing (farther than a couple laps), and cross-country riding, electrics are already better than their gas counterparts. What will change in 10 years is that marketing will change, acceptance will grow, and small-dick internet tough guys will be forced to finally admit it.

TL;DR: They're already better for at least 60% of people, what will take 10 years is acceptance and charging infrastructure so, for instance, they're viable for people in apartments or with street parking only.

USMChawk said:

That's the best advertisement for Tesla I've ever seen! Sign me the fuck up!

Looks like they have you pegged

It's just like Tesla: I think a lot of you would change your minds once you've actually tried it!

I have also driven a Tesla before. It was fun to drive. I’m not crazy about how they look, but they are really nice.

Tequilla

For anybody that likes driving long distances the technology isn't there yet ...

There are a few things that I feel like we need on the electric car side of things (some said above):

1) Range has to increase to at least be at a spot where you can drive minimum 8-10 hours before charging (think typical day drive before stopping at a hotel, etc)

2) Charging stations either need to be more prevalent/portable to be able to be used while traveling AND/OR the time to charge has to be sped up SIGNIFICANTLY

3) Costs have to drop to the point that they are largely indifferent between existing gas powered cars

As is right now, electric cars to me really only are realistic for families who use the electric car for in town driving. It's hard for me to view the company as anything more than selling a niche product to a niche customer base at least in the vehicle standpoint.

I'm intrigued at what Tesla has to offer outside of the cars as I think that's the really hidden power for them going forward as @Baseman has mentioned ... but at it's current price point it's massively overpriced.