gfedor

sog35 said:

gfedor said:

Nice car.

But to say that $35,000 (or even $27,500 if lucky to get the credit) is a "car to be priced for the general public instead of rich sports and luxury car buyers" is way off the mark.

I get that the technology is new and there is NRE to be recovered, and I get that the car is "cool", but until manufacturers (Tesla, GM, Toyota, Honda, etc. maybe even Apple) starts taking the basic electric motor train technology and adapting it to cars with less bells-n-whistles, none of these types of cars will be within the economy of the general public.

With 3 or 4 models under its belt by now, I would have hoped Tesla would lead the way towards making a car that could start to take more hydrocarbon vehicles off the road.  Don't get me wrong, I think the car has lots of style and would love to have one myself, but $35k is still to rich for me.

Dude, the average price of a car in the USA is $33,000.

Have you gone car shopping lately?  To get a nicely equipped Honda Civic will cost you close to $27k.  Go buy a Honda Accord and you are at $30+.  Go buy any decent sized SUV and you are at $35k-$40.  Same with a full sized pickup.

$35,000 is mainstream.  Especially since this car will give you 70mpg (based on electric vs gas prices) and save you couple thousand a year just on gas and repairs/maintenance.

Actually, I have been shopping for a new car lately, but even the average price you quote is still too high for basic transportation.

I bought my current car in 2001 for $18,000 (cash) and it was not a basic stripped down model either.  Owing for inflation that equates to $24,000 in present dollars.  However to buy a comparably equipped car today would cost upwards of $28-30,000.  With car prices increasing faster than inflation the idea that a $35,000 car is now "average" is ridiculous.

If the goal is to innovate and sell glitz then sure, Tesla and others are right on the mark with what they're offering today, but the market of available consumers that can afford that is small.  If the goal is to innovate and get more folks out of hydrocarbon vehicles, then the price has to come down substantially more IMHO.

Your argument about saving on fuel and maintenance costs is valid.  Lifetime costs should be better with something like a Tesla, but the up front cost of purchase is still a barrier.  To finance a $35,000 car at today's rates of ~3%, your monthly payment would be upwards of $625-$770.  I am considered upper middle class and I can assure you I cannot afford that type of payment regardless of the long term savings.

Don't get me wrong, I think Tesla's cars are wonderful and would love to have one.  I'm not against the strides they and others are making in the alternative to hydrocarbons arena.  My gripe is that we need to move past the finance innovation on the backs of the rich with the promise of more reasonable pricing down the road.  We're down the road already.  Tesla and others have been making these innovations for years now and we're not seeing the promise of affordable cars.  Lots of innovation (which is fun and good), but not much (if anything) on the affordability front.

I'd gladly do without Ludicrous speed, gull wing doors, glass roof and fancy styling if I could just get a car that gets me away from hydrocarbons, descent range (100miles + per charge) at a price that still allows me to put a roof over my family's head and food on the table.  A $35,000 Tesla does me no good sitting in the garage if I can't also afford the garage.

jbdragon said:

gfedor said:

Nice car.

But to say that $35,000 (or even $27,500 if lucky to get the credit) is a "car to be priced for the general public instead of rich sports and luxury car buyers" is way off the mark.

I get that the technology is new and there is NRE to be recovered, and I get that the car is "cool", but until manufacturers (Tesla, GM, Toyota, Honda, etc. maybe even Apple) starts taking the basic electric motor train technology and adapting it to cars with less bells-n-whistles, none of these types of cars will be within the economy of the general public.

With 3 or 4 models under its belt by now, I would have hoped Tesla would lead the way towards making a car that could start to take more hydrocarbon vehicles off the road.  Don't get me wrong, I think the car has lots of style and would love to have one myself, but $35k is still to rich for me.

But how about 2-3 year old used Tesla 3 to buy? Price drops just driving off the dealer lot.  A used one could be in the $20,000 or less price range.  Older the price drops more.  This gets the car into lower income people's hands and people upgrade to the newest version.

Used is always cheaper accounting for the depreciation costs.  However, in this case since the Tesla 3 won't be out until 2017 (at best), that used market you speak of is still 4 years away.  So...you have to look at what's available *today* which is mostly going to be Prius's (Priui?) and a few other offerings from Ford and the like (mostly hybrids, not pure electric like Tesla).  They do come in at around $18-20k used so they have that going for them.

I would love to see what Tesla could do if they applied just the electric drive train to a simple vehicle without all the other innovative (and expensive) bits.  Sure, put in a few of the more mainstream creature comforts so it's not a Flinstonesmobile   Could they get down to the low $20k's for it?  Don't know, but I sure with they (or someone) would try.