Cost of Tesla ownership, real time experience

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  #106  
Old 06-02-2021, 10:50 PM
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Actually it will go 660 miles and then some.
  #107  
Old 06-03-2021, 06:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Stu from NYC View Post
They do not want us to know how much we are paying in taxes per gallon.
The govern are so transparent. Those big bag oil companies.
  #108  
Old 06-03-2021, 12:45 PM
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Originally Posted by rogerkriz1@gmail.com View Post
I've been a strong advocate of the electric auto's for awhile but I'm been mostly curious about the Tesla and the advanced they have made. Still, I wonder about actual cost of ownership now that there are more and more on the road. In the early days of availability I think Tesla provided some rapid charging stations free of charge but I'm thinking that that was unsustainable. I've been wondering just how things are managed these days and how much it really costs to own and travel in one.
Not so many responses that answer your question. Here's my experience which may help.

In 2014 I bought a Model S with a range of 265 miles for $90,000. I got a $7500 federal tax credit. I received free use of Tesla's supercharger network, which was not so big at the time. I made several trips in the 1000 mile range. The superchargers show up on the big center-screen map and the navigation routing will take you to the right one before you run out of charge. In general every 3 hours I would stop and charge for 30-45 minutes. The superchargers are located close to restaurants and shopping so there is somewhere to go while charging. I rarely had to wait for an open space. There are typically 6-8 chargers at each location. Superchargers are wired in pairs so charging is slower if you use the second charger of the pair. Charging starts at 300 miles per hour but dwindles to as low as 70 miles per hour when the battery is close to fully charged.

I installed a 240V outlet in my garage that charges at 29 miles per hour. Roughly 10 KW, so if power costs 10 cents a KW it cost about 4 cents a mile. I would charge overnight once a week or so to meet my needs.

I paid for Tesla's annual maintenance at about $300 per year, mainly because the technology was new. I'm sure Tesla spent a fair bit of time when I brought it in for the same reason but it's likely very little maintenance was actually needed.

In 2016 I traded the car in on a new model with Autopilot (really just lane keeping an traffic aware cruise control). I received $50,000 for my old car so the cost of owning a Tesla for all practical purposes is the depreciation. Everything else is chump change.

I paid $92,000 for the 2016Model S and received another $7500 tax credit. I also have free supercharging for the life or the car, even if I sell it. This is no longer offered, which is a good thing because it gives people incentive to charge at home where it's cheaper. There is a Supercharger by the Wawa on 441 and I rarely see it used.

The supercharger network has been built out significantly. You can go just about anywhere and find one within 100 miles. I make an annual trip to Wisconsin. It's 1200 miles and takes about 23 hours, which is about 5 hours more than it would in a gas car.

Other than tires I haven't spent anything on maintenance for the 2016. I will have to buy a 12V battery in the near future which will cost $300 installed. Tesla sends a Ranger to your house to replace it. I got a quote for the trade-in value at $41,000. Probably get a bit more with a private sale. However I plan on keeping it for a while.

There are a lot of places that offer free 240V charging while you shop, but that only gets you 30 miles an hour. You certainly don't want to rely on this type of charger for a trip. Only Teslas can use their supercharger network. There are high speed chargers that other manufacturers can use and Tesla can too with an account and the right adapter. It's just harder to find them. The lack of a simple high speed charging network is what is keeping other manufacturers from competing with Tesla.

We got rid of our Lexus RX350 3 years ago. The Tesla is the only car we have now. We also have an electric golf cart with a lithium battery that goes 65 miles on a charge.

Tesla's newest Model S is $80,000 and the range is over 100 miles more than my car. It has 8 camera's and when you set it to sentry mode it records everything happening around the vehicle, whether it be someone cutting you off or keying your car when it's parked. It's amazing how many people feel the need to key a Tesla. But it typically takes only a couple hours to identify the culprit when the video is uploaded to social media.

So depending on your needs, it can be very easy for a Tesla to be your only car. Obviously, it's not for everyone and if it's not for you, don't buy one. I'll never buy an F150 but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them.
  #109  
Old 06-03-2021, 01:12 PM
DALEPQ DALEPQ is offline
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Electricity is not free, someone has to pay for it.
How much does it cost now? What might the supply of electricity be in the future, if more and more cars become electric. Many electric grids are already strained. So, what will the future cost be to recharge???
  #110  
Old 06-12-2021, 08:11 AM
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Thanks for the info, Footer. It's nice to see real world numbers.

Most people will be shocked to see $40,000 worth of depreciation in 2 years. That money would fuel a 25 mpg gas car for 333,333 miles (@ $3 a gallon). Gas cars depreciate, too, but $40k is breath taking.
  #111  
Old 08-30-2021, 08:48 PM
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We just came back from a visit to see our kids. The oldest one bought a Tesla Model S Plaid? I had heard of Tesla before naturally but never this particular model. It is an absolute rocket. I don't know the facts and figures about the car but I do know that I surrendered the card back to my son after the second outing. You can use the card or an App that he put on my phone. I'm old enough now to realize my limitations. There is no need for me to drive a car with that kind of performance.

On the other hand as a family of car nuts. This is one car that has to be experienced if you think you can handle it. It makes you laugh and curse when you nail it. (I almost said hit the Gas Pedal)

I will definitely be in the market when the pickup truck from Tesla is ready to go. Can't wait.

Not really overly concerned about the price of the pickup truck.
  #112  
Old 08-30-2021, 10:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Nucky View Post
We just came back from a visit to see our kids. The oldest one bought a Tesla Model S Plaid? I had heard of Tesla before naturally but never this particular model. It is an absolute rocket. I don't know the facts and figures about the car but I do know that I surrendered the card back to my son after the second outing. You can use the card or an App that he put on my phone. I'm old enough now to realize my limitations. There is no need for me to drive a car with that kind of performance.

On the other hand as a family of car nuts. This is one car that has to be experienced if you think you can handle it. It makes you laugh and curse when you nail it. (I almost said hit the Gas Pedal)

I will definitely be in the market when the pickup truck from Tesla is ready to go. Can't wait.

Not really overly concerned about the price of the pickup truck.
The plaid can go from 0 to 60 MPH in less than 2 seconds. It has true kick!!! has 23 speakers + much more. Retail about $120K, Per CEO...faster than a Porsche and safer than a Volvo.
  #113  
Old 08-31-2021, 12:25 AM
GrumpyOldMan GrumpyOldMan is offline
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Originally Posted by spd2918 View Post
Thanks for the info, Footer. It's nice to see real world numbers.

Most people will be shocked to see $40,000 worth of depreciation in 2 years. That money would fuel a 25 mpg gas car for 333,333 miles (@ $3 a gallon). Gas cars depreciate, too, but $40k is breathtaking.
BMW 5 series depreciate about 50% in 3 years. Luxury cars, in general, depreciate about $25,000 in two years. And I believe the post said they would get more in a private sale. This is true of almost everything, trade in a $1,000 phone in two years and gets pennies back, private sell it, and get maybe 50% back.

And don't brush off the tires only maintenance. Check the maintenance cost on BMW 5 series and it is a bit more than tires. And if you get an error code, it's $250 just to read it, not to mention what the cost will be to repair whatever the code is for.

Tesla's have a very competitive total cost of ownership.
  #114  
Old 08-31-2021, 12:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nucky View Post
We just came back from a visit to see our kids. The oldest one bought a Tesla Model S Plaid? I had heard of Tesla before naturally but never this particular model. It is an absolute rocket. I don't know the facts and figures about the car but I do know that I surrendered the card back to my son after the second outing. You can use the card or an App that he put on my phone. I'm old enough now to realize my limitations. There is no need for me to drive a car with that kind of performance.

On the other hand as a family of car nuts. This is one car that has to be experienced if you think you can handle it. It makes you laugh and curse when you nail it. (I almost said hit the Gas Pedal)

I will definitely be in the market when the pickup truck from Tesla is ready to go. Can't wait.

Not really overly concerned about the price of the pickup truck.
LOL!

I completely agree with you about the performance. Several of my kids have them (not the plaid, but they are all FAST.)

I haven't driven one yet, but I got a 500HP Jag a couple of years ago, it has three modes I call fast, scary, and don't do that one EVER again. I put it in the fastest, punch it, and it took my breath away. After that experience, I will NEVER punch a Tesla - LOL!
  #115  
Old 08-31-2021, 12:32 AM
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There are a lot of Youtube videos where the owners had a lot of complaints about their Teslas.
My concerns would be the expense of replacing the battery,
the time it takes to charge, & the interior is very plain and unimpressive.

Technology is changing every year with EVs, including the range, that
your car could get old fast.
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  #116  
Old 08-31-2021, 12:56 AM
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Originally Posted by patfla06 View Post
There are a lot of Youtube videos where the owners had a lot of complaints about their Teslas.
My concerns would be the expense of replacing the battery,
the time it takes to charge, & the interior is very plain and unimpressive.

Technology is changing every year with EVs, including the range, that
your car could get old fast.
I think the definition of "lot" is subjective. Customer satisfaction is very high with Teslas. There are a LOT of people that hate Fords - (Fix or replace daily), and lots of people that hate Chevys. There are lots of people that hate just about everything. One thing to keep in mind when you read negative reviews on almost anything today is that there is a LOT of money to be made doing corporate sabotage.

And yes, technology on EVs is changing rapidly. Very rapidly, thanks for the most part to Teslas. They proved it is possible, now everyone else is jumping into the field. That is great for us - more choices and hopefully, it will drive the prices down and the quality up.
  #117  
Old 08-31-2021, 04:40 AM
RICH1 RICH1 is offline
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Originally Posted by JMintzer View Post
In what universe can you charge a Tesla in "30 minutes"?

The Villages Florida
Supercharger... come on 25 min.... let's get on the Train.... the computer will inform you on charging stations, where and when you need to getR done...
  #118  
Old 08-31-2021, 06:04 AM
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That's great all you Tesla owners have a garage to charge you car.

If you have a condo/apt and park in a large parking lot, maybe you will have a few charging stations. Let's see...set your alarm in the middle of the night to charge and set your alarm in the middle of the night to disconnect. Hopefully, you were able to charge that night. Remember everyone in the complex is thinking the same thing.

If you have a condo/apt and park on the city street, you will need to figure out when to charge. Maybe leaving an extra hour to get to work or do errands will do.

In these cases, you need to consider the COST of your time to deal with the charging hassle. I will never let my car rule my free time.
  #119  
Old 08-31-2021, 06:21 AM
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For those who believe in the battery revolution, I own REMX and LIT ETFs, and a few rare earth metals companies. The projections of the battery revolution outstrips the known supply of the battery components. . . The next issue is that the electric generation increases are needed for this conversion . . . which is counter to the green energy revolution as green energy is great but doesn't scale well, and as seen out West and in Germany, can run out of supply. . .

Governments have mandated increased ICE efficiencies, but at the current time, after 100 years, the gas powered engine is at its max efficiency, evidenced by cheating on government tests. . . as they can't get there legally.

Battery weight is heavy, which requires a very light weight construction, and the recycling of batteries is unknown. . . an ICE car at death can be almost completely melted and recycled to a new model. . . with very little chemical residual. . . Current lithium batteries, needs more R&D, and then build some plants, at scale, disposal is unknown for environmental issues.

Just remember, Musk doesn't build and sell Teslas as a car company, but as a way to sell green energy credits. Your tesla will be all good until its not, and when its not, its really, really not. That may never happen, but it happens more often than ICE cars.

So you might be persuaded to buy into a new technology, but the products might not be as totally earth friendly and overall green as one currently believes in the marketing. . . your choice, hopefully, there won't be significant issues at scale. . .
  #120  
Old 08-31-2021, 06:32 AM
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Comparing the depreciation to a BMW or Jag only shows what a poor investment these cars are. And that's with a taxpayer funded $7,500 gift.

Why do wealthy people need to be subsidized to buy luxury cars that depreciate steeply? Hmmm?

If these cars make economic sense then let the owners finance their purchases.
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