We're seriously considering (B and I, not Dan and I) forking over the $5k refundable deposit for a Tesla Motors Model S, which will begin rolling off the line late 2011 and deliveries begin in early 2012.
If you've known me for even a little bit, you know that I yearn for a Tesla Roadster more than all the tuna sammiches in the world, but these cars.....I think I would need to pull over every few minutes to change my underwear, if you catch my oh-so-subtle drift. Room for 5 adults and 2 children AND two storage compartments (one located where a traditional motor would be). There is storage enough to fit a 50 inch flatscreen in the car WITH passengers. It is enough room and storage to satisfy anyone who lives within the suburbs and says that they could never give up their precious SUV because they make, like, alot of trips a month to Costco. The PR for this vehicle has been that it can fit 7 plus all their luggage. Seriously. I don't know if I believe it, having seen the pictures and comparing it to a station wagon.
B and I sat down and calculated out the cost of gas over a period of time versus upkeep and battery replacement costs (which Tesla says should be around every 5-7 years) and I just don't see why there aren't more people throwing their money at electric cars. Gas prices will continue to rise and I personally, yes PERSONALLY, don't see how anyone will be able to afford to drive a gas vehicle for much longer (that is providing that it isn't already driving them into debt already). $4 for a full charge? Fucking hell. Even without EV commercial infrastructure in place (ie: quick recharge stations - which are being built in a few locations already), this vehicle can power up in most regular outlets with a few modifications.
Yes. 49k for a vehicle is a *lot* of money. Especially since Tesla has been working on a version for less than $30k which should unveil soonish and first generation ANYTHING is generally iffy.
But here is where I am at odds.
Tesla does not operate a mass production facility. And they have to manufacture in small runs because they do not have the capital to manufacture the enough vehicles to meet the sheer demand (multi-year waiting list for the Roadster, fyi) and keep profitable doing so. By investing $5k in a refundable deposit, we are injecting a small amount of capital to aid them in their development. We are also supporting the company in a time that is most critical to all businesses, where the demand exceeds their capacity and the life of the venture depends on the business plan to walk the tightrope. GM has been touting their Volt for a while now, but they are failing to mention just as loudly that the Volt only gets 40 miles to the charge. Tesla cars can get up to 300. 300 miles for $4 bucks. Gasawhatnow?
It is a large investment for us. $5 sunk into something that we don't actually have the funds currently to buy outright (although we could theoretically have the rest of the money saved with serious penny-pinching from rightnow until delivery). But much like Tesla Motors, we have our eyes on the future. And if people are in a position to do so, they should. In any industry and with every venture. We should be thinking of our children.
There are seven places to sit in this vehicle. Seven.
4 comments:
I can't justify $49k for any vehicle on our income. I can't justify $20k for a car. heh
I get that. I really do. I'm totally at odds here, especially since we will have just finished paying off my car in a few short months, and technically we don't *have* 50k lying around.
It would make a really efficient fleet of taxi cabs/chauffeur service cars though, right?
Sadly, if I bought that car right now, even just the deposit, I wouldn't be able to afford the television... but when I pointed to the screen and said, "Honey I think we should get THIS car," he said something along the lines of "Fuck, yeah."
Coool. That's a nice-looking, functional car.
We bought a Civic Hybrid two and a half years ago. We thought about buying a regular civic (and in fact, the sales guy tries to sell us OUT OF buying a hybrid... boy did Honda hear from me on that) but we really wanted the hybrid. What was scaring us was that we'd have to make an extra year's worth of payments.
We ended up deciding to go with the civic and the extra year's payments because it was really, really important to me to do something for the environment. And I knew that to do that, extra money needed to be spent. Fortunately, we could afford it, so we did buy the hybrid.
Of course this lovely car you're showcasing is more expensive than even a Prius. Still, when we need a new car, I'll be taking a hard look at this one.
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