The major components of the car are its battery, motor/PEM, and chassis. The battery is swappable; the chassis will age like any other car; and the motor/PEM will be far more durable than the comparable ICE/tranny.
I agree with the above.
However, the cost of replacing the battery is unknown. Batteries could become much cheaper and better, or they might improve only a little.
As has been mentioned elsewhere, future technology is also unknown. There could be technology so advanced that today's cars are seen as significantly inferior. Or the advances could be minor conveniences.
For these reasons, I think future trade-in value for the Model S is a complete unknown. Early adopters are taking a risk and trade-in value is one of the risks. Of course, if you plan on driving the car (any car) until it wears out, then trade-in is not a concern
... The value to you increases as you use it. So use it up. The more you use it, the more "value" you're getting out of it.
This is true as long as you are getting "useful" use out of it. As long as you are using it for necessary transportation, or having fun with it, or doing something productive with it, you are getting value out of it. If you drive it just because you want to put more miles on it, you are not getting value.
Not entirely related, but somewhat: In the early days of the Prius, people discovered that the first ten minutes or so of driving were inefficient, until the car got warmed up; and people liked to brag about how high their mpg was. So some people took longer routes to work, or just interpolated some extra driving, in order to improve the mpg. But in doing so, they burned more gas to no purpose other than bragging rights. On my short commute in a North Dakota January I got abut the lowest mpg of anybody then reporting on Prius Chat. But I also burned less gas than anyone else.
I agree that you should make the maximum use of your Model S (or in my case, my Roadster). But only to the extent that you're getting something out of it, whether it be actually useful or just fun.
Just look at the Tesla Roadster. A $100,000+ car you can buy now for
$69,999.
Not a fair point: Every car depreciates significantly immediately upon delivery to the buyer, unless there is a severe shortage and high demand.