So a few months ago my journey into the world of Tesla began.
I started off thinking I would just get a 40 as I have never paid more than $21k for a new car. From a financial point of view buying a brand new car off the dealer's lot was about the worst investment you can make. But electric just seemed to be the way to go with the fuel savings and the "I'm a rock star" fun factor. So I got myself convinced on paper that the 40 was the most prudent thing to do. Then I realized how much more I could do with the car with the extended range of the 60. But wait, I could do so much more with a supercharger. I could make it from the SF Bay area to LA with a supercharger.
But hang on a second, for only $8k more I could get the 85 which included the supercharger and would give me even more range. So I settled on this idea for a little while as it seemed like the best way to go. Even after the battery degrades to 60% capacity in the years ahead, the 85 would still be a usable car whereas with the 40 or 60 I might be stretching with reduced range. So I was talking to one of the sales guys at the Menlo Park store yesterday and I told him that on my test drive the San Jose store only had the regular 85 and I had never had the chance to drive the P85. He smiled and said "um, there is a little difference. Do you have 30 minutes right now?"
I had a dinner date with friends in in 20 minutes but I said what the heck, let's just do it. I had been used to the joys of low end torque before as I have been driving diesels most of my life and the test drive of the regular 85 did bring a smile to my face but it certainly didn't just blow me away. I currently drive a 90hp VW Diesel station wagon and have always practiced frugality and sensibility.
Going from zero to OMG I am physically being assaulted by extreme G forces in a quiet neighborhood is now giving me second thoughts.
I have to hand it to Tesla's pricing structure in that each and every upgrade to the next level is "not that much more and makes a lot of sense"
The road to eternal financial damnation is paved with "it's not that much more and makes a lot of sense" statements. Thank you Tesla for testing my resolve!
Will I choose the road to financial damnation for the joys of acceleration felt by only by a handful of people since humans have walked the earth? Stay tuned.
I started off thinking I would just get a 40 as I have never paid more than $21k for a new car. From a financial point of view buying a brand new car off the dealer's lot was about the worst investment you can make. But electric just seemed to be the way to go with the fuel savings and the "I'm a rock star" fun factor. So I got myself convinced on paper that the 40 was the most prudent thing to do. Then I realized how much more I could do with the car with the extended range of the 60. But wait, I could do so much more with a supercharger. I could make it from the SF Bay area to LA with a supercharger.
But hang on a second, for only $8k more I could get the 85 which included the supercharger and would give me even more range. So I settled on this idea for a little while as it seemed like the best way to go. Even after the battery degrades to 60% capacity in the years ahead, the 85 would still be a usable car whereas with the 40 or 60 I might be stretching with reduced range. So I was talking to one of the sales guys at the Menlo Park store yesterday and I told him that on my test drive the San Jose store only had the regular 85 and I had never had the chance to drive the P85. He smiled and said "um, there is a little difference. Do you have 30 minutes right now?"
I had a dinner date with friends in in 20 minutes but I said what the heck, let's just do it. I had been used to the joys of low end torque before as I have been driving diesels most of my life and the test drive of the regular 85 did bring a smile to my face but it certainly didn't just blow me away. I currently drive a 90hp VW Diesel station wagon and have always practiced frugality and sensibility.
Going from zero to OMG I am physically being assaulted by extreme G forces in a quiet neighborhood is now giving me second thoughts.
I have to hand it to Tesla's pricing structure in that each and every upgrade to the next level is "not that much more and makes a lot of sense"
The road to eternal financial damnation is paved with "it's not that much more and makes a lot of sense" statements. Thank you Tesla for testing my resolve!
Will I choose the road to financial damnation for the joys of acceleration felt by only by a handful of people since humans have walked the earth? Stay tuned.
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