I put in a reservation for a Model X in April 2012. I was impressed enough with what I saw that I also put a multiple of the deposit amount into TSLA stock.
Obviously I'm quite happy with the growth of TSLA (about 300%) and what that means for the company. It allows them to leverage their market cap for buildout of superchargers, improving production capability, international sales, but perhaps most of all, it accelerates the publics perception of the company, which triggers more sales, which triggers more revenue, which... well, you know what I mean.
I'm a bit less thrilled with the significant Model X delay, so much so that now I'm reconsidering a Model S. While I've checked many times in the past 16 months on TSLA price, I hadn't really kept all that close tabs on the Model S itself...
Things I noticed after checking in on a Tesla S purchase:
Great for investor, Great for enthusiast!
As an investor, I say brilliant! As an enthusiast, it really sucks!
As investor, fantastic!! As enthusiast, even more so!
As investor, love it. As an enthusiast, I mostly love it, but the lack of true lease programs means paying much more in local sales tax (7.2% rate)
My thinking on purchasing an S has really come down to a possible scenario...
Buy a pretty basic 60kwh S for about $75K. Take the $14K state and federal credit. Realize about $6K in fuel savings over three years. Sell back at guaranteed rate after 36 months. That nets about $24,000 cost of ownership for three years, including our expensive sales tax, which is pretty awesome. The way things are structured, however, a loaded Tesla has a particularly high impact on cost of ownership. Going to a loaded $115K Tesla doubles 3 year cost of ownership, to over $50,000!
You could pay for 3-yr complete costs on two $75K Tesla's (assuming a second 'owner' who also qualifies for the tax credit) for the same 3-yr cost on a P85+....
So the $25,000 question: Will I love a base Tesla 'enough' to go through with my budget Tesla scenario??
Obviously I'm quite happy with the growth of TSLA (about 300%) and what that means for the company. It allows them to leverage their market cap for buildout of superchargers, improving production capability, international sales, but perhaps most of all, it accelerates the publics perception of the company, which triggers more sales, which triggers more revenue, which... well, you know what I mean.
I'm a bit less thrilled with the significant Model X delay, so much so that now I'm reconsidering a Model S. While I've checked many times in the past 16 months on TSLA price, I hadn't really kept all that close tabs on the Model S itself...
Things I noticed after checking in on a Tesla S purchase:
- Availability is awesome... Tesla stores have low mileage demos for immediate purchase and order wait times are 1-3 months.
Great for investor, Great for enthusiast!
- Major price creep.... Wow, wasn't expecting to see $118,000 list price for a loaded model S! They have moved towards a BMW/Porsche/Audi price model with *very* expensive options, often adding 50% to the base price of the car is I think a great move. Instead of a really expensive 'green' car, they are now a Uber-luxury car that happens to be green.
As an investor, I say brilliant! As an enthusiast, it really sucks!
- Fit/finish/driving.... Even though I've been a Tesla reservation holder (X) and investor for 16 months, I took my first drive in a model S yesterday. P85+. Wow! I split my driving between a Porsche 911 and a F150 Ecoboost with a few tweaks to give it 430HP/500TQ, and I was seriously impressed with the fit, finish, ride quality, POWER, and HANDLING of the S!
As investor, fantastic!! As enthusiast, even more so!
- Guaranteed buyback.... The 50% of base, 42% of option 36 month guaranteed buyback is a great idea. Combined with the great market valuation, it really provides a great backstop against a worst case 'My $100,000 car is now virtually worthless" scenario. Combined with federal and state (Colorado) incentives, it is even more powerful as the guarantee is agains the pre-credit price, which makes it more like a 50% guaranteed value retention on a base model
As investor, love it. As an enthusiast, I mostly love it, but the lack of true lease programs means paying much more in local sales tax (7.2% rate)
My thinking on purchasing an S has really come down to a possible scenario...
Buy a pretty basic 60kwh S for about $75K. Take the $14K state and federal credit. Realize about $6K in fuel savings over three years. Sell back at guaranteed rate after 36 months. That nets about $24,000 cost of ownership for three years, including our expensive sales tax, which is pretty awesome. The way things are structured, however, a loaded Tesla has a particularly high impact on cost of ownership. Going to a loaded $115K Tesla doubles 3 year cost of ownership, to over $50,000!
You could pay for 3-yr complete costs on two $75K Tesla's (assuming a second 'owner' who also qualifies for the tax credit) for the same 3-yr cost on a P85+....
So the $25,000 question: Will I love a base Tesla 'enough' to go through with my budget Tesla scenario??
