After having these exact same thoughts for a couple of months here is my order and my thoughts on whether they're essential or not:
Budget dependant
- P85D or P85 AWD (Dual Motor). I've never properly driven a performance rear wheel car before so felt like AWD was the safest for my experience... then I ended up with the P85D at 691HP!
Even driving the P85+ at low speeds around a roundabout I could feel the back end coming out but obviously you've got the price increase + longer wait for delivery...
Essential
- 85 kWh Performance Model S
- Tech Package with Autopilot (an obvious choice)
- All Glass Panoramic Roof (I've not driven one without it and think it makes the car a lot more enjoyable in the rear)
- Subzero Weather Package (purely for the heated steering wheel)
- Dual Chargers (they're already fitted in UK models so no weight advantage not having it, hate paying for it though and will be useful if you do lots of travelling away from superchargers/fast chargers)
- Security Package (brings down that insurance premium, or so I hope)
- Supercharger Enabled (obviously included with the 85kWh)
- Black Next Generation Seats (if ordering the P85D but would probably still order for the others as well)
Personal preference:
- 21" Grey Turbine Wheels & 19" Pirelli Winter Wheel Set (was just easier for tax purposes to have both sets on)
- Black Alcantara Headliner
- Carbon Fibre Décor
- Carbon Fibre Spoiler
- Pearl White Paint
- Smart Air Suspension
- Tesla Red Brake Calipers
- Ultra High Fidelity Sound (hoping it will make the car worth more when I come to sell, reports are mixed on it. If you know what you're doing then installing a custom setup will be better value)
I am not an accountant, but in short...
* if you want to benefit from operating the car as a company vehicle then you, erm, need to operate it as a company vehicle. No "Personal" finance options will work. The company will need to get the finance. If it's a new company it may find this very difficult indeed.
* the huge benefit with the Model S is that if you are an employee or director of a company which normally pays you a taxable income or dividends then you can instead choose to use the money you'd normally pay yourself to finance the car, and as a result save yourself a lot of income tax and NI. With any equivalent "normal" car the tax saving by doing this is usually cancelled out by the Benefit in Kind (BIK) tax that you are charged for the benefit of being provided a company car. But the BIK rate on the Model S is so low (it's currently 0%!) that this tax charge is very small (currently £0).
* there is an additional benefit that if the company has the car on its balance sheet (by owning outright, by buying it and taking a secured loan against it, or by taking out a finance lease i.e. where at the end of the lease term the company will make a final payment and then take ownership of the car) then it can write off 100% of the purchase cost of the vehicle against corporation tax in the year of purchase.
* but this last benefit is not as big as you think - firstly you have to be running a profitable company to be paying corporation tax, and secondly it's really just a loan - you pay less corporation tax in the year you buy the car, but when you sell it later you end up having to pay more corporation tax in the year of disposal.
I can confirm mgboyes has this all correct as it's what I've done.
GrandUnion > Be careful not to confuse 'First Year Allowance' with anything to do with the First Year of you operating your business, it's not the same thing!
I suggest you speak with your accountant again or find one that can check for you.