Rifleman
Now owns 2 Model S's!!!
I think for most current Tesla buyers, the upper limit is more flexible. I fall into the category of "desperately wants a Model S, but really is in a salary bracket that should be looking at a car in this price range" For me it a hard limit, based on what I can fit into my budget without cashing out my kids college funds to buy a car. I would imagine that there are lots of people like me, who would not even consider any other car in this price range, but are willing to really stretch to make their dream come true.
For me, the mileage limits are more about how much warranty is left on the car. I will be seriously stretching my budget for this car, and if expensive repairs come up in the first year or two after I buy the car, it would become a major problem for my budget. I am willing to trade a little bit of comfort margin on warranty coverage to get the options I would like, but I need to have at least a year or two of daily driving before I am out of warranty. Of course, I could always purchase the extended warranty, but as my budget is being seriously stretched with this car, I would like to not have to do that right away.
I actually had a reservation long before the Model S stared rolling off the line (#P8661). When I placed my first deposit, I had planned on buying a 40, being told that it would go 160 miles. As it stared to become clear that 160 miles was optimistic, and that a true 40, charged to a normal charge of 80% would likely not be able to handle the one day a week I drive 100 miles in the winter, particurally if the battery started to degrade, I decided that I would have to go with a 60. While a 40 was going to be a huge stretch for me, the 60 was really pushing the limits. I came up with all sorts of interesting math to make a new 60 fit into the budget, but it was always a stretch. When GeorgeB announced that the annual service was mandatory to keep warenty, I could no longer make the math work, so I cancelled my order. Of course, after that the 40 turned into a car that would have actually worked for me, but by the time I knew that, it was to late to get one. Several price increases latter have pushed a new 60 back out of reach, even after the mandatory service debacle was sorted out.
That story puts me where I am now. I currently have a deferred deposit on a Model S. I have standing instructions with my owner advisor that the second Tesla has an inventory car in my price range to give me a call so I can finalize the order. So far I am only aware of 2 inventory cars at or below that price point since I put my deposit down, both of them trade ins. Unfortunately, in both cases, Tesla decided to keep the cars for internal use rather then sell them to the public. Hopefully at some point soon something will pop up, as the Tesla itch has been getting harder and harder to keep under wraps lately.
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So basically, if Tesla dropped the price of the S60 to $62,500 as I have argued on the short term thread, with the $7500 federal tax break you'd be right there. Nice to know there are buyers at that price point. If you were buying new at that price, do you think you would add a few options as well?
I'm all in favor of Tesla selling used cars, but the supply of used cars is even more limited than new. It takes a long time to make a three-year-old car.
If the new price on a 60 was $62,500 before tax credits, I would hit the "confirm" button in MyTesla right now. I would probably go with a pretty stripped car, as my price point is not particularly flexible. I could easily see at least going with leather. I would add supercharging latter on, once my bank account had recovered a little bit. I would love tech and parking sensors, but at the price point tech comes in at, its probably a no go for me.
I am sure there are quite a few other buyers like me who are just on the edge of being able to put a Model S in their garage, but I suspect many of them would be like me, and would be going with stripped cars to make the price work.
