If gas were $0.66 per gallon......

[AmpedRealtor]

At a $100k price point, at least for me, driving Model S had nothing to do with saving money on gas. It had everything to do with my desire to clean up the air that we breathe.

 

[Merrill]

That and not supporting the billion dollar petroleum industry. But somehow it has become some kind of mental thing about having to go to the gas station at all. Hope to be all electric in the next couple of years.

 

[Vger]

The price of gasoline is already being held artificially low (in North America, at least). The true cost (degraded health, environmental damage, mideast wars, climate change-induced natural disasters, etc) is far, far higher. The current fuel-saving cost is nice, but the true savings in contributing to a sustainable future is much, much more valuable.

 

[N4HHE]

$100k of consumption is $100k of consumption no matter what you are consuming.

Consider Al Gore's poor example. I have no higher expectations of Tesla employees doing better with the funds I put in their pockets than carbon hog Al. My Tesla Model S is not "saving the world", far from it. It represents at least double the consumption per mile of any other vehicle I have owned. Based on 7 years of Prius one of 72 monthly payments for my M-S would have bought 20,000 miles of gasoline. As for maintenance the Prius only cost $20-$25 every 5,000 miles for oil and filter. Four tires mounted and balanced were less than $400. No room for miraculous EV savings.

As for coal and oil, as long as they are there they will be consumed. Isn't going to stop until its all gone.

 

[AC1K]

lets take a look at the numbers.........

3.78541 L = 1 Gal so the price is 17.4¢/L
equiv car for comparison is an M5 (to my P85)

1 month is 2000km

the M5 gets 13.836152 liters / 100 km
the P85 gets 170Wh/km @ 8¢/kWh (i can beat the 170Wh/km easily and do so on a daily basis)

M5 Uses 276.72304 L and costs $48.14980896
P85 Uses 340 kWh and costs $27.2

the Model S is STILL Cheaper, less maintenance, more interior space, and when i need to travel between cities its FREE (hell its free inside the city too where i am even without a super charger)

all that and i will turn way more heads where i am than an M5, a BMW looks like any other BMW even the M series, the Model S is a one of a kind.

Gasoline and maintenance for the M5 would have to be FREE if you wanted to turn me back to ICE.

I would still have to be bothered to drive somewhere to fill up instead of the 4.2 seconds it takes for me to plug the car in every night (i HATE lining up at the stupid Costco pump, its a minimum 30 mins before i can pick up the nozzle)

 

[ken830]

As for coal and oil, as long as they are there they will be consumed. Isn't going to stop until its all gone.

I think you're wrong about that. One way or another, humankind will effectively stop consuming coal and oil long before it is all gone. I hope we survive.

 

[jerry33]

As for coal and oil, as long as they are there they will be consumed. Isn't going to stop until its all gone.

Coal and oil will eventually become so expensive that it will be uneconomical to use them. It would be uneconomical now if the coal and oil suppliers had to pay for the damage those substances do rather than pushing that cost onto the public as they do now.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

I was mostly just obsessed with a bad ass looking computer-on-wheels sedan that accelerated like a projectile shot out of a whisper-quiet rail gun and handled like it was glued to the pavement...

And with gas prices bound to rise from the decline of the petrodollar, moving away from fossil fuels is a no-brainer. Tack on shielding yourself from inevitably increasing energy costs with solar, or even going big enough on your array to drive on sunshine... put all those together and I was all in. Environmental friendliness is just a sweet ass bonus!

 

[N4HHE]

Coal and oil will eventually become so expensive that it will be uneconomical to use them. It would be uneconomical now if the coal and oil suppliers had to pay for the damage those substances do rather than pushing that cost onto the public as they do now.

Considering the centuries of burning coal, and how man has been burning wood since before living in caves, Earth is doing a fine job of adapting.

The only thing that can possibly displace coal, oil, and natural gas, is nuclear. Solar is fun but it will not scale and is not dependable.

Coal will never be too expensive for China, or any other starving people.

- - - Updated - - -

I was mostly just obsessed with a bad ass looking computer-on-wheels sedan that accelerated like a projectile shot out of a whisper-quiet rail gun and handled like it was glued to the pavement...

Agreed. I like the car so I bought. I don't pretend to fool myself into thinking I'm doing anything to "save the planet." Its $100k of consumption. There is $100k in someone's pocket that would not have been there before and they are going to spend it any darn way they please. Consider Al Gore for example: private jets flying all over the world.

And with gas prices bound to rise from the decline of the petrodollar, moving away from fossil fuels is a no-brainer. Tack on shielding yourself from inevitably increasing energy costs with solar, or even going big enough on your array to drive on sunshine... put all those together and I was all in. Environmental friendliness is just a sweet ass bonus!

We have long since advanced from a gold-based economy to an energy-based economy. The cost of everything ultimately boils down to the cost of energy. The cost of owning and operating a horse to plow fields, vs a tractor and all that "evil" hydrocarbon based fuel. Cheap energy brings costs down, allows automation, bringing costs down further.

 

[karmamule]

I would absolutely still buy it:

- As quiet as possible. I learned the joys of stealth mode in the Prius I used to own and want that all the time now!
- No emissions.
- Far more elegant design and far, far fewer moving parts to wear out.
- The supercharger network for completely free long-distance travel still beats 66 cents per gallon.
- That acceleration!
- That 17" display!

 

[Larry93428]

Yes, I would still buy if gas were $.66.
I hate the price manipulation at the pump; it is up 3 cents today, should have bought yesterday. (But why did it go up?)
The wait to get to the pump, then wait in line (with frightening people), fill the car then get back in line. Never again.
Oh, and no reciprocating parts jumping around inside the motor and, yes, kinder to the planet.
Oh, yes!

 

[mibaro2]

At a $100k price point, at least for me, driving Model S had nothing to do with saving money on gas. It had everything to do with my desire to clean up the air that we breathe.

Same here. I'll add that the Model S is the best car I have driven. Knowing that I am doing something good for the environment was a big consideration...Tesla grin was a pleasant secondary bonus :smile:

 

[ACDriveMotor]

Coal and oil will eventually become so expensive that it will be uneconomical to use them. It would be uneconomical now if the coal and oil suppliers had to pay for the damage those substances do rather than pushing that cost onto the public as they do now.

It would also be uneconomical if we did not pay big subsidies to these companies even as they earn record profits. Amazing.

 

[theheff]

I have to argue the other side here. I do love clean air and the environment, but the Model S was very much a financial decision for me. I save $400-500 on gas per month driving the Model S because I commute so much. That's around $30,000 of gas over the length of my financing, and likely much more over the life of the vehicle. I'd be lying if those savings, along with savings on maintenance (hopefully), didn't play a major role in my decision. Of course, driving the Model S is an emotional, incredible experience that you can't get from many cars out there, so that factored in as well. If gas were still $.66 per gallon, I'd likely be driving a Corvette or something in that ballpark, but likely couldn't justify the Model S.

 

[gavine]

In light of gas prices dropping ($2.89 here in NJ this past weekend), I thought I would revive this thread.

 

[Zythryn]

Same answer here. Gas could be free, I would still favor the Model S.

Unmatched quality of the drive.
Unmatched sensation of acceleration and level of control.
Unmatched responsiveness.

AND, I get to avoid dealers, both for sales and service.

 

[Kbsilver]

Interesting question given oil prices have hit a 2 year low. Here in NJ many stations have regular for well under $2.99, and that is for served (there is no self serve in NJ). I am not an owner yet, just a dreamer at this time (haven't convinced the SO yet to let us spend 2.5x what we normally do on a car). Right from my initial analysis it was apparent that the fuel savings was a minimal part of the equation. I even had an early post asking if people really counted fuel savings in their purchase justification. One of my cars is a BMW diesel which averages well over 30 MPG. There are many months that my bill for tolls (EZpass) is more than fuel. Thus again, fuel savings does not do much for me. The $7500 Fed tax credit and the no sales tax in NJ on electric cars does a whole lot more. But for me, it's mostly the chance to experience the most significant advanced in automotive technology since Ford created the assembly line.

 

[jerry33]

Right. Even free gas wouldn't get me to go back. It's like saying you get free tubes for your tube-type television. Anyway, gas prices go up and down. It's only a matter of time before they go up again, and chances are they will be higher than the previous high.

 

[Amped_up]

Absolutely. There are so many things the car just does right: regen braking so I don't have to use brake pads that wear out to slow down; software updates; the promise of apps for the car; the fluidity of the driving experience...the list goes on. Plus not having to waste time at the gas station, something that I dreaded weekly.

 

[mknox]

I have to argue the other side here. I do love clean air and the environment, but the Model S was very much a financial decision for me. I save $400-500 on gas per month driving the Model S because I commute so much. That's around $30,000 of gas over the length of my financing, and likely much more over the life of the vehicle. I'd be lying if those savings, along with savings on maintenance (hopefully), didn't play a major role in my decision. Of course, driving the Model S is an emotional, incredible experience that you can't get from many cars out there, so that factored in as well. If gas were still $.66 per gallon, I'd likely be driving a Corvette or something in that ballpark, but likely couldn't justify the Model S.

I am in alignment with this sentiment myself. Don't get me wrong... I love my Model S, but the number 1 factor in my decision to purchase was around TCO and the cost of "fuel". I like to drive a "nice" car, so I'm not going to compare to a 10 year old Corolla, but the TCO of my Model S is actually lower than my previous (and much less expensive) Cadillac CTS. If the cost of "fuel" put the operating costs of a Model S on par with a number of other mid-luxury cars, I may still have ended up with the Model S, but not necessarily.