Should you buy a Tesla? Perspective after 6 years, 2 cars and 100k+ miles

[Nevek]

It's now been two years since I started this thread. We've had the Roadster for 6 years, and the Model S for 3. We have over 100,000 miles on them (a pretty even split, about 52k on the Roadster and 54k on the Model S - both past their original bumper-to-bumper warranties)......

.....For now, I still feel this way:

I just found this thread for the first time. Great summary of a wealth of experience!

I'll use it for curious future converts as a starting point-after they have been in the S.

 

[ChadS]

I guess this thread is pretty boring without pictures. Here is the Roadster on delivery day; Oct 1 2009:

And here is a much more recent picture from a National Drive Electric Week event in Wenatchee, WA on September 19 2015:

Here is the Model S on delivery day, Sept 28 2012:

And while this is from a year ago, it shows the Model S on top of Pike's Peak:

And as I've mentioned, I have a Model X reserved. We'll see from tonight's reveal if I end up buying one of those too. (If not, it will largely be because it is too big for us. I think what we really want to end up with is me with a small Model 3 sports car/sedan, and my wife with a Model 3 CUV).

 

[ChadS]

It has not yet been 3 years since I started this thread, but it's kind of close and I just stumbled across it while searching for something else. So here is a very brief update:

Our Roadster is very near 7 years old and has 57,000 miles.
Our Model S is very near 4 years old and has 69,000 miles.

We have had no issues with either car in the past year.

We canceled our X reservation; our kids are grown so we don't need a people-hauler. What we haul most is my wife's bike; which fits easily inside the Model S, but won't go in the X. However, we do now have two reservations for the Model 3. I suspect that one of them will replace our Roadster, and the other will transform into a Model Y (the not-yet-announced CUV version of the Model 3) reservation to replace the Model S.

As far as competition, well:

The Chevy Bolt, 200-miles for $37k, should be "available" in a few months. However, between selling to ZEV states and Lyft drivers, I suspect it will be another year before I could actually get my hands on one. It could replace our Roadster; we want one car to have top range and Supercharging, but the around-town car doesn't need that. Of course it would not be as much fun to drive, but it would be more practical; and in fact we could probably get our mobility-impaired parents in to it, which is out of the question with the Roadster. I suspect it will be a great car and owners will be very happy and I will consider it; but I'd rather support Tesla than GM (who has no plans to build DC charging, and has lawyers trying to pass laws to thwart Tesla in several states).

The Nissan LEAF. They try not to say as much as GM (who is talking up the Bolt in advance as a brand-building exercise) because they don't want to Osborne their current line, but they plan to come out with a ~200-mile, better-looking LEAF 2.0. I suspect it will also have ProPilot. I will likely be very interested in the car, but nobody knows when it will arrive. Rumors are that it is still over a year away, although they might bump the range on the current LEAF again before that. I imagine they will make a big announcement about the time the Bolt goes on sale.

Uh, not many other solid long-range BEVs on the horizon. Ford is supposedly working on something, but has given no details as to vehicle type, price, or availability date. I hope they will make an announcement when the Bolt goes on sale, but who knows. Several automakers have talked of "plans" for something in the 2020 range, but details are always very sparse and that's far enough away that it would be easy for plans to change or for the project to get canceled altogether.

 

[phaduman]

Thank you for your wonderful post. So useful and informative, even 4yrs after you posted primarily targeting perspective buys, and I am already an owner!