I want a Tesla

[dgates80]

Would love to get a Model X. To much money though. Drove a Model S... It is an amazing car.

Model 3 unveil at 11:30 tonight. It'll be interesting to see what they say. Supposed to be a 35k car, but details are not available now... Like is that before or after the "free government money" ($7500, they say)

 

[popsicle]

35K is the "base" model 3 price and the tax credit is taken off of that. Just understand that if you want all the really cool Tesla features like auto pilot" the final cost will be much more than 35K. I also read that they will be building and delivering the highest priced order first to recoup the cost of build new factory just for the model 3. And if you live on the East coast that will also put you further back in the delivery line. They are starting west and moving east with the delivery.

Yes, I want one too. Sadly, I will not be making a down payment tomorrow. :-(

Fun fact: The Model 3 was supposed to be Model E but Ford had Model E copy righted so Tesla could use it. They had been able to name it Model E then the initials of the three models would have spelled SEX. Elan had to settle for the 3 as a backwards E.

 

[Tilted]

Would love to get a Model X. To much money though. Drove a Model S... It is an amazing car.

Model 3 unveil at 11:30 tonight. It'll be interesting to see what they say. Supposed to be a 35k car, but details are not available now... Like is that before or after the "free government money" ($7500, they say)

It's $35k to start without considering the federal tax credit. With demand for the 3 expected to be pretty high, it might not take long for Tesla to pass the 200,000 mark for total qualifying cars sold in the United States (that's total Tesla cars sold, not total model 3's). And when that happens the federal credit starts to phase out.

They aren't expected to be delivered until late next year, but there were reports today of lines forming outside dealerships of people waiting to preorder them. And they moved up the start of online preorders to 10:30 PM EST, an hour before the car will be unveiled. They claim they did that to help ease server congestion as they've been seeing so much interest. I suspect it was mostly a marketing ploy.

 

[dgates80]

Had to go there didn't ya.

Sure, I expect less cool stuff for less money. Still, electric vs. ICE is, for me, a no brainer. Electricity, per joule, simply costs less. Mass production of watts / BTU / joule is inherently more efficient. On the implementation side, motors produce instant torque, which makes for a more awesome driving experience, especially 0-45 mph. Everything else is software and sensors, which, unfortunately cost a lot.

 

[dgates80]

Oh, it's 200k cars (and unclear if it is total cars or per model of car, at least to me), PLUS TWO QUARTERS, I.e., six months. It'll be interesting to watch how that plays out, too... Who, exactly is the arbiter? I suspect the IRS, but is EPA a player? Congress? Who really knows, ya know!

 

[Tilted]

Tesla says that it already has 150,000 preorders.

 

[Tilted]

Oh, it's 200k cars (and unclear if it is total cars or per model of car, at least to me), PLUS TWO QUARTERS, I.e., six months. It'll be interesting to watch how that plays out, too... Who, exactly is the arbiter? I suspect the IRS, but is EPA a player? Congress? Who really knows, ya know!

It is total qualifying cars from Tesla, not per model.

 

[dgates80]

I wonder if "reserved" is the same think as "cars sold". Also I *think* it is 200k sold per year, not total. All that is moot when the funding dries up, I am guessing sometime in 2018. Or not, who knows. This is the big problem, there is so much well, um, ah, sorta kinda, maybe, may, might. No real clear statement of: A) you get this and B) the subsidy is that.

 

[glhs837]

Stop giving my money away!!!!

 

[Tilted]

I wonder if "reserved" is the same think as "cars sold". Also I *think* it is 200k sold per year, not total. All that is moot when the funding dries up, I am guessing sometime in 2018. Or not, who knows. This is the big problem, there is so much well, um, ah, sorta kinda, maybe, may, might. No real clear statement of: A) you get this and B) the subsidy is that.

It isn't per year, it's total (beginning in 2010). The first quarter after they hit 200,000 the credit remains the same. Then it goes to 50% for the next two quarters and 25% for the two quarters after that.

I'm not sure what the rules are for when a sale is counted. I suspect it is not based on the preorders we're talking about now. It would likely be when payment (beyond that $1,000 refundable deposit) or delivery was made.

 

[glhs837]

I didn't get a chance to get in on the credit for buying a house a few years ago, nor did I get a chance to turn any clunkers into cash. I don't think solar is quite ready yet (micro inverters/grid tie policies/etc. not the panels themselves) so I will miss out on that credit too when/if I ever take the plunge. And of course I have never been eligible for a farm subsidy, or whatever the hell they call the money my wife's cousins get paid to allow trees to grow on their "farm land". I'm not blind, or a teacher, or have enough water front property for an oyster farm, and I make too much for education credits.

There are a million credits/subsities/whathaveyous that I will never get to take advantage of, despite paying more taxes (as a percentage of income) than 95% of the population. It would be nice to get a credit when I do eventually buy an EV (although that will probably be gone by then as well) so that I can finally some of my own money back (remember, this is a credit towards taxes paid, not a rebate or subsidy), but until then I feel I may be getting some ancillary benefit from the tax credit through it's spurring of that market.

But GLS, I will make you a deal. You refuse all of your child tax credits (MY MONEY!!) and I will refuse the EV car credit (YOUR MONEY!!).

Don't take them anymore, so there But a child tax credit that reduces my tax burden is not the same as a tax credit to reduce the price of a consumer product. I'm not saying people should not take them if it's offered, my point is that they should not be offered. Note my wording spoke to giving my money away, not taking it.

 

[Tilted]

Tesla now says that they have 198k preorders for a the Model 3.

So, assuming a significant portion of those people follow through and buy the car, someone ordering now probably wouldn't see their car before 2019. I suspect some people have been preordering wih the intention of selling their place in line, so to speak, for a nice profit when the cars become available. I'm not sure if they'd actually have to buy the car themselves and then resale it. But if the demand really is great and there's a significant wait time (after deliveries start), then they'll likely be able to do that for considerably more than they pay for the vehicle. And a $1,000 refundable deposit buys you the chance to do that flip sometime down the line.

 

[GWguy]

So, you think if you pre-order a 2016/17 and don't get a delivery until '19, do you get a 16/17 so they don't have to re-tool, or will they give you an updated version by then?

I'd love one, just not in the cards right now.

 

[Tilted]

Tesla now claims that they have 325K preorders. That's 325 million dollars that people have effectively loaned to Tesla for a year or two or three.

 

[Tilted]

So, you think if you pre-order a 2016/17 and don't get a delivery until '19, do you get a 16/17 so they don't have to re-tool, or will they give you an updated version by then?

I'd love one, just not in the cards right now.

I would think you'd be getting a current model year vehicle whenever you do get one. But I also wouldn't expect there to be significant changes between the first few model years, unless design flaws are discovered.

As I understand the process, these preorders are essentially reserved places in line. You give Tesla $1,000 to hold your spot (or approximate spot) in the queue. As you get closer to getting a vehicle, you'll probably be able to make decisions about the specs of the vehicle you'll be buying. And the deposit is refundable if you change your mind.

 

[Tilted]

Pretty sure I heard somewhere that Tesla was keeping the cash in a non-interest bearing account specifically so it wouldn't be counted as income.

They may be doing something like that, but they probably wouldn't need to in order to avoid counting those deposits as income (yet). Under general accounting principles those deposits probably shouldn't be counted as income - or, at least, they wouldn't be required to be.

I looked at the reservation agreement. In it the customer acknowledges that Tesla won't be holding the deposit separate (from other funds) or in escrow.