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https://www.teslamotors.com/en_GB/model3?redirect=no

So with the dawn of a more affordable Tesla vehicle, who among the denizens of Dakka would get/are getting one? For $35k it's a lot easier to stomach than its big brothers Model S and X

Tesla owners are the Apple buyers of the auto world.

They offer a premium as a tax on the hipster stupid. Kia, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan all offer better models at cheaper prices.

Considering Tesla's accelerating cash burn, they won't be around in three years.

I don't think I'd hop in on one myself, and I'd have concerns about their long term viability, wouldn't want to buy a car where I might not be able to buy parts in 5 years (or where the *cheap* one is $35K...), but I do like that they're pushing the concept and bringing it increasingly mainstream.

But for now I'll be sticking with my car that cost 1/3rd as much and I was able to buy straight cash

 Frazzled wrote:
Tesla owners are the Apple buyers of the auto world.

They offer a premium as a tax on the hipster stupid. Kia, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan all offer better models at cheaper prices.

Considering Tesla's accelerating cash burn, they won't be around in three years.

Funny you should mention Apple.


They are supposedly working on a project to produce, you probably guess it, a freakin' iCar. Just learned about it in this month's Car and Driver.

 oldravenman3025 wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Tesla owners are the Apple buyers of the auto world.

They offer a premium as a tax on the hipster stupid. Kia, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan all offer better models at cheaper prices.

Considering Tesla's accelerating cash burn, they won't be around in three years.

Funny you should mention Apple.


They are supposedly working on a project to produce, you probably guess it, a freakin' iCar. Just learned about it in this month's Car and Driver.

Hopefully they realize that small and compact is not a good thing when talking about leg room.

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:

 oldravenman3025 wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Tesla owners are the Apple buyers of the auto world.

They offer a premium as a tax on the hipster stupid. Kia, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan all offer better models at cheaper prices.

Considering Tesla's accelerating cash burn, they won't be around in three years.

Funny you should mention Apple.


They are supposedly working on a project to produce, you probably guess it, a freakin' iCar. Just learned about it in this month's Car and Driver.

Hopefully they realize that small and compact is not a good thing when talking about leg room.

Having suffered through a trip in a Smart Four-Two, I wholeheartedly agree 100%.


That car made the smallest cars my family has ever owned ride like limos in comparison.

I like the idea of electric cars, and I like how Tesla were the first or what looked like the first to make electric cars that didn't suck. But, too rich for my blood. I'm sure Apple's iCar will be too.

I want one that has a super high powered solar power sucking paint job, so you never need to fuel up or plug in as long as you don't live in Alaska in the winter time. Maybe by the time someone invents that, we'll have lunar power too?

 Frazzled wrote:
Tesla owners are the Apple buyers of the auto world.

They offer a premium as a tax on the hipster stupid. Kia, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan all offer better models at cheaper prices.

Considering Tesla's accelerating cash burn, they won't be around in three years.

Cheaper, some. Better, no.

Tesla Model 3 - $35k, 215 mile range

Nissan Leaf - $29k/84 miles, or $36k for 107 miles

Kia Soul - $32k to $36k, 90 miles

Honda Fit EV - $16 to $22k, 82 miles

Toyota Rav 4 EV - range 113 miles, stopped production 2 years ago

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:

 oldravenman3025 wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Tesla owners are the Apple buyers of the auto world.

They offer a premium as a tax on the hipster stupid. Kia, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan all offer better models at cheaper prices.

Considering Tesla's accelerating cash burn, they won't be around in three years.

Funny you should mention Apple.


They are supposedly working on a project to produce, you probably guess it, a freakin' iCar. Just learned about it in this month's Car and Driver.

Hopefully they realize that small and compact is not a good thing when talking about leg room.

Bah. Just think how great it'll be to only have ONE BUTTON on your entire dashboard!

 Ouze wrote:


Kia Soul - $32k to $36k, 90 miles

What? The Soul is a gas-powered car, and mine gets ~300 per tank.

Edit: oh wait, I didn't know about the EV. Hm... never heard of it until now.

 Vaktathi wrote:
I don't think I'd hop in on one myself, and I'd have concerns about their long term viability, wouldn't want to buy a car where I might not be able to buy parts in 5 years (or where the *cheap* one is $35K...), but I do like that they're pushing the concept and bringing it increasingly mainstream.

But for now I'll be sticking with my car that cost 1/3rd as much and I was able to buy straight cash

The real weakness of the Tesla concept is infrastructural. After driving a P85D I seriously considered buying one, but the lack of power points in my parking garage nixed that idea.

The main drawback is the battery price. In 3ish years, Teslas will go down greatly in price.

 dogma wrote:

 Vaktathi wrote:
I don't think I'd hop in on one myself, and I'd have concerns about their long term viability, wouldn't want to buy a car where I might not be able to buy parts in 5 years (or where the *cheap* one is $35K...), but I do like that they're pushing the concept and bringing it increasingly mainstream.

But for now I'll be sticking with my car that cost 1/3rd as much and I was able to buy straight cash

The real weakness of the Tesla concept is infrastructural. After driving a P85D I seriously considered buying one, but the lack of power points in my parking garage nixed that idea.

Charging cables for a Tesla arent particularly short. Can't imagine there would be much of a problem.

 Sigvatr wrote:
The main drawback is the battery price. In 3ish years, Teslas will go down greatly in price.

Not sure on Model III, but the other two models Tesla guarantees the batteries for at least 5 years. (I've see it for 7 years, but I think that was a special).

 angelofvengeance wrote:

Charging cables for a Tesla arent particularly short. Can't imagine there would be much of a problem.

It would take about 600 feet of cable to get from my parking space to the nearest outlet; an outlet I don't pay for. To get to an outlet I do pay for would take about 1300 feet of cable and involve attaching said cable to a crossbow bolt, lobbing the amalgamation through my living room window, and evading the almost certain objections of the building owners.

 whembly wrote:

 Sigvatr wrote:
The main drawback is the battery price. In 3ish years, Teslas will go down greatly in price.

Not sure on Model III, but the other two models Tesla guarantees the batteries for at least 5 years. (I've see it for 7 years, but I think that was a special).

Expensive in regards to production We got a life-long guarantee for our (first) battery as we were among the first Europeans who ordered it. The main reason for the high first-purchase cost is the battery as Tesla cannot yet produce them themselves. They are currently working on it and estimate prices to go down significantally in 2-3 years.

I was wondering what people do now if they have to commute a greater distance than the battery charge allows.

I hope the technology for these progresses, but I am not giving up my SUV for some time. And when I do, it will be for another SUV.

Which takes me about 400 miles on a full tank.

I'm very excited by this and will watch with interest. It's out of my price range right now but maybe when the price comes down due to tesla's investment in battery production.

It's about damn time.

KTG17 wrote:
I was wondering what people do now if they have to commute a greater distance than the battery charge allows.

I hope the technology for these progresses, but I am not giving up my SUV for some time. And when I do, it will be for another SUV.

Which takes me about 400 miles on a full tank.

Well if you are one of those workers that do need to commute super long distances im sure you wouldn't buy one of these

im sure its mostly for those urban city folks that mostly work no more than 10-30 miles away. im sure most employers wouldn't mind letting them charge at work ether.

I however would be very interested in a tesla motorcycle for work as i am one of those 10-30 mile city folk

 dogma wrote:

 angelofvengeance wrote:

Charging cables for a Tesla arent particularly short. Can't imagine there would be much of a problem.

It would take about 600 feet of cable to get from my parking space to the nearest outlet; an outlet I don't pay for. To get to an outlet I do pay for would take about 1300 feet of cable and involve attaching said cable to a crossbow bolt, lobbing the amalgamation through my living room window, and evading the almost certain objections of the building owners.

So the problem is...?

 Desubot wrote:

KTG17 wrote:
I was wondering what people do now if they have to commute a greater distance than the battery charge allows.

I hope the technology for these progresses, but I am not giving up my SUV for some time. And when I do, it will be for another SUV.

Which takes me about 400 miles on a full tank.

Well if you are one of those workers that do need to commute super long distances im sure you wouldn't buy one of these

im sure its mostly for those urban city folks that mostly work no more than 10-30 miles away. im sure most employers wouldn't mind letting them charge at work ether.

I however would be very interested in a tesla motorcycle for work as i am one of those 10-30 mile city folk

Let's be honest here, right now, Teslas is for the higher class who want to show off and feel awesome while driving. Yes, it does feel absolutely amazing and acceleration is ridiculously good, but it's mostly for prestige.

I would like to support the company because I think they might actually finally succeed in getting electric cars into the mainstream and that would be amazing for the environment and also for geopolitics.

 Sigvatr wrote:

 whembly wrote:

 Sigvatr wrote:
The main drawback is the battery price. In 3ish years, Teslas will go down greatly in price.

Not sure on Model III, but the other two models Tesla guarantees the batteries for at least 5 years. (I've see it for 7 years, but I think that was a special).

Expensive in regards to production We got a life-long guarantee for our (first) battery as we were among the first Europeans who ordered it. The main reason for the high first-purchase cost is the battery as Tesla cannot yet produce them themselves. They are currently working on it and estimate prices to go down significantally in 2-3 years.

Tesla's (massive) $5bn Gigafactory in Nevada will be producing the car batteries. That place will kick out 500,000 e-vehicle batteries a year. It's already well underway to being completed.
People should really be getting rid of their ICE vehicles and invest in renewable energy. Deny it all you like, we've seriously been messing this planet up.

Also, the reason these vehicles have 2-300 mile range is because no-one can drive more than that in one go. The more tired you are, the less concentration you have on the road. E-vehicles are basically making it so you have to take a rest. Think how many people get injured/killed because someone nodded off at the wheel. A survey in 2005 in the USA showed that 60% of drivers have driven a car when feeling drowsy. That's 168m people. More than a third of that number of people have nodded off completely.

100k of Police reported crashes for that year were related to driver fatigue. Now, even if you're charging up your car for just half an hour, (which on fast chargers is about 80% charge in 20mins) that's enough time for you to grab a bite to eat/ have a drink or take a quick nap.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Sigvatr wrote:

 Desubot wrote:

KTG17 wrote:
I was wondering what people do now if they have to commute a greater distance than the battery charge allows.

I hope the technology for these progresses, but I am not giving up my SUV for some time. And when I do, it will be for another SUV.

Which takes me about 400 miles on a full tank.

Well if you are one of those workers that do need to commute super long distances im sure you wouldn't buy one of these

im sure its mostly for those urban city folks that mostly work no more than 10-30 miles away. im sure most employers wouldn't mind letting them charge at work ether.

I however would be very interested in a tesla motorcycle for work as i am one of those 10-30 mile city folk

Let's be honest here, right now, Teslas is for the higher class who want to show off and feel awesome while driving. Yes, it does feel absolutely amazing and acceleration is ridiculously good, but it's mostly for prestige.

Absolutely not the case. You're getting a vehicle that is outstanding value for money. You're driving a 100% emission free vehicle. Don't have to pay absurd amounts of money for fuel and tax. Think how much you spend a year maintaining and fueling a ICE vehicle.

Meh. I'm old fashioned. Give me my diesel and gasoline powered rides, and I'll be happy.


Oh, and no self-driving cars for me either. I don't even like cruise control.

 angelofvengeance wrote:


Let's be honest here, right now, Teslas is for the higher class who want to show off and feel awesome while driving. Yes, it does feel absolutely amazing and acceleration is ridiculously good, but it's mostly for prestige.

Absolutely not the case. You're getting a vehicle that is outstanding value for money. You're driving a 100% emission free vehicle. Don't have to pay absurd amounts of money for fuel and tax. Think how much you spend a year maintaining and fueling a ICE vehicle.

 angelofvengeance wrote:

Absolutely not the case. You're getting a vehicle that is outstanding value for money. You're driving a 100% emission free vehicle. Don't have to pay absurd amounts of money for fuel and tax. Think how much you spend a year maintaining and fueling a ICE vehicle.

It's too expensive for its value - and Tesla is pretty open about it, saying that it's the battery that drives the price far above what they would ask. The Tesla definitely is the magnus opum in regards to cars, without doubt, and driving it cannot be described - it almost feels like you'd be floating a few centimers above the street, the tech is amazing, the design is excellent...I could go on. It's one of the most expensive things I ever bought, but it definitely was worth every single cent. Not sure if everyone is aware of it, but you can recharge your car at Tesla /for free/. Yes, FOR FREE. No taxes in Germany is limited, 5-10 years, but really, if you shell out a six-figure amount of cash for a car, you don't care for taxes.

...and all hail the glorious German autobahn. You can fly in a car. Feels like it at least.

 Desubot wrote:

KTG17 wrote:
I was wondering what people do now if they have to commute a greater distance than the battery charge allows.

I hope the technology for these progresses, but I am not giving up my SUV for some time. And when I do, it will be for another SUV.

Which takes me about 400 miles on a full tank.

Well if you are one of those workers that do need to commute super long distances im sure you wouldn't buy one of these

im sure its mostly for those urban city folks that mostly work no more than 10-30 miles away. im sure most employers wouldn't mind letting them charge at work ether.

I however would be very interested in a tesla motorcycle for work as i am one of those 10-30 mile city folk

Well, I am only live about 10 miles from work, but I do road trips every now and then that might take anywhere from 4-7 or even 12 hours at a time, and if this car is the only car a person has, I can't even imagining them leaving city limits. You would have to make out like 2.5 hour blocks for stops, and hope you don't hit traffic. That is, assuming there are places to charge.

It just doesn't seem practical enough yet. But I know they have to sell cars to get more money to develop the technology.

It will be my next car.

 gorgon wrote:

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:

 oldravenman3025 wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:

Funny you should mention Apple.

They are supposedly working on a project to produce, you probably guess it, a freakin' iCar. Just learned about it in this month's Car and Driver.

Hopefully they realize that small and compact is not a good thing when talking about leg room.

Bah. Just think how great it'll be to only have ONE BUTTON on your entire dashboard!

If it's anything like their iphones and ipads when you get even the slightest crack in your windshield you'll need to replace your whole car

I'd seriously consider getting one if I had somewhere to store it in the UK.
The range isn't an issue, in fact it's a selling point. It means the in laws are too far away to visit without stopping to charge...