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Re:Tesla Q4 2019 Vehicle Production and Deliveries by Robotbeat on Friday January 03, 2020 @11:11AM (#21947134)
Because it's smelly, messy, and requires much more regular maintenance and weekly gas station trips. If you're not super cash-strapped, an electric car is a pretty fantastic value. And if you are cash-strapped, there are some great deals on used Nissan Leafs and Chevy Volts (depending on your use case) out there. End up saving the difference in money on gas and maintenance.
Re:Tesla Q4 2019 Vehicle Production and Deliveries by ScottFree on Friday January 03, 2020 @12:09PM (#21947849)
I'll be very interested to see how Teslas hold up after 10+ years. I own a 15 year old Audi that I drive maybe once a week. Every time I start it up, something new has failed. It could be another broken sensor, a worn rubber hose, a broken plastic clip, a short in the electronics causing a parasitic power drain, etc.

Part of it is the age, but part of it is that gas cars are designed to be driven. Letting them sit for any period of time will cause headaches. Electric cars should, in theory, be better in that regard as long as you leave them plugged in.

Re:Tesla Q4 2019 Vehicle Production and Deliveries by tastygreenapple on Friday January 03, 2020 @04:01PM (#21950321)
You're probably putting too much explanatory power in 'electric' vs 'gas'.

I'll speculate that things are failing on your Audi because it's an Audi, not because its gas powered. Go find someone driving a 15+ year old Lexus and ask them if something new breaks every time they drive. It's unlikely that they'll commiserate.

Re:Tesla Q4 2019 Vehicle Production and Deliveries by semi-extrinsic on Friday January 03, 2020 @01:02PM (#21948504)
How is it fantastic value when it costs almost 3x as much?

I'm actually buying a new (used) car right now. Around the $15k mark, I can get e.g. a 4 year old 7 seater that's done 60k miles. Based on my previous car ownership, I expect to spend around $700/year on average on maintenance, and around $1000/year on fuel. In total, I can expect a first year total cost of 700+1000+1500 = $3200 of which the biggest cost is a 10% depreciation. If I were to buy a $40k Model 3 (with less seats, less cargo capacity) that had 0 maintenance and 0 fuel cost, I'd still spend $4000 the first year to depreciation alone. 4000 > 3200. How are you saving anything?

Re:Tesla Q4 2019 Vehicle Production and Deliveries by Robotbeat on Friday January 03, 2020 @03:02PM (#21949745)
I bought a used Volt about the same age and miles for the same price ($10k-$15k). Its starting MSRP was the same as a Model 3 is now. So I have almost all the advantages of an electric car. Model 3s will get there, too, eventually (the fact that used prices are still super high tells you that people love the car... also, they've only had the cheaper trims in large numbers for the last year or so).

Your argument can be applied to any new car. Buying used EVs will be the better deal, just like buying a used ICE is a better deal than a new one. Certainly the case for me. I've spent nothing on maintenance (except tires and wiper blades) and very little on fuel (electricity is equivalent to $1/gallon gasoline).

Re:Tesla Q4 2019 Vehicle Production and Deliveries by semi-extrinsic on Sunday January 05, 2020 @09:25AM (#21961350)
Sure. Buying a new car, whether EV or ICE, is irrational from a financial standpoint, no matter how you look at it. The argument that a new EV makes financial sense, which was what OP said, is quite clearly untrue and people should stop repeating it.