I will preface my comments by saying I have never owned a Tesla. I have owned a plug-in Prius for 4 years. Apparently @JimN has never owned a Tesla. Where did you get that? I haven't seen that reported. Do you have a link, please (other than Seeking Alpha). Deliveries have not reached projected levels yet. New car problems have caused some delays for a fledgling car company. People and robots at the factory work on them before delivery? Tesla is expected to reach the US 200K threshold in either Q1 or Q2 (probably Q2). That means the $7500 tax credit will last through Q3 or Q4. After that it will be $3750 tax credit for another 6 months and then $1875 for yet another 6 months after that. Don't count your tax savings in the new budget until they are in your pocket. Dramatic changes in the membership in Congress in 11/18 could change everything. My Prius has been a wonderful, dependable, relatively inexpensive car. But comparing to the larger universe of automobiles, studoes have shown that BEVs are lower maintenance than ICE. Tesla has not announced their maintenance program cost for the model 3 yet. Do you have some insider information I don't have? NJ is not the whole of the US although your governor might think so. On average, in the US, electricity is lower cost than gasoline per mile operated. Then there is the alternative of putting PV on your roof, and electricity becomes essentially 'free.' Well, Tesla could do it like other manufacturers and not give you any updates and your current model car becomes obsolete the day it was built.
Tesla's financial statements are archived on the SEC site and should be able to be found on Tesla's. Tesla reports next week. I put more faith in my own analysis than in Elon's guidance. Early on, Tesla would deliver a Model S to you anywhere you wanted it and Ranger service was offered because they didn't have any service facilities. As they built out their infrastructure they became less accommodating. No, I don't own a Tesla but I do have the souvenirs as I'm one of those people who have cancelled reservations. Those elected in 2018 won't take office until 2019.
In the past, if you were out of warranty the cost to have a Tesla Ranger come to your home was $100 base fee plus $3 per mile round-trip. $3 per mile ranger fee, be informed before you buy | Tesla We do not have a Tesla service center in Wisconsin and a Tesla has inly had one tech covering most of the states. So for some owners it is a choice between a several hundred dollar trip fee or a 6 hour drive to get even simple repairs done. (12v battery replacement, door handle repair, heater repair.) So this is why I've had Tesla owners contact me (an independent hybrid/EV mechanic) for some Tesla repairs.
Everyone is certainly entitled to an opinion, but they are not entitled to make their opinion fact. My understanding is that program is being changed to accommodate the influx of new cars being built. I do think there will be a business opportunity for independent EV mechanics, whether certified or not by Tesla, for prescribed routine maintenance.
It is important to keep in mind that many repairs can be done at many places. Alignments, suspension, 12V battery, brakes, etc can be done at pretty much any mechanic.
following tesla's stock performance, i'll continue to trust elon. when the model 3 is available for purchase, i'll take a hard look at it.
Agreed, but the jacking protocol has to be carefully observed, otherwise damage can be done to the physical battery pack. Just hope your independent mechanic is experienced and conscientious.
Exactly. And even the roadster has different jacking jigs from the Model S, for instance. Changing the 12v in a Model S is much different that other cars. Around here mechanics barely want to learn how to change Prius 12v batteries. Much less Teslas.
The 12v. battery in the model 3 is located in the frunk and is easily accessible unlike the model S/X/Rdstr. Changing out a 12v. battery in a model 3 is an easy DIY if an owner wishes..