ssmoked

Well equipped Model S or X P100D provides superior comfort for 5-7 passengers, auto pilot and self driving, super car performance (mid 2 second 0-60 and low 10 sec 1/4 mile) and much cheaper to charge (290 miles range) vs gas pump just to name a few. Would anyone consider jumping ship if you had the money ($150K)? Of Course lesser trims can be obtained in the 80k range.

What are the pros and cons? Obviously long trip charges need to be well planned, but Tesla do currently offer abundant free super charge stations across the states (1 hr or less for full charge). The maintenance is also much less since alot less moving parts.

dseag2

Pros: Attractive exterior on Model S (model X is just weird looking), lightning fast, no gas costs, instant tech updates without having to go to the dealer
Cons: Sparse interior, cheap materials, giant iPad in the middle, questionable reliability

If I've missed anything let me know, but for me... no thanks.

S2000toIS350

My wife gave the the green light to get one.

She essentially said, why don't you go get one. This has never happened before.

I drove a P85 prior to them going AWD and ape sheet on the power.

The interior is not anywhere near as nice as my Q50S Hybrid.

I am fearful about stuff like their stupid motorized door handles. When they fail, you ain't driving.

And they are pumping out a lot of them to meet their numbers and I have the sense that their build quality is not Lexus-esque.

I think their Model 3 will be a much better value proposition.

peteharvey

Presently, there is no perfect car.
A car is the sum of its many parts, and a set of pros and cons.

The Tesla Model S pros include what you have already listed above, and obviously more.

However, the cons are also considerably greater than what you have listed.
Do you realize that every eight years or so, you will have to replace the battery pack at tens of thousands of dollars?
Also, the long term reliability is suspect.
Apart from the sparse interior, have you ever sat on the rear seats?
Notice how due to the battery pack, the rear floor is very shallow, so your hells kick up high, with your knees pointing to the sky?
The rear seat is also well short of S Class, 7 Series, A8 & LS for legroom.

Has anyone ever taken you for a quick spin while you were sitting at the back?
Because you sit "on" rather than "in" the rear seats, you slide around everywhere at the back.
To make matters worse, there were no ceiling mounted grab handles when I tested the vehicle last year.

When you actually drive the Model S at speed, you will notice that its extra heavy mass significantly blunts the agility.

Do you race your cars?
For example, people who lap the Model S on the Nurburgring which takes about 10 minutes to complete one lap, find that after 3 minutes of repeated acceleration and braking, the lithium ion battery packs overheat, and the safety cut out kicks-in to limit maximum battery discharge to prevent overheating, and when this occurs, the conventional ICE cars overtake the Tesla Model S.

Did you know that in Formula E Racing, each driver has NOT one, but TWO cars per race? That is the nature of electric vehicles.

So the Model S is a set of pros and cons.
If it suits you, buy it.
If it doesn't, then don't buy it, and choose the alternative that best fulfils your needs, wants and tastes.
There is NO single perfect car, even in Benz, Beamer, Audi or Lexus...
.

RXSF

You need to place an order by the end of the year and take delivery by April in order to have free access to their supercharger network. Those cars produced during this time have lifetime free access like all the ones in the past. Any orders outside of this date will have to start paying for usage, and will only come with 1000 "free" miles on the network.

Model S is more than a few years old now. And all of Tesla's resources are probably going towards the 3, the solar roofs, updates for the S and X. I would not mind a gen2 in the future. Right now, the allure has wore off for me as I see they are a dime a dozen in California. For that money, I would take an S class instead.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

the biggest thing is interior design, quality, and materials. it's really cheap for a 100k car. i hate to say but it's more like toyota quality than lexus quality

Fizzboy7

I'd steer away from any car with poor reliability. And the Model S already rates below average. That would really be a deal breaker for me.
The styling is also behind everyone else. I'd put it on par with a 2000's Chrysler.

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

Cars eventually will be going electric, and by then the tech will be perfected, and all car makers will be making them.

im gonna enjoy high power gasoline cars until they go extinct before moving to electric cars

btw, Tesla dealer is within walking disctant from my house and I never once thought about getting one.

situman

Full charge needs to happen in 5 mins or the same amt of time it takes to pump gas. Nobody wants to jump up in the middle of the night cuz they thought they forgot to plug their car in or hang around a charging station for over and hr in the middle of nowhere America.

SW17LS

For that money I would much rather have a nicely loaded S Class AND another fun car.

dknn

I recently purchased new Model S a month ago and would not go back to an ICE vehicle. My other car is a 2013 Porsche Cayenne and I believe the interior of the Tesla is comparable, definitely not on Toyota level. The dash and upper panels are covered in leather and alcantara. I get the interior doesn't compare to other vehicles costing 100k, but you are paying pretty much for the technology.

Driving is so much smoother and carefree especially with Autopilot. It is jarring going back to the Porsche. I shopped it with the S Class, but I feel like I am too young to drive a S Class.

If you are going to order one, now is the time since the price will increase by 2k on November 22 and unlimited super charging will end for cars delivered after April 2017.

gasol1

I agree with the naysayers especially peteharvey. I will add to the list that the regenerative braking is abrupt -- it can make some passengers motion sick.

We have a 2016 Cayenne S with full leather package -- in my opinion it is significantly nicer inside that a Tesla with upgraded leather/alcantara. Not in the same ball park. The S feels like a $50-60k car to me, nice but not close to what you are paying for if that matters to you. It also has a disconnected driving experience with air suspension to me.

You go Tesla if you are an early adopter of technology and think its cool to have the concept. I'm in LA and literally see 30+ Teslas a day. Many of my friends own Teslas. None of these people are "car people", they have them and love them but they are not car enthusiasts.

If you enjoy driving and/or luxury in your vehicles, I think there are better ways to go. In the past few months I placed an order for a 2017 911 C4 and picked up a 2015 CPO BMW X1, together they costs about what the P100D runs and for me it was an easy call.

swajames

The performance and technology in Tesla is second to none, though I do agree with others that the interiors are a little weak and aren't really class-competitive. With that said, Teslas and other EVs show where we are headed.

Sulu

More cons: The technology for the sake of technology attitude, which includes that giant iPad, those gimmicky falcon wing doors and Autopilot autonomous (or maybe not) driving. The fact that Tesla constantly monitors the data feeds from the car; I don't want anybody, not my insurance company, not the police, not the automaker to constantly know what I am doing in my car and where I am going. The fact that life-time free Supercharger charging is on the way out.

BrownPride

Pros: looks great, impressive engineering, "it" factor, great tech, fast
Cons: spartan interior design, sub-par material quality, smug owners