I am very unfamiliar with Tesla. I have just started doing research about Teslas as I have a family member that has a new longer comment so when I read about the model 3 I started looking into it as a way to save on gas for the long commute. My neighborhood actually has Tesla Chargers installed at the club house that can be used for free so I would rarely be charging at my house. I also notice that they calculate gas savings as a way to present the car to you cheaper. Is that not one of the main reasons people buy these cars is to save on gas but now you are spending it anyways by paying more for the car than they had originally promised it for?? I found it very strange. Seems like the gas savings is a wash at this point... would need to wait a couple years to make it up I guess. I'm just puzzled by the marketing maybe I am not reading the correct sites on this car.

 

Its true. They calculate the "gas savings" into the actual sticker price of the vehicle to present the car to look cheaper. Its a marketing strategy. Tesla are the marketing gods. Look at what they call their semi-autonomous feature. Its called "AutoPilot" - which makes it sound like its full-autonomous.

Also - we don't know how they calculate those gas savings either. Its not like Tesla lay out every information they are basing it off of. They also don't calculate the fact that you still have to pay for supercharger on the Model 3 and pay for the charge at home either.

 

Did you know that an aircraft with autopilot relies on, yes a pilot to supervise the flight.

 

Can you please post a picture of how they put the gas savings into the sticker price? I tried searching Google images and I don't see anything that supports what you are saying. Not saying it's not true, just that I don't see it and would like to see how they position it.

And the phrase "auto pilot" in no way is ever defined as fully autonomous whether that be applied to a car, plane, or boat. Have you ever been on a flight and seen both the pilot and co-pilot come out of the cockpit at the same time to stretch, use the restroom, etc? Exactly.

 

Jrmckinley here is what we are talking about.... From the Tesla website under "order now" tab. Price could even be lower I guess if your state also offers incentives but FL doesn't at this time from what I can find.

 

Also, here is how they claim to calculate the gas savings. This is directly from the Tesla website:
"The average person drives between 10,000 and 15,000 miles and spends between $1,000 and $1,500 on gasoline per year. In comparison, the cost of electricity to power Model 3 over the same distance is up to three times lower. Over the six year average length of car ownership, that's between $4,300 and $6,400 in gasoline savings. We've assumed a fuel economy of 28 miles per gallon for a comparable gasoline powered sedan, for example, the 2017 BMW 3 series. We've also assumed the national average of $0.13 per kilowatt-hour for electricity and $2.85 per gallon for premium gasoline over the next six years"

They also have a savings calculator where you can enter your own miles you drive per year and the gas price that you want and they use their calculator to calculate the estimated savings. You'll notice their estimated savings says over SIX YEARS. I plugged in 20,000 miles a year at $2.85 for gas and they estimate $8,500 over 6 years. They then add that into savings off the car price and they calculate the car will then cost me $29,000.

 

You are correct. But to most car buyers, "autopilot" brings to mind complete, hands-off driving / flying. Yet, with Tesla's Autopilot, Cadillac's Super Cruise and other semi-automated driving systems your hands are supposed to remain on the wheel, and only off for very short periods of time.

 

Most? How do you know that.

 

The term "auto pilot" often times get confused in the general public as "hands-off" driving. Meaning - people think you don't need to control it. Its literally a play on words.

This. Agreed, Sulu.

Most buyers and the general public often times think "auto pilot" means full-autonomous.

 

Thanks for posting. I get what they're going after but agree it's a strange way of presenting it. It's really the "total cost of ownership" that they're presenting - but they're making it look like that's your out the door cost.

 

As for the "Total Cost of Ownership" topic, I'd suggest adding a few more line items. First, the cost of constantly having to plug and unplug the charging cable. There's definitely a time cost involved. Secondly, the range anxiety cost. As in "Hey, let's drive somewhere!" But wait, will we be able to make it there and back? Where to recharge? What if that station is out of service? What will we do with the downtime?

Read a good article recently about the promise and perils of simply changing out battery packs. Then it hit me--a perfect way of storing up surplus wind or solar energy during the day--just use that energy to gradually charge up huge numbers of auto battery packs that are waiting for swapping. And the customer wouldn't "own" the pack, just the amount of energy inside. Could be new or old, full or at 80%, he wouldn't care. I know this concept is nothing new, but perhaps it need revisiting.

As for the "Autopilot" matter, flying a plane under autopilot is a matter of monitoring, not having hands-on continuously. In a car, an autopilot error can cause a crash in a few seconds. Not usually in an aircraft.

When I flew my Mooney years ago all around the USA, the autopilot did much of the flying. I monitored. When flying an approach (requiring concentration and a situation where mistakes were fatal) I flew them myself. No autopilot.

 

Yup. The issue isn't them showing the "total cost of ownership" but rather the way they present it makes it seem like the out the door price. To the untrained consumer, this would be enough to get them to go to the Tesla Store to check out the car or even place an order.

 

Time and anxiety cost? LOL. What about the time and anxiety cost to go to the gas station, change the oil, transmission fluid, take the car in for software updates.

 

People who buy Teslas are early adopter types that are pretty sharp and know what they're getting, I highly doubt anybody has ever been "duped" by this into buying a Tesla Model 3 they have to wait years for.

 

Erm....

"Range anxiety" only exist for electric cars because you have to plan your trip around charging location. Gas cars do not have range anxiety because you have gas stations literally every few miles. Back when I was getting my Master's degree, I went to school in SoCal and I'm from NorCal. On the times I drive home, it takes me about 350+ miles to get home. On the drive up, I never have to worry about range. However - if I was in a Tesla, I would have to worry about range because a full charge Tesla can't make it from SoCal to NorCal in one charge.
Note: Highest Model 3 range: 310 miles and Highest Model S Range: 335 miles. Neither of which can take you from deep LA into SF - especially not with traffic.
If I had a Tesla, I would have range anxiety driving towards the Bay Area worrying about where would I charge or I would be stuck. For gas car, there is a gas station every few miles. No worries there.

Change the oil? Hows there anxiety for that? Literally no anxiety for that. If someone has anxiety for an oil change, they tripping.
1) If you are too lazy to change yourself or too busy. Step up an appointment, drop off the car at the dealer, and it'll be done for you. No anxiety.
2) If you have time, drive to AutoZone, buy some oil and filter. Do it yourself.
At the end of the day, oil changes can be done ever 3K to 5K miles. You have plenty of time.

Transmission fluid and software updates?
Again - when you service your car at the dealer, dealers would probably do the oil change and the other necessary things for you. How is their anxiety there?