that's pretty much what i mentioned too. likely old 100A panel. i think a lot of the newer houses they are on 200A. none of my friends with tesla has had to upgrade their panel so far.

if panel needs to be upgraded then for sure it's going to be expensive

 

if you can get a panel, if you can get an electrician...

 

New panel is generally ~ $2,500-$3,000. Not earth shattering, and its an upgrade most homeowners who don't have the service for a Tesla charger should do and would have to do anyways.

 

I have 200 amp panel.

The Tesla rep told me I should have dedicated fuse for the charger. Then i need to install all this in the garage. All this will be $2,000 plus not including the charger.

 

Well some ppl live on limited budgets so $3k is not insignificant for average American family.
This should definitely be a factor in total cost of the car.

 

You don't have fuses, you have breakers. Do you have any room in your panel? If you do then you won't need a subpanel. Post a picture here or PM me a picture of your panel.

What you need is a dedicated circuit on a 50 AMP breaker, same as you would need for say a hot tub, or a dryer. If you have no room for further additional breakers in your panel you'll need a subpanel. I'm in the process of finishing my basement and had to install a subpanel, I have 200 amps but my panel is small and was maxed out.

$2,000 is reasonable to install a subpanel, but not reasonable to install a 50 amp breaker and run a circuit to the garage for the charger.

 

They don’t mention this on the website, the default on the car when you order shows the cost of the car less $5,500 in gas savings which is in the fine print. No mention of the assumptions on those savings or the fact that it will cost me close to $2,000 to install the charger because the panel is on the other side of my house.

 

something doesn't make sense about what the rep said. maybe better off finding a good electrician

charger comes with the car, the nema 14-50 adapter is like 50 bucks? installing the nema outside now usually costs about 300 bucks here in CA

 

a lot of people don't think about about overall fuel cost when they buy ICE cars.

and if they do factor that in, then 2-3k on a new panel probably still makes sense after 3-4 years of driving.

 

Just to comment on this, people who live on limited budgets are not buying Teslas.

And you do not HAVE to have a Tesla wall charger to charge your Tesla. It will charge off a normal outlet, just much more slowly. Many people can install a Tesla charger with $500 worth of alterations to their home.

My car costs right now $300 a month to fuel. Thats $3,600 a year. If I had to install a subpanel in my house in less than a year I would break even.

You don't want a Tesla, just own that instead of throwing up roadblocks.

 

LOL I LIKE Tesla but its ok to state the NEGATIVES that are associated with its ownership.
3k to ME is not a lot of $$$ but it is a HUGE inconvenience to hire an electrician, setup the wiring, the charging unit etc. Who knows if i still want to drive this Tesla after a year or 2? I haven’t had my X3 for 2yrs and I can’t wait to get a new car!

Most are buying new cars everyday on limited budgets!
Model 3 is $40-45k which is about the average cost of a new car in US.

My point was that the additional cost of chargers / installation needs to be added to the purchase price as that is a FIXED cost. Your fuel expenses are variable from person to person and you will incur higher electric bills with EVs as well.

 

Are you saying a Tesla charger is only $50 not $700+ for wall units?

The rep recommended to use electrician as that would be cheaper route. Come to NY area and get a professional electrician to do anything for less than $1,000 lol especially in my area.

My personal garage has automatic doors and power outlets so I assume this would be something that can be done without additional cost of upgrading the panel but this beyond my expertise. Its just another issue with EV ownership. And then i need to have the charger route outside as the EV car is not garaged?

 

If you really wanted a Tesla though, none of that would be a big deal. Like any other big appliance you have to make adjustments to your house.

For instance I wanted my basement finished, and I had to have a sub panel installed. No big deal.

If I can get electricians to do work for less than $1,000 here you can there too.

 

The car comes with a charger that can be plugged into various voltages. To have fast charging overnight, you need a 240V outlet and that costs about $50 for the outlet and $100-$2000 for the install depending on where your panel is vs. where you want the outlet. You can buy a wall charger that comes with its own cable for $500 that replaces the $50 outlet but its a nicer experience and you can keep the charger in the car in case of emergencies.

I don't see why hiring an Electrician to come out for 3 hours and install this is a pain in the lifetime ownership of the car. Better than having to go to the dealer for maintenance even once. Better than ever visiting a gas station too Having to upgrade the house to fuel your car is a pretty minor and pointless issue.

 

My panel is in the basement. Whether its a plumber or electrician nobody comes out for $100. I had to pay about $1,000 to route new ceiling lights and hang a few light fixtures when i was renovating my place 2yrs ago so I’m aware what prices are.

Again this is much more complex than I would have thought and definitely new process for car ownership. For those that really want an EV, I’m sure its no big deal but for me its another unnecessary hassle among many others of owning EV at the current time.

On another note, there is a new LUCID store opening by me right next to the Tesla store. Will be cool to compare these 2 brands.