With every rental comes mileage and wear and tear on the vehicle, devaluing it. Not to mention the fact that it is being used as a rental requires disclosure upon sale, permanently devaluing the car below comparable vehicles.
Whether or not something like Turo qualifies as "rental" is going to be state-specific and based on the wording of the relevant legislation.
> Not to mention the fact that it is being used as a rental requires disclosure upon sale
Only in some states is this disclosure required.
[1] https://electrek.co/2016/09/13/tesla-model-s-value-retention...
[2] https://avt.inl.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/fsev/costs.pdf
If you can't afford the car without others paying for it, you probably shouldn't sign for the loan. Hell, you shouldn't be able to get one in the first place.
> What happens if the price of oil goes way down, causing the
> value of Teslas to drop dramatically?
what does that even mean?!? It implies that there is not a lack of oil but the oil age will be coming to an end anyway. I think what he's actually trying to say is "we're running out of oil, but I can't say that".
I think he also said that "there'll always be a trickle of oil being produced at $1000/barrel" but maybe that was at another time.
It's precisely analogous: the age of oil will be "over" long before we run out of oil. That's how resource economics work.
I agree that the the price of oil is more likely to increase. It's common sense: The oil companies prefer to develop the cheapest (simplest, most accessible) fields first, so every time a field empties they replace its output with oil from a more expensive field, or not if the new field seems too expensive at the current price level.
But that doesn't that indebted car owners are safe. Oil producers can't cut production all that much (geology doesn't work that way) so the price can certainly drop in the short term. A few years later it'll have increased again, but in the meantime the bank might have impounded the car.
I can think of bigger risks. But anyway, that's the connection, tenuous as it may be.
When everybody agrees, someone is not thinking. So it was in 2014. And with houses in 2008. And .com stock in 1999.
There are any number of low-but-not-zero-probability events that can cause the price of oil to start rising very quickly. Including the collapse of the House of Saud.
If there's a downturn and a loaned car can't be sold privately, then the car is simply repossessed and auctioned off. These things are all contractual, and in a properly setup system the company shouldn't make any losses over all their loans, regardless of a few pettering out.
If you buy a car and rent it, that's suspiciously like simply running a business and many businesses run using loans both short term and long.
Teslas are a rich man's car.
I'm waiting for the day it becomes a poor/middle class vechicle.
I know I won't buy a used one until they open up the parts supply, and open up the operating system. I don't see that day coming. I really wanted one a year ago. I figured they must have a few that have been wrecked. I wanted to put one back on the road, with a salvage title. I found it's practically impossible.
As to holding their value, yes--they are commanding high prices, even used. They are a rich man's novelty. If a rich man can get deal on a used car, why not pay bite. It's a small demographic sector of society. It's a niche market right now.
My hope is in the future all electric vechicle manufactures are required to open up their software, so guys like myself can buy in the secondary market, tweak, and get these used electric cars back on the road, in a cost effective way.
(Dissabled the AI if you think if the Tesla, or federal government fears guys, like myself, will tinkering with it. I can live without the AI. I do want a cheap, used, electric vechicle.)
(I have exactly the wrong use pattern for an electric car: my petrol car sits unused for most of the week, but every now and again I drive it several hundred miles.)
(I had read it like some sort of regulatory agency or independent association)
The Chevy Bolt is no looker, but it seems to be less of a compromise than the Leaf. It look much more roomy inside and gets Tesla-like range at 240 miles per charge.
Obviously, everyone here is waiting on the Tesla 3, but the problem is that the federal $7,500 tax credit is limited by quantity by manufacturer. Tesla will most likely run out before Chevy does, which might give Chevy the advantage here. It does look like the 3 will come in around $3,000 less than the Bolt, which is going to be quite the advantage for Tesla's customers who have pre-ordered. Right now it looks like non-pre-orders will not be able to get the tax credit.
Tiny size? Just the other day I fit a chest freezer I bought at CostCo inside it. That's not TINY. In fact, I was remarking that, while it does look small, it's just because the average US car is huge. In fact, it's likely to be bigger then what most people drive in Europe.
Agreed that the wheels are small. The car is heavy and tire lifetime is not the greatest as a result.
The Bolt is much smaller than the Leaf.
I'd get a Volt if I were worried about range today. It is an electric car, albeit one with a generator.
How do you account for the implied risk that Tesla doesn't exist in 8 years? That's a long ways away, and there's no guarantee they make it.
Or you could short their stock as a hedge, and buy some options to cover the upside risk.
Or you could buy the car using a title-backed no-recourse loan, pushing this risk onto the lender.
Or you could lease the car rather than buy it.
That is the warranty period so I don't think you'll have any trouble:
https://www.tesla.com/blog/infinite-mile-warranty
> the 85 kWh Model S, our most popular model by far, now has an 8 year, infinite mile warranty on both the battery pack and drive unit. There is also no limit on the number of owners during the warranty period.
NVM I found the 7 year leasing program.
After a down payment of ~16,000 pound, you get to a monthly payment of 622 GBP for 71 months for a Tesla Model S 60 (not D). http://imgur.com/a/1Asgz
This isn't "affordable" by any means, and this is the most basic Model S, without AWD, autopilot or any other upgrade package.
The autopilot option changes the monthly payments in almost negligible way though.
The fuel only cost for a car that gets 25 mpg (which is not great fuel efficiency) is currently at around 12 cents per mile assuming $3/gal gas. Maintenance may be lower with an electric car but, in the case of Tesla, it's a luxury car brand with expensive sole-source parts and there's the big question about battery costs over time.
A lot of the cars are resold at prices that are very close to a new listing, this isn't that different than many other high end cars with limited production (although these tend to be at higher price brackets than the model S).
As far as the cost per mile goes the fuel costs are not the biggest factor.
Insurance cost, cost of financing/ROI loss and the devaluation of the vehicle are considerably more important when calculating the per mile costs of owning a car.
And, from the IRS site, see no indication that they do: https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/standard-...
In other words, the operating costs for a Tesla do not make up for the premium price of the vehicle. You're buying a luxury car, not paying upfront for operational expense. When they release the 3, things will be different.