Hacker News Reader

Comment by ssmoot | Hacker News Reader

Tesla's site is a bit frustrating. I get most of those same benefits driving a Nissan Leaf. So I'm not really interested in a "true cost" comparison to a gas vehicle I wouldn't be buying anyways.

Turns out the Model S at $1,466 as optioned is more expensive than a Leaf. :) Not that I wouldn't kill for a 300 mile range...

View on HN

I'm sure the Leaf is a fine vehicle. But I see them directed at two different audiences. That logic would also question why get a Porsche 911 when you can get a VW Beetle for a fraction of the price? They are both German engineered gas vehicles, after all.

Fun fact: The Beetle was originally designed by Ferdinand Porsche, so you'd even drive a "real" Porsche in both cases.

Not to mention that 911s look like smooshed Beetles anyway. I kid, I kid...

That's not much of a coincidence: The 911 is actually a fairly old design (early 1960s) and the follow up to the Porsche 356 [1] where the similarity is even more striking. They are also from a technical point of view fairly similar: Both have an air-cooled boxer engine in the back which certainly influences the design. There's also the "Berlin-Rom-Wagen" [2], a sports version of the beetle which was built for a planned long distance race from Berlin to Rome. It already looks very much like the Porsche 356. So the history of the two cars is actually quite mixed up.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_356

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_64

It was no coincidence that I picked those two vehicles. :) Although I was more thinking the new model years since both are currently being produced.

do you realize how much money you could make from networking opportunities that arise from driving around a Tesla? invest in your future

Tesla is the new Country Club membership? (They are also being granted as perks of employment.)

An old-man Jaguar costs a fraction of the price. Does a Model-S come with the country club membership? I'm in!

Does a Model-S come with the country club membership? I'm in!

It's more likely to come with a hackerspace membership.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com