I ordered an SR. I ran a very detailed cost of ownership analysis and it ended up costing less than a Golf GTI SE ($28k) based on 12-15k mi per year and current gas prices. The GTI has always been a gold standard for an inexpensive, fun to drive yet practical car. I was surprised the Tesla was cheaper long-term but after 3yrs in an eGolf and the ridiculously low cost of ownership, EVs (even Tesla Model 3s) are not just for rich folks.
I just got into a "discussion" with some co workers today about this topic actually. We were talking about the cybertruck (we all think it looks ridiculous), and I said something like "I think that the cybertruck will likely be bought by rich californians in california (note, we are all in california while having this discussion), and he replied, "oh you mean like all teslas?".
Then we proceeded to get into an argument about whether I (and /or most tesla owners ) are "Affluent". He was talking about the price of a new tesla and saying most people cant afford that, and I kept saying "replace the word "tesla" with "car" and you will be more correct there. He also kept saying that "if you ask people in the middle of the country what a rich person car brand is, they would say tesla" and I replied "and BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Audi, Porsche".
Then he started in on "people without homes dont own teslas, and no one outside of california buys those cars" and I said "its true that california sells a large percentage of them, but they are bought by people all over the country" . he actually said "Like WHERE???" as if no one in any state but california had bought a tesla. He then grudgingly admitted "I am sure a "couple" of people buy teslas in other states".
Then he started in on the fact that I was "affluent" because I had a house, and could afford to drive a tesla and my wife has a BMW". I told him, I think we have a different definition of "affluent". He went back to the "most people cant afford new teslas" and I said "most people cant afford new CARS, and the cost of the average new car is the price of the base model tesla". Then he says "well, yours is like 100k right? (I have a model 3P purchased last december). I said, no, it was 69k+ taxes and fees., he said " well thats close enough, its almost 100k". I said "I got 12k in rebates and credits off the price, so it was like 66k all in after everything, thats not "almost 100k". Its not cheap, but now we are talking about the highest trim model 3... the base model is 35,400 before taxes and fees, which is the price of a nice camry or accord.
I also told him that "I choose to spend money that I dont spend on other things, on the cars I drive... I dont take vacations, I almost never eat out, and I my "nice house" (which is admittedly a nice house) is a 40 mile commute each way away from work, and I commute an hour and 15 minutes each way to afford it". Im in southern california, but the above description applies to a ton of people in northern california too.
He then goes on "people in my apartment complex, there are no teslas, but plenty of BMWs, mercedes.. people in apartments cant own tesla, its a rich homeowners car".... I said "yes they do... I wouldnt, personally, as home charging is one of the best things about owing the car, but people absolutely do buy this car and use superchargers etc"
This is a younger person too.. mid 20s (im in my 50s). There is so much misinformation about tesla, and tesla owners.
Sorry for the rant, it was a frustrating conversation that I ended up not being able to get out of.
