Current owners of 40 kWh configuration

[MIT_S60]

I agree with RodF and markb1. That may have been a sold as a 40, but its now a 60. Its been upgraded for you. It was only a software switch that they flipped the released access to the rest of the battery.

And the badging was a separate thing. None of the regular (I don't remember about the Signature Series,) but none of the 40's 60's or 85's came with badging until about June of '13. As a matter of fact we didn't know our cars were suppose to have or going to have badging until they told us that we could come by the SC and they would install badging. My point is, for the first year, there was no badging - but it wasn't only 40's. So rdon't depend on that being an indicator for you.

We had several 40's in Hawaii. We kept and eye on them and watched when they were sold to new people and resold again, and then upgraded. It was like watching a niece or nephew growing up.

There were only about 400 40's produced. And they were only made for about three months in 2013. And by late 2016' about half had been traded back in to Tesla for newer cars with new tech or larger batteries. Tesla flipped the switch and sold them as CPO 60s. And there were a few that were upgraded for the $11,000 price to 60's. And pretty much the last of them were upgraded to 60's when Tesla reduced the 40-to-60 upgrade price from $11,000 to $2500 or $2000 whichever it was. There's almost most none left in existence.

@ABean85. Why do you think you want a 40? We watched the 40's being resold and traded in. A 40 today would cost you almost as much as a 60 whether it was an upgraded 40 or an factory sold 60.

Another caution with an S40 is whether or not Tesla has enabled supercharging on it as an upgraded S60.

 

[Akikiki]

Another caution with an S40 is whether or not Tesla has enabled supercharging on it as an upgraded S60.

But that concern about Supercharging is regardless of if it was a 40. In those days, Supercharging was $2,000 when purchasing the car and $2,500 after delivery. Didn't come without extra cost. Not until it was sold as a CPO. Tesla was enabling Supercharging on CPO 60's.

 

[ABean85]

Thanks for all the responses. Great information. It’s a third party seller, and I didn’t really trust the information that he was giving me. I’m interested in a 40 because I figured I could leverage the cost of the over the air upgrade to lower the purchase price. I do not need the added range. I drive a total of 14 miles to my daughter’s school, work, and home. I’ve been checking out a lot of options, all pre owned. The fusion plug in is one or a used leaf. I’m trying to spend around $20K-25K, 30 is pushing it. The leaf just doesn’t seem viable, as they are having battery issues. I have time on side, as I don’t need a car. From what I’m seeing online 2013 60s are rotting on lots, and I figure it’s only a matter of time before the market adjusts. Hopefully, prices will come down into my range. Thank you all again.

 

[MIT_S60]

Thanks for all the responses. Great information. It’s a third party seller, and I didn’t really trust the information that he was giving me. I’m interested in a 40 because I figured I could leverage the cost of the over the air upgrade to lower the purchase price. I do not need the added range. I drive a total of 14 miles to my daughter’s school, work, and home. I’ve been checking out a lot of options, all pre owned. The fusion plug in is one or a used leaf. I’m trying to spend around $20K-25K, 30 is pushing it. The leaf just doesn’t seem viable, as they are having battery issues. I have time on side, as I don’t need a car. From what I’m seeing online 2013 60s are rotting on lots, and I figure it’s only a matter of time before the market adjusts. Hopefully, prices will come down into my range. Thank you all again.

Keep in mind a Tesla out of warranty may cost you significantly more than a Leaf out of warranty, and be prepared for that case if you stretch to get into a Tesla.

 

[ABean85]

Oh and I don’t need super charging as my office offers free charging; it came with the new solar paneled parking lot the state installed. I figure all I need is a j1772 adapter. More leverage on the purchase price of a 40? Lol.

 

[ABean85]

Keep in mind a Tesla out of warranty may cost you significantly more than a Leaf out of warranty, and be prepared for that case if you stretch to get into a Tesla.

I appreciate the words of caution. Can I afford a 35-$45K used Tesla? Sure. But do I want to? Not really.

 

[Akikiki]

"I figured I could leverage the cost of the over the air upgrade to lower the purchase price." Whhaaaaattttt ?

 

[aaron0k]

The early 60s didn't come with badges, either, FWIW.

However, several months later, they would give you '60' badge if requested. Not so for the 40's. I asked; they told me they weren't going to bother to make them.

 

[TonyT]

The 40's are very hard to find price well. I started looking at a 40 since I thought they were more affordable. I ended up buying 85's for less than I was looking at 40's for. 40's will generally have low miles if that's important to you.

 

[masterhail]

Hey 40 owners. I recently have started looking into getting a used S and stumbled upon what I thought was a good deal on a 40.
Wanted to get the input from you guys to see if it's worth it.

I only drive 15-30 miles per day, and my work offers free charging.

There is a 40 that has 50k miles listed for 28k with warranty until mid 2021. It seems like most 60+'s are in the low 30's price point have significantly more miles and no warranty remaining.

Do you guys think it's worth picking up the 40 in my scenario, or should I keep an eye out for a better deal on a 60?

 

[gaswalla]

I'd get a 2012-13 85 instead

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

Hey 40 owners. I recently have started looking into getting a used S and stumbled upon what I thought was a good deal on a 40.
Wanted to get the input from you guys to see if it's worth it.

I only drive 15-30 miles per day, and my work offers free charging.

There is a 40 that has 50k miles listed for 28k with warranty until mid 2021. It seems like most 60+'s are in the low 30's price point have significantly more miles and no warranty remaining.

Do you guys think it's worth picking up the 40 in my scenario, or should I keep an eye out for a better deal on a 60?

Determine if the 40 can be OTA upgraded to a 60, and figure that into the price.
Also the cost of adding Supercharging support.

Note: There are third party battery swaps available, and you might be able to swap out the battery for an 85 kWh, which combined with the low mileage could make this an interesting proposition.

 

[masterhail]

I'd get a 2012-13 85 instead

do you think it's worth getting a car with double the miles, that is more than likely out of warranty, just to gain the additional power/range?

Determine if the 40 can be OTA upgraded to a 60, and figure that into the price.
Also the cost of adding Supercharging support.

Note: There are third party battery swaps available, and you might be able to swap out the battery for an 85 kWh, which combined with the low mileage could make this an interesting proposition.

It looks like the OTA can be applied, but in all honesty I would probably just leave it, as the only thing that I want out of the higher kWh is the faster acceleration.

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

do you think it's worth getting a car with double the miles, that is more than likely out of warranty, just to gain the additional power/range?



It looks like the OTA can be applied, but in all honesty I would probably just leave it, as the only thing that I want out of the higher kWh is the faster acceleration.

The acceleration for 40 and 60 was the same.
The advantage of upgrading to 60 would be you get a car worth more than you paid for it, plus the ability for a greater range of usages, especially if you can add Supercharger support. But that's a financial decision to make after you buy it.

 

[aaron0k]

Do you guys think it's worth picking up the 40 in my scenario, or should I keep an eye out for a better deal on a 60?

Keep in mind, the difference in value of a 2013/40 vs a 2013/60 is about $2500... since that is how much it costs to unlock the additional 20kwh capacity on a 40. The 40 and 60 (classic) are hardware identical, the only thing that sets them apart is a config file and a badge (or lack of one on the 40).

Also 40/60's did not come with Supercharging; that's an additional $2500. I'm not sure if you enable that today if it would be "free unlimited"... however it might be cheaper just to buy a CHAdeMO adapter; and have a Service Center enable Fast Charging (that used to be $1900 to enable, now it's free).

The packs on the 40/60 are also not covered under the "infinite mile" warranty; they're only covered to 125,000. These are early generation packs and basically only two years remaining under the 8 year coverage.

Some side benefits to owning a 40...

• The pack is probably in a healthier condition than a used 60 with equivalent mileage, since it's SoC has been locked at ~60%. Though you'll have more range anxiety...

• The 40 is true unicorn; maybe the rarest vin model sold... always fun to tell other Tesla owners you own a "40" and have them call you a liar because "ppssssttt... Tesla never made a 40."

I agree with the @gaswalla; unless you've found a stellar deal on a 40; I'd suggest a used 85... better range and performance.

 

[fluxemag]

The number one factor for me would be warranty for a 2013. I had a 40 and it probably had $30k in warranty work in the 3 years I owned it. Like others have said, the battery will probably be in better condition on a 40 and with fewer miles. The upgrade to 60 at the current price is a no-brainer at the current price, although I'm surprised to hear they would still charge to enable Supercharging instead of just turning it on and making you pay per charge.

It truly was a unicorn though. When I sold it to Carmax they overpaid me significantly because they didn't know what it was.

 

[masterhail]

Appreciate all the feedback! I ended up deciding to pass on the 40, because I got a 2014 60 with 2 1/2 years/40k of CPO warranty for essentially the same price. Really happy with it, and glad I waited it out a few days and didn't pull the trigger on the 40. I can't imagine having less range than I have right now on the 60!

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Appreciate all the feedback! I ended up deciding to pass on the 40, because I got a 2014 60 with 2 1/2 years/40k of CPO warranty for essentially the same price. Really happy with it, and glad I waited it out a few days and didn't pull the trigger on the 40. I can't imagine having less range than I have right now on the 60!

How much range is it showing at 100%?

 

[masterhail]

How much range is it showing at 100%?

175

I drove it from Denver to KC, and that was a frustrating drive. Thankfully for my purposes in the city it's been great so far. My daily commute is no more than 15-20 miles max, and I have a charger that's free at work. Plus the car has supercharging which is great as well.

 

[Sa11]

Hello to my fellow 40 kWh S owners. Are any of you still out there. I’m an original owner of one these rare birds. Never did the upgrade to 60 because the need wasn’t there. I have taken really good care of her and has only 85K milage What do you think about the collectibles market now in 2021 and beyond.