For those that own a Model S Ludicrous without breaking the bank, what is you total comp or job?

[SoCal Buzz]

@Drizzle, one other thought. You seem to be evaluating what things bring happiness and are you earning enough to go big on the car. If you are not sure what to do with your success, then consider some diversity. Have you traveled to a far off country and explored, just to see if that experience should be one of your priorities in the future (p.s., try Italy)? How about donating your time to a local charity or cause that resonates for you? Seek some balance before making a decision.

 

[IchDochNicht]

That is a sweet condo! Much better investment than an expensive car.

Thanks! Perhaps you'll remember this place, if you ever visit San Diego...

To be honest: Had I known that I'd buy a such run-down place and what it costs to renovate, I probably would not have gotten the Tesla. I didn't need a car - had a beautiful, low mileage 2015 Volt that met my needs. The Tesla was a "want" - something I had drooled over for too long, and this one was exactly what I wanted, at an attractive price. Now the 10 hour drive from my regular home is much more fun in "Carmen, the electric chari" - my personal electric intercity express...

@Drizzle, one other thought. You seem to be evaluating what things bring happiness and are you earning enough to go big on the car. If you are not sure what to do with your success, then consider some diversity. Have you traveled to a far off country and explored, just to see if that experience should be one of your priorities in the future (p.s., try Italy)? How about donating your time to a local charity or cause that resonates for you? Seek some balance before making a decision.

Very good points! I travelled a lot when I was younger. I grew-up in a small but economically powerful country in central Europe, about 1 hour from France, 2 hours from Austria and Switzerland, and 5 hours from Northern Italy. Had 29 paid vacation days until I moved to the US, then only 10. Have more now, but haven't seen much of the world since I came here.

 

[trm2]

Very good points! I travelled a lot when I was younger. I grew-up in a small but economically powerful country in central Europe, about 1 hour from France, 2 hours from Austria and Switzerland, and 5 hours from Northern Italy.

So, Luxembourg?

 

[IchDochNicht]

So, Luxembourg?

LOL! The "Small" was meant to be taken with a grain of salt... I was born in the same suburb where Mr. Gottlieb Daimler used to reside, and grew-up on the other side of town. How is that for a hint?

 

[trm2]

LOL! The "Small" was meant to be taken with a grain of salt... I was born in the same suburb where Mr. Gottlieb Daimler used to reside, and grew-up on the other side of town. How is that for a hint?

Well, I wouldn’t call that small. Your username is more of a hint.

 

[Drizzle]

More than anything else said in this thread, this sentence resonated with me.

Now that you've done this, what are your thoughts? Is it worth it? Do you want to feel like you HAVE to work that hard to fund lifestyle decisions? Honest question. For some, the answer is an easy yes. Higher in some locales than others, and SoCal is definitely one of them.

For me, the only reason to work that hard - to the point of needing to balance your own sanity - is as a temporary means to an end. What are you gaining in the future for today's sacrifice?

I earn in the ballpark of what you do. I have a nice pension and 9 years left on a 3% mortgage at $1500/mo. I purchased a Model S 75 in 2016, partly as an environmental statement and vote of confidence in Tesla, and partly as an unfathomable "you can't take it with you" luxury. One of the best purchase decisions I've made of any product at any price, and I love it every time I get in it (to the tune of 70,000 miles over the last 2 years). But I'd never compromise my own sanity or work myself to the bone to finance that feeling of satisfaction.

Ultimately no, I do not want to work this hard forever. Buying a model s ludicrous would be similar to upgrading my car's cooling so I dont burn out. A model s ludicrous would be something that helps me deal with stress because I really do feel great getting into my model 3, and then flooring it.

If I can swing a mortage in a LCOL area then I think a model s ludicrous can make sense.

Thanks for the thoughts.

 

[Unpilot]

I have a somewhat (not exactly) similar occupation as you do. However, I don't have a Model S with ludicrous mode. In fact, I didn't think I could ever afford a new Model S, despite the tax break - at least not as long as I would keep my classic Porsche (which was my childhood dream that I've owned for 20 years, so I'll be very reluctant to ever sell it).

But I know what I want, and I'm willing to wait and make some compromises. For example, I don't feel that I'm above buying pre-owned. Letting someone else take the depreciation and shopping wisely has saved me much money over the course of my life. And I'm not about unselective choices - I don't need "Fully loaded", or "The full enchilada". Ludicrous mode? For what? Even the slowest Model S is soo much faster than my other car.

I bought my Model S pre-owned, as a 60D. I still cringed about spending so much money on a car, but it was exactly what I would have ordered, plus some options I would have been too cheap to buy. However, being a 60D, there were not many people interested in it. Why? They don't know that you can buy a software upgrade from 60D to 75D for only $2000, while the used car price for a 60D is about $7000 less than for a 75D. So, here I saved $5k right off the bat.

While I had the cash to pay for the car outright, I opted to finance about 2/3 of it, to preserve cash. The reason was that I planned to buy a 2nd property in the future, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't constraining myself too much with the car.

I did buy a property in the meantime - a completely run-down condo at the beach in San Diego. I spent the cash to have it gutted and completely rebuilt and furnished, per my own design. It now serves as a combination of my own vacation home and vacation rental (managed by an agency) when I'm not using it. You can see it here: Sleek Pacific Beach 2BR/2BA w/ Garage Parking, Near Beach & Entertainment - an EV charger will be installed sometime this year.

Is my situation anything like yours? I have no idea, so this may not help at all...

Still, I'd like you to take away the following lessons:
a. You can make some compromises that save you a lot of money (buy used, and perhaps not top of line)
b. Preserve cash, so you can deal with uncertainties or better opportunities despite the car
c. I know nothing about finances, so don't feel bad if you are not sure what's right. You are not alone.

Nice remodel job on the Condo!

 

[Big Toys]

Now I generally agree strongly with all of those. But, if you take those 4 to heart, there is a #5 that will probably come into play at some point of your life:

5. You can't take it with you.

You can't take it, or leave it, if you don't have it.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

I'm not going to read the entire thread, but unless your mortgage is under 30% of your net, you should not add to your debt. Do you intend to retire some day? If your car payment means you are not maxing out on deferred comp, don't do it. At the very least give up the Ludicrous dream.

 

[BBone]

Go for it if your finances allow as many have said and you do get to enjoy it. That's an intangible and something as a reward for yourself. Don't overstrech it but for me I do understand the reward aspect and something you will enjoy everyday. I moved up from a S70D to the SP100DL and loving every minute of it. We have a X90D as well which is still doing well. I think you can safely assume that most who buy that type of car will have a multiple on salary/cash flow. Likely as well on net worth. I'm a corporate tech / energy lawyer/general counsel BTW. YOLO as they say!

 

[Interferon]

P100D L
Sold 6% of some Bitcoin I had mined in 2011. Paid cash, around $150,000

 

[Tatzi'sWorld]

Just wondering what I need to aim for if I want to go this route. I see plenty on the road in SoCal but I don't have any friends to ask what they do for a living.

At around $185k a year, the model 3 performance was doable without much issue. The mortgage was the biggest part to fit in but we have my wife's salary to help with that.

We have a combined income close of yours and we're a family of 5. We have a mortgage and 2 credit cards. The main reason why we bought a Tesla is the crazy commute I'm doing - 4 times a week 300 miles round-trip. We owned several different European car's and the gas savings are just incredible and of course oil etc ... For us it's just cheaper in the long run and to be honest if I wouldn't drive that much I'll probably wouldn't have spend that much money. Regardless it's an amazing car and now I'm literally spoiled for the rest of my life

 

[D.E.]

Keep in mind this is the first generation of these cars.

They are going to get better, faster, and cheaper. That 100DL is amazing right now, and rightly so. Just a couple of years ago, that P85DL was just as amazing. We just saw a price drop.

I remember the first generations of home computers. Of calculators. Of cell phones. Of printers. Of quartz watches. All were absolutely amazing, and we couldn’t even imagine the improvements. I remember the first color TVs. We had black and white. 19” was big. Now they are just blurry curiosities.

You’ll live to see the Tesla 100DL as not the amazing cutting edge car you see today, but an early generation of a much, much more advanced car. You"ll see it as limited range, slow to charge, quick for its day, and expensive. I don’t think I’ll be around then but you younger guys will.

 

[tempguy]

I'm going to use a temporary account for this. I completely agree with what everyone else is saying around here with regards to number not being the most helpful figure. Context is so much in these situations. But, it seems like you're fishing for a number and I'm happy to give you mine [anonymously]. My forum username is obvious enough that with this information I'd be being a bit too open, since most of my family doesn't even know this.

I don't own a P100DL, but I easily could. I own a measly 100.

My income is good, around $350K per year. Married. My wife makes her own money but we agree that its her own. I pay all our expenses.

I have a healthy $50M+ sitting in cash equivalents I could tap into if I needed (sold businesses, all self made, zero inheritance/trust).

I already own a home. It is an average home, you wouldn't think much of it, but it's mine and I'm happy.

I decided I didn't need a P100DL. I didn't NEED a Tesla either, but I like to make practical decisions at certain places.

Like I said in the opening paragraph most of my family and friends haven't connected the dots too much and I'd prefer to keep it that way. Yeah they know I do pretty well considering I own a home and a Tesla, but I don't think they realize/know the stage I'm actually at.

To each their own. You don't need that kind of money to afford a P100DL, but I also wanted to show that people with that kind of money don't just blow it on P100DL cause they can either. I have a lot of friends hovering around the same wealth range and you'd really never know (one of them lives in a van right now... I don't support that! lol). The showy ones are showy but there's an iceberg under there of people who really are not.

 

[redgt]

I'm going to use a temporary account for this. I completely agree with what everyone else is saying around here with regards to number not being the most helpful figure. Context is so much in these situations. But, it seems like you're fishing for a number and I'm happy to give you mine [anonymously]. My forum username is obvious enough that with this information I'd be being a bit too open, since most of my family doesn't even know this.

I don't own a P100DL, but I easily could. I own a measly 100.

My income is good, around $350K per year. Married. My wife makes her own money but we agree that its her own. I pay all our expenses.

I have a healthy $50M+ sitting in cash equivalents I could tap into if I needed (sold businesses, all self made, zero inheritance/trust).

I already own a home. It is an average home, you wouldn't think much of it, but it's mine and I'm happy.

I decided I didn't need a P100DL. I didn't NEED a Tesla either, but I like to make practical decisions at certain places.

Like I said in the opening paragraph most of my family and friends haven't connected the dots too much and I'd prefer to keep it that way. Yeah they know I do pretty well considering I own a home and a Tesla, but I don't think they realize/know the stage I'm actually at.

To each their own. You don't need that kind of money to afford a P100DL, but I also wanted to show that people with that kind of money don't just blow it on P100DL cause they can either. I have a lot of friends hovering around the same wealth range and you'd really never know (one of them lives in a van right now... I don't support that! lol). The showy ones are showy but there's an iceberg under there of people who really are not.

I'm not here to call BS - I want to say nice work. $50M+ self made

I would think you could be able to make $6-10+ million yearly with 50M cash equivalent or are you not counting that as income?

I get trying to fly under the radar of friends/family/neighbors/etc but hope you get to enjoy some of that money! Out of town, country, anonymous giving who cares. Please have fun cause someone will with that $$$ eventually

 

[DukeofURL]

I agree that you have to find balance, my debt load is under 18% net, as I personally find the 30% suggestion to be a bit much, but as said many times here everyone's situation is different.

That said, you only spend so much time on this rock, and you can't take it with you. Running out of cash is irresponsible, but dying with 8 figures in the bank that you never touch isn't terribly helpful either.

 

[caltechkid]

Sure, IT consulting, where at least 30% of the total comp is based off of a bonus around how much you work.

What I can tell you is that there are numerous folks on TMC I know personally especially in the Del Mar area - surgeons, senior scientists, folks in venture capital, private equity and just plane ol' entrepreneurs who have had one or more successful exits (largely through our active angel/VC group). Many make well over $600K although the range can vary a bit on business and bonus as you say. Almost everyone has one or more nice homes, most have decent to nice cars (perhaps $30-$100K) and only one has a P100DL and a Ferrari because he deems that important and that's his business.

There is no magic number beyond a certain level of financial comfort and security - and that varies for each person. In our case, my better half reminds me we'd much rather do things like take a trip to Antarctica or fly the A380 in business class en route to the Maldives. I know many folks who make far, far less but have better/faster/more expensive cars - and that's just fine for me since I don't want debt of any kind and value financial freedom and peace of mind.

I had an additional though here as well should you care for it. I was a Partner at a large management consulting firm for a period of ~3 yrs during the recession. Things were very good, but not as good as years before or years after. I'm in my late 30s (started college very young) so not incredibly old, but old enough to know what it feels like to be both job and variable comp insecure, esp. in an "eat what you kill" industry. I moved into VC and then PE where we had different challenges, but the point is: When you're very young, smart, hard working, and well paid it's often hard to envision a situation in which those things (except being smart and hard working) are no longer for some period of time.

I'm not saying don't buy high end stuff or take expensive trips, we love embarking on exceptional trips and like to buy some fun toys every now and then. I'm simply saying a highly compensated position can still go away independent of which Top 10 school you went to or how good you are currently. People get older, life can happen in unexpected ways, but it all depends on your risk appetite. I grew up poor and don't feel like going back, so I plan for a worst case scenario where I make zero next year even though that will be highly unlikely/borderline impossible. I hired a few folks that make 180-250K that spend like there is no tomorrow, but they are "set" in terms of inheritance and parents willing to buy them expensive coastal homes in SD so I can see why they spend as they do - no such luck for me =)

 

[SVMike]

Keep in mind this is the first generation of these cars.

They are going to get better, faster, and cheaper. That 100DL is amazing right now, and rightly so. Just a couple of years ago, that P85DL was just as amazing. We just saw a price drop.

I remember the first generations of home computers. Of calculators. Of cell phones. Of printers. Of quartz watches. All were absolutely amazing, and we couldn’t even imagine the improvements. I remember the first color TVs. We had black and white. 19” was big. Now they are just blurry curiosities.

Careful.
Keep in mind that most of the things your are discussing that have improved dramatically over the past few decades are electronics -- based on improvements of faster computing and communications (Thanks to Moore's Law).
While Teslas and other cars gain in some features due to Moore's Law, there is no carryover to batteries and energy.
Computing and communications is about moving the fewest detectable electrons or photons to get the job done.
When moving people and masses of metal the energy required stays the same year after year...we can't cut it in half every couple of years.

 

[TK16688]

Earlier you said "I don't even know what the possibilities are besides these two things." Sounds like you are trying figure out meaning in your life. A nice car is not your answer. Maybe buy it when it's not such a big deal to you.

 

[D.E.]

Careful.
Keep in mind that most of the things your are discussing that have improved dramatically over the past few decades are electronics -- based on improvements of faster computing and communications (Thanks to Moore's Law).
While Teslas and other cars gain in some features due to Moore's Law, there is no carryover to batteries and energy.
Computing and communications is about moving the fewest detectable electrons or photons to get the job done.
When moving people and masses of metal the energy required stays the same year after year...we can't cut it in half every couple of years.

I’m aware of Moore’s law especially where associated with computers until fairly recently. There are huge advances in other areas, immunology, medicine, disease research, cloning, genetic research, composites, superconductivity, fuel cells, hydrides, many of which don’t really follow the Moore’s law model. I don’t know that battery technology has peaked. There’s thought along the line of carbon monolayer based super-capacitors. I do not suggest that electric cars will follow Moore’s law. I do suggest they will advance. A lot.

It’s difficult to find any technology that has reached its end.

I won’t be around then. Well, not in my present form, anyway. My components will be around. My ashes will probably be in the ocean. So if I’m wrong, take a cruise, and toss an “I told you so” note into the ocean. I’ll know it’s you.