If gas were $0.66 per gallon......

[Brass Guy]

Difficult to answer. I've enjoyed driving this car for nearly 2 1/2 years, and I hate the thought of going back.
Fuel costs were part of my financial decision back then. Today, the car I was driving would cost less per mile - with fuel in my area below 1.70/gal and electricity over .20/kWh.

Based on all the other reasons I weighed, I think I'd still purchase the S today; even over the fuel cost consideration.

 

[jerry33]

Once you've driven a Tesla for a month, you aren't likely to go back--even if they pay $0.66/gal to do so.

 

[Max*]

I would not have bought Model S if the gas prices were this low...But now I would not buy any other ICE since I have owned MS.

Exact same thing here too.

 

[chriSharek]

FWIW, here's a great website that has a comparison of what it costs to create the electricity equivalent of 1 gallon of gas so you can compare with gas prices.

eGallon | Department of Energy

It looks like it's cheaper to drive on gas when prices get down to about $1.16 a gallon.

I have a Volt now and haven't bought gas since Thanksgiving. I feel like I'm missing out on some sort of deal with these low gas prices . . . until I consider the emissions. I wish we could include the environmental costs associated with these emissions in our calculations for $/gallon. I think the EVs would tell an even more compelling story.

60 days until my delivery of MS . . .

 

[Doug Darby]

Here in Texas electricity rates have dropped with the price of gas.
Last month I drove 1131 miles and charging completely at home cost me $8.37.
Comparatively even at $1.59 for Diesel that same distance would have cost me $99 in my truck.
I am fortunate to live in an area where electricity is deregulated and you can shop online for a low cost provider.

 

[Seven7]

Gas prices will probably start going up within a year or two, remember where the bulk of the oil comes from. It's not worth losing your head over

 

[ACDriveMotor]

Yes. For anyone who doesn't think gas will go up in a year and wants to back that with $ I am sure there are many that will happily buy futures from you at today's prices.

 

[Tyl]

Yes!!


Tesla's Mission Statement


<<To accelerate the advent of sustainable transport by bringing compelling mass market electric cars to market as soon as possible.>>




Tesla vehicles promote a reduction in CO2 hence keeping us (on our little blue marble) below 2°C.

This is really all that matters.

 

[PDFS]

I am considering ordering a MS70. I currently drive a 2010 Prius with over 200,000 miles on it. The nerd that I am causes me to keep a log book and record "date, mileage, distance driven since last fill up, gallons to fill up, cost per gallon and total cost". I went back and looked at 2014 and 2015 cost to fuel the prius and compared that to cost estimator on Tesla website. I would have spent approximately $380 more during this two year period to operate a Tesla than my Prius. Yes I am still considering buying a MS 70. I drive about 120 miles a day for work.

 

[roblab]

I am considering ordering a MS70. I currently drive a 2010 Prius with over 200,000 miles on it. The nerd that I am causes me to keep a log book and record "date, mileage, distance driven since last fill up, gallons to fill up, cost per gallon and total cost". I went back and looked at 2014 and 2015 cost to fuel the prius and compared that to cost estimator on Tesla website. I would have spent approximately $380 more during this two year period to operate a Tesla than my Prius. Yes I am still considering buying a MS 70. I drive about 120 miles a day for work.

You don't buy an electric over a gas car for the savings in gas prices. Or as the electric car people say, "You're saving the planet." And I personally found that I ended up driving a lot more when I drove electric. I would recommend moving up to a 90. I highly doubt that in a few years you will be sorry.

And you can toss the log book. And still be a nerd!

 

[mknox]

You don't buy an electric over a gas car for the savings in gas prices.

I did. It was my #1 reason. "Saving the Planet" was way down on my list, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter because I am driving a "clean" car anyway and everyone wins.

 

[PDFS]

I am considering ordering a MS70. I currently drive a 2010 Prius with over 200,000 miles on it. The nerd that I am causes me to keep a log book and record "date, mileage, distance driven since last fill up, gallons to fill up, cost per gallon and total cost". I went back and looked at 2014 and 2015 cost to fuel the prius and compared that to cost estimator on Tesla website. I would have spent approximately $380 more during this two year period to operate a Tesla than my Prius. Yes I am still considering buying a MS 70. I drive about 120 miles a day for work.

Went car shopping tonight. Looked at Hyundai Genesis, Audis, Volvos, another prius and a ford fusion. Realized no matter how good a deal on a ice I could not justify going back to 20 something miles per gallon car. Therefore I realized if not a tesla it would have to be a hybrid. Looked at plug ins for other cars and they are ridiculous. Bragging the salesman told me his plug in gets 28 miles to a charge then the gas motor kicks in. He then said the average person only drives 28 miles a day. I am in my 60s and I drive over 100 miles a day. What are some of them thinking.

If I can convince myself to pay the Tesla price that is the next car. I really do not want another prius but if I cannot convince myself it will be another prius.

Tesla is a great car trying to justify the price. I never spent that much on anything other than a house before.

 

[GoTslaGo]

You have to look at your own financials. If you're in your 60s, do you have enough for retirement? Other debt? Etc... MS70 is expensive compared to a prius or other hybrids. If you're driving 100+ miles a day, it may be worth it just for autopilot. We planned on "possibly" using autopilot features when we bought the car. My wife was only driving 10-15 miles a day. I was doing approximately 30-40 miles, some days less than 10.

But I had an inkling that was going to change (that was why I insisted on autopilot with the car) and boy did it, sooner than I expected. Now she is driving approximately 80-90 miles a day. Now she normally hates driving. But the other day she told me that with the AutoPilot features she really finds the drive much more relaxing than she ever expected it to be. I'm still driving an ICE, and I also drive the same amount of miles (80-90) now, and I hate it.

 

[jerry33]

There are cases where it's cheaper to use horses rather than tractors. I don't see any mass movement towards using horses in the agricultural industry. ICE cars are today's horses.

 

[ACDriveMotor]

I did. It was my #1 reason. "Saving the Planet" was way down on my list, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter because I am driving a "clean" car anyway and everyone wins.

Curious what math said that a Tesla MS had a reasonable break even point for you. Do you drive a ton of miles each year?

 

[jerry33]

Curious what math said that a Tesla MS had a reasonable break even point for you. Do you drive a ton of miles each year?

Break even depends on what you drove before. Many Tesla owners, though not me, come from cars with a similar sticker price, where break-even happens almost the first day.

A car that averages a real 30 mpg (not just the sticker number) gets 30 miles for $1.50 assuming that gas prices never change, My lifetime average over 65K miles gets 60 miles for $1.50, and over the three years I've had it gas hasn't always been $1.50. Now I'll never break even because there's a $50K differential between my previous car (Prius) and this one, but safety and comfort count for a lot.

 

[ACDriveMotor]

Yes, that is why I asked what situation made gas money savings the number one priority. I guess it is conceivable that someone trades laterally from a $100K+ gas vehicle to a MS to save gas. If I were trading from that price range I would expect performance and luxury would definitely be above gas savings.

 

[chriSharek]

Yes, that is why I asked what situation made gas money savings the number one priority. I guess it is conceivable that someone trades laterally from a $100K+ gas vehicle to a MS to save gas. If I were trading from that price range I would expect performance and luxury would definitely be above gas savings.

When you refer to "gas savings" are you talking specifically $? To me, there are gas savings that include reduction in fossil fuel consumption (leaving more oil for other stuff like medicine) and then there is saving gas emissions. To me both of these have value, but don't have immediate financial impact on your household income. Certainly they will on the next generation.

If we could somehow quantify the true "cost" of converting one gallon of gas to hydrocarbons in our atmosphere, I truly believe there would be a more compelling case to go electric.

(I realize the grid isn't the cleanest, but its cleaner than gas in Florida AND it's beyond my control)

 

[jerry33]

The problem with the term "break even" is that it assumes the EV experience will be poor and the only possible justification is cost. No one talks about break even when referring to an S Class because it's assumed it was purchased for performance, luxury, reliability, or status. These are also why a Tesla is purchased in addition to the low pollution aspects and energy costs.

 

[mknox]

Curious what math said that a Tesla MS had a reasonable break even point for you. Do you drive a ton of miles each year?

As has been pointed out, "break even" depends on what you compare to. The Model S compares quite closely in price to cars it directly competes with, so if you were already driving or shopping in the same price bracket, the "break even" would be immediate and the savings would start to accrue immediately.

In my case, I was driving (and shopping for) a car in around the $60k price range. I ordered my Model S way before production began and paid a bit over $80k after incentives. I was driving 40,000 km (25,000 miles) a year, and gas at the time was going for $1.20 a liter ($4.55 a gallon) My car at the time was getting around 21 MPG. It turns out the monthly financing, "fuel" and insurance cost of my Model S was slightly below the monthly financing, fuel and insurance cost of the $60k car it replaced.