Is MY LR worth $5250?

[NikolaTFan]

Hi all,

Last week in CT they added the base MY to their CHEAPR EV rebate program, which offers a $2250 (or more) rebate from the state.

The state program has an MSRP cap of $50k, so only the newly lower priced standard range MY applies.

With the rebate factored in, LR means spending an extra $5250.

We take several trips a year to PA, about 200 miles one way. Certainly the LR is more likely to get us there on one charge, but is 4 or 5 trips a year worth it?

I’d been all set to order a MYLR, but now with the rebate in play, I’m wondering whether it’s worth the $5250 swing for the LR.

Any opinions here would be appreciated!

 

[trm2]

It is hard when people bring logic into the equation! You will need to charge either car once you get into PA, so it doesn’t save time.

 

[ewoodrick]

In the Northeast, there tend to be Superchargers all over the place. So, travel isn't really a problem. Generally, the difference may end up being an extra Supercharger stop.

In the winter, you can expect to derate the range by about 30% because of the temperature and conditions. But still, there are Superchargers all over the place.

Around the remainder of the country, Superchargers are placed to allow standard range cars to make it, so there are no real issues there.

It's 50 miles (30 in winter) difference that you are talking about. If you are a new EV owner, then range anxiety will probably be a big thing for you.

 

[exxxviii]

Once you get north of around 250 miles, you are in the territory of diminishing returns where range makes a difference. There is the fun factor to consider...

Is the standard Model Y eligible for the Acceleration Boost option? The 0-60 speed is pretty similar, but the MYLR with AB is a ~4-second car, where the standard MY is probably around a 4.7 second car (both with rollout excluded).

So, the other data point to consider is whether 0.7 seconds quicker to 60 might also be worth some extra spend.

 

[NikolaTFan]

Thanks all, I appreciate the feedback.

I have rented a MYLR and a M3 in the last couple months and did drive the M3 on our of typical trips to PA.

Stopping once to top off wasn’t a huge issue in either direction and the place we stay in PA has chargers available (though not superchargers)

I figure the M3 range is similar to the MY, so the experience should be similar, but I also realize it was only one trip, so I wanted to see advice before making a choice!

 

[Unclepaul]

If you want the rebate, you will need to make more stops.

 

[NikolaTFan]

If you want the rebate, you will need to make more stops.

Heh, yes, it does come down to that.

I guess what I was curious about how much a nuisance the frequency of stopping is going to be, and whether there are any other considerations I’m not aware of…

 

[cloudflare69]

The MYSR doesn't seem to have boost option, but comparing them side by side, I'd take a LR if you can swing it. The extra 50 or so miles makes a difference in PA where they have some holes in the SC network (they're being filled, but not up yet)

 

[gx9901]

I think it comes down to how you look at car purchases. I always end up with the top of the line trim when I buy new cars because my thought process was if I’m already spending say $40-50k, what’s another $4-5k?

If you’re stretching to buy the Model Y and every thousand dollars count, then the MYAWD probably make sense.

As for doing 4-5 relatively short road trips per year, as long as there are plenty of super chargers on the route, either model should be just fine.

One more thing I would add is that if you think you might ever go for the acceleration boost, take a serious look at the MYP. The current price delta makes it a better buy than an MYLR-AB in my opinion.

 

[tm3lrawd]

If you want to get nerdy about this, use an app called A Better Route Planner to plan some trips that you might like to take with your MY. Plan the trips in each car and see how long the trips will take and how many charging stops are needed.

 

[GreenCoffee]

It's really not even a 50 mile difference as very few get anywhere near the EPA rated range, expect 225 max out of the MYAWD and around 265 from the LR for the average driver on a road trip with freeway speeds around 70 to 75 mph, I knocked off about 20% and that seems about right for me.
We have all read stories of miracle numbers on range here and i'm sure some hypermillers will chime in with their excellent technics but I am talking average person driving here.

 

[GreenCoffee]

If you want to get nerdy about this, use an app called A Better Route Planner to plan some trips that you might like to take with your MY. Plan the trips in each car and see how long the trips will take and how many charging stops are needed.

I did this for a 1300 mile trip and the stops were negligible, i think it was 2 1/2 hrs. vs 3 1/4 hrs. charging times, SoCal to Vancouver B.C. I had already purchased the MYAWD but it was something to see that the difference was far less than expected on ABRP. I even knocked the real world range down to 200 miles on mine and 250 on the LR to see and still this was only 45 min. more to charge.

 

[jjrandorin]

I think it comes down to how you look at car purchases. I always end up with the top of the line trim when I buy new cars because my thought process was if I’m already spending say $40-50k, what’s another $4-5k?

This is me, as well. Not only do I end up thinking I am going to have severe "FOMO" (fear of missing out), I also know that (for example) very very VERY few people ever say things like:

"Wow... I wish my TV were smaller, this one is too big"
"Man, I wish my computer were slower, this one is too darn fast"
"I wish my EV had less range than it does now"
"its a shame that my receiver supports Dolby atmos 7.2.6, who in the world needs that many speakers?" (lol)

So I always end up with the higher end trim of whatever it is I am looking at, because I also tend to keep things a while (with the exception of cars, which I normally would get tired of after 5 years or so) and you can always grow into something.

Thats after researching stuff and making sure I am not just "paying for a name" but paying for some actual differences (range, operating noise, power, etc) on whatever it is.

In this case, if this is going to be the only vehicle, then I would say go for the additional range. If there is another vehicle to take those longer trips in, I would say its almost a no brainer to get the shorter range one IF thats the case (another vehicle for those long trips if you dont like taking them in the EV).

Note, not because you cant take them in the EV, just that you would have another option if you ended up thinking you need / want one.

I happen to think that Teslas are the absolute best commuter cars in the world, with "commuter car" defined as around town, driving to work and back, stores / shopping, and the very occasional trip to relatives out of town". If someone takes long trips a lot, or there is a gap in supercharger coverage, etc, then it should be evaluated, but for going to work and back, around town, etc, provided one can charge at home, these cars rule.

 

[ewoodrick]

This is me, as well. Not only do I end up thinking I am going to have severe "FOMO" (fear of missing out), I also know that (for example) very very VERY few people ever say things like:

"Wow... I wish my TV were smaller, this one is too big"
"Man, I wish my computer were slower, this one is too darn fast"
"I wish my EV had less range than it does now"
"its a shame that my receiver supports Dolby atmos 7.2.6, who in the world needs that many speakers?" (lol)

But with the significant costs of the option, it's not a trivial decision. I'd be looking also at Advanced AutoPilot and FSD, although I believe that they are both available after the car purchase. The poster's problem is whether to slip under a stupid government law and get money or not.

 

[DayTrippin]

From a purely economic perspective, it doesn't make sense. Having said that, I'll spend the extra $$$. The ability to add boost is a big plus in my book. The MY LR isn't really quick to begin with and the base version is even slower. Adding boost to my MY LR actually made it a lot more fun to drive.

The MY isn't going to be a great car for range to begin with. Driven the same way as my S and 3, it got worse range than either of them. The extra 50 miles of range isn't trivial considering how much Tesla lies err, games the system. As others said, factor in cold weather and you are down in the low 200's with the MY LR on a cold day. What is that piece of mind worth.

I think the base model has the structural battery pack. Don't quote me on that. If it does, likely means if the car is in a moderate accident, it is likely a write-off. It doesn't seem like that pack is easily repairable.

One last thought about range. The smaller your discharge cycle, the less wear and tear on the battery. Is enough to matter in your case, I don't know. I always went for the most range I could to have a bigger buffer, and smaller depth of discharge cycles. I don't think you'll ever regret having the extra range. In the used market, there might be more interest in the car with greater range than less. Not to mention as your pack deteriorates, you lose range anyway.

 

[Watts_Up]

Hi all,

Last week in CT they added the base MY to their CHEAPR EV rebate program, which offers a $2250 (or more) rebate from the state.

Buy a MY 4680 and about 30 TSLA. ($5250 / $187 = 28 TSLA)

In 5 years, sell the 30 TSLA and get a new MY for free !!!

In 5 years, TSLA might be $1,000, and a 2023 MY might be sold for 50% of current value or at least $25,000​

If not buying TSLA, for $5250 you get about 52,500 miles of Supercharger:

300 miles for 75 kWh or 4 miles for 1 kWh.​

If Supercharger avarage price is $0.40 per kWh.​

Then 1 kWh costs $0.40 for 4 miles, or 1 mile costs $0.10​

Any opinions here would be appreciated!

The 4680 structural battery pack is super cool:

Seriously, the most critical for an EV is the battery, but unless you plan driving in areas
with low supercharging infrastructure (Wyoming and around)
if you compare the 90% to 30% of the MY 4680 versus MY LR
you get (279 miles x 60% ) = 167 miles versus (330 mile x 60%) = 198 miles.
So a difference of 31 miles, which don't seem too critical when doing only few long trips a year.

Note: in Winter or when driving above 80 miles / hour,
you might loose 40% more so the difference in range would be only 12 miles.


It is also possible that the 4680 batteries are software limited,
and total capacity could be improved, but purely speculation for now.

 

[Need]

I think OP would be fine with either choice. When we got our 2017 MX, there were only 2 non-performance choices: 75D with 238 miles range or 90D with 257 miles range. The 90D was $13,000 more. Guess which one we went with? After 5.5 years, our 75D MX still has 209 miles at full charge. That's good enough for us for road trips. The only difference between a 200 miles and 300 miles range car is not road trips. It is really the same day back and forth trip at around 130-150 miles. A 200 miles @ 100% Tesla may go 180 miles in the summer, but probably under 160 miles in the winter. When we drive to the airport to pick up someone, it is a 140 miles roundtrip. Most of the time, we could make it in a full charge. But once in a while if the freeway was actually not busy and we drove 85 MPH heading there, we have to charge at a supercharger for 5 to 10 min to have enough margin of juice to get back home. Those are the time you wish you have an extra 50 miles so you don't have to pick up your guests at the airport and told them, sorry I have to charge 10 min at the supercharger before we could head home. Especially if it is late at night at Christmas Eve... LOL.

 

[Need]

Model Y LR price just lowered to under $50K. So, OP can now get either one and not missed out on state rebate. So only $3K difference between the 2 models again.

 

[GreenCoffee]

Model Y LR price just lowered to under $50K. So, OP can now get either one and not missed out on state rebate. So only $3K difference between the 2 models again.

Damn! I wish I needed another one, what a deal! they must have a growing inventory what with so many of us rushing to buy before the perceived loss of the $7,500 tax credit and the ramp up in production, two price cuts so close together, what a great time to be a buyer!

 

[NikolaTFan]

heh, I had no idea if I waited a few days, Telsa would make the decision for me.... . I guess it's a white MYLR for me...

Even if Tesla's concerns about sales and inventory coming out of the rush to the April 18 tax deadline have made the original question moot, I really do appreciate everyone's thoughtful replies.

The $3k money difference still gives me pause, and I'm not 100% sold that the additional range and acceleration are worth $3k, I do think I'd prefer to own the LR model even if I don't need the extra range all that often.

I don't buy cars very often, so those of you suggesting that over the course of my ownership the few thousand extra dollars wouldn't mean much, and that almost nobody ever looks back and wishes they'd bought the lower spec'd model of car, definitely did register with me.

My last car was a 2003 Accord, which I owned for nearly 20 years before selling it during the pandemic, and while it was super reliable and practical, there were many times I thought to myself that I'd wished I bought something a bit further upmarket.