I've loved Tesla for 7 years. But after years of abuse, I'm out

[whttiger25]

Regarding all the discussion on holding value, I will throw in my experience. The car I purchased in june of 2017, a base model s 100d with only EAP and blue paint, had a $99k sticker or about $92k because of the available federal rebate so we can compare apples to apples. Let's take off another $2k for EAP features since I only had base included Autopilot in new car, so $90k. The base model vehicle I purchased this summer for $75k was 0.5 seconds faster, and had about $10k of included options I didn't have before (hifi sound, pleather interior, adaptive suspension, more range (wasn't an option then), and cold weather package). So the base price dropped $15k, add on another $10k of options you are looking at $25k of depreciation having only to do with the price cuts and standard feature increases over 3 years.

That being said, you can look at the evolution of the model S and conclude that we are reaching some sort of maturity - they won't be able to or have a reason to keep slashing the price. Early adopters like me paid the price as they ramped up economies of scale, but that doesn't necessary have to continue to the same degree in the future.

 

[Fairchild]

Lol not sure if serious?

Very Serious

 

[AMPd]

Very Serious

Well I guess you’re free to tell yourself whatever you want.

 

[hotgrips]

Speaking about the necessity of having to upgrade an MCU1 to an MCU2: Is there a way to learn how many "writes" your car has so far on your original MCU1 (MS-'15 P85D) and how much room the memory chip has left (number of "writes" capacity before it has to be replaced at $2000. to $2500. for the MCU2?) Is there a method of reducing the number of "writes"? Why does Tesla have such a limited memory chip? And why can Tesla not reduce the number of events it memorizes by an over-the-air adjustment. What a screwy situation!

 

[Snowstorm]

Speaking about the necessity of having to upgrade an MCU1 to an MCU2: Is there a way to learn how many "writes" your car has so far on your original MCU1 (MS-'15 P85D) and how much room the memory chip has left (number of "writes" capacity before it has to be replaced at $2000. to $2500. for the MCU2?) Is there a method of reducing the number of "writes"? Why does Tesla have such a limited memory chip? And why can Tesla not reduce the number of events it memorizes by an over-the-air adjustment. What a screwy situation!

I heard that the MCU1 repair is now about $500 as they only replace the board and not the whole thing anymore. Anyhow, I had the MCU2 upgrade done and felt it was so worth it, like a new car again with so many features and oh the slick screen. I have a June 2017 model s.

 

[David_Cary]

And Tesla reportedly (by them) has reduced the writing to the chip but no one is sure by how much. They would call it significant if it was 10% less but it wouldn't seem significant to someone with a dying MCU1.
$500 gets you a new chip (and board) with labor. The chip seems to be much bigger - although I haven't heard 100% on that. It says 64 gb on people's invoice vs 8 gb from original. There is some debate that this maybe bits vs bytes (and therefore the same size chip) but that is not the majority opinion.

As far as the interesting performance resale debate....
There are absolutely some ICE performance versions that did better in resale. But Tesla made huge improvements in performance and made huge price reductions on performance models and so Tesla specifically got really hammered on some of the early performance resale values. I mean the P85D was crushed very quickly by faster Teslas.

I mean a Supra Turbo was king of the hill and modifiable for a long time. The P85D was king of the hill for less than 12 months and is very difficult to modify. Apples to Oranges.
Used car buyers are value driven. $20k to go faster - not likely.

The average car age can be 11 years and no one might keep a luxury car for 6 years. That is totally congruent. Lots of used buyers is all it means. Everyone has different realities and lives in different areas. Cars are a status symbol for many and owning a 6 year old car might make them look poor. Since Teslas have always had an additional reason to buy beyond status, the resale equation probably is a bit different.

 

[Gumball]

Speaking about the necessity of having to upgrade an MCU1 to an MCU2: Is there a way to learn how many "writes" your car has so far on your original MCU1 (MS-'15 P85D) and how much room the memory chip has left (number of "writes" capacity before it has to be replaced at $2000. to $2500. for the MCU2?) Is there a method of reducing the number of "writes"? Why does Tesla have such a limited memory chip? And why can Tesla not reduce the number of events it memorizes by an over-the-air adjustment. What a screwy situation!

yes,yes,they did,already reduced, because 2010 technology,(8 gig was big back then),and they already did.

A bit screwy maybe.

 

[Chaserr]

Speaking about the necessity of having to upgrade an MCU1 to an MCU2: Is there a way to learn how many "writes" your car has so far on your original MCU1 (MS-'15 P85D) and how much room the memory chip has left (number of "writes" capacity before it has to be replaced at $2000. to $2500. for the MCU2?) Is there a method of reducing the number of "writes"? Why does Tesla have such a limited memory chip? And why can Tesla not reduce the number of events it memorizes by an over-the-air adjustment. What a screwy situation!

They have a way. I put in a mobile app service request and they responded my chip looks OK remotely but I can schedule preventative maintenance if I notice it getting worse.

 

[hotgrips]

Many posters here (also in this thread) are Tesla stock owners.

Perhaps in 2016 time Tesla returned phone calls, but not lately. I've heard this issue from a number of MS owners. I've been a TSLA stock owner for the past several months, and I could more than buy another EV after taxes from the price volatility. It's too scary for me now, but I appreciate what TSLA stock did for me.

I am curious about the Lucid Air, which is supposed to be revealed 9-9-20. Unfortunately, they haven't released any pricing, drivetrains RWD, AWD, options, battery capacity, etc. All to be released this Wednesday 9-9-20. They will take orders on 9-9-20 but you have to have an account with them to choose what you want for equipment even if you have their $1000. deposit with them. The actual account can only be established the same day. I talked for 20 minutes with a CA sales rep., and he mentioned that if a customer wants one of the first cars built, they can buy the "Dream Edition" for a $25k deposit. They can then move up to the head of the line on delivery. The bad side of that is you'll get all the flaws that will be corrected later. I think it is $25k extra.

But the "Dream Edition" is all cosmetic, not improved battery capacity nor improved performance. I just learned that the Saudis in the Middle East have been highly invested with Lucid Air, and the same Arab based group put money into Tesla at one time, perhaps they still are. The Lucid Air is able to accept charge at a rate up to 350kw, which the Electrify America charging stations can provide. It seems somewhat difficult to learn much about the Lucid Air, although buried in their website they showed a video of a prototype clocked at 235mph. There is a top speed limiter that is supposed to be built into the cars, which is a good thing when you consider 1080 hp AWD drivetrain.

 

[BigNick]

I just learned that the Saudis in the Middle East have been highly invested with Lucid Air, and the same Arab based group put money into Tesla at one time, perhaps they still are.

They need to be invested in something when the oil runs out. Probably not in my lifetime but eventually it will dry up.

 

[FlatSix911]

Speaking about the necessity of having to upgrade an MCU1 to an MCU2: Is there a way to learn how many "writes" your car has so far on your original MCU1 (MS-'15 P85D) and how much room the memory chip has left (number of "writes" capacity before it has to be replaced at $2000. to $2500. for the MCU2?)

Is there a method of reducing the number of "writes"? Why does Tesla have such a limited memory chip? And why can Tesla not reduce the number of events it memorizes by an over-the-air adjustment. What a screwy situation!

I have asked Tesla Service repeatedly for this information and they refuse to provide any data on the eMMC and number of writes.

 

[hotgrips]

I have asked Tesla Service repeatedly for this information and they refuse to provide any data on the eMMC and number of writes.

They would prefer to sell complete assemblies to maximize the bottom line. The best thing to do is learn who will competently swap out the 8gb sweetie to a 64gb sweetie. Anyone out there know of that competent shop or person?