LR RWD owners - would you have ordered MR?

[BenR]

Before the floodgates opened in June and I thought I was going to be waiting until about now (or longer...) to even get an invite to configure, I went back and forth a lot on the SR vs. LR for my particular situation, assuming the SR would be available when I was invited or soon after. Several times I thought to myself "maaan, if there were an in-between option, 265 miles or so for $4500, that would be perfect." So yes, I absolutely would have ordered the MR had it been available at the time.

That said, I'm super-happy with how it worked out. I got my paint for $1000, premium connectivity for life, and the full $7500 tax credit (that I never expected to be able to get - plus a model car. ) Net cost $42,500. And my car just became a collector's item.

If I were ordering the MR today, net cost would be $42,750 (possibly going down to $39,000 with delivery by the end of the year, but who wants that kind of stress???) with an additional $100/yr fee for connectivity. Nope, I'll take what I got.

And the white seats would have tortured me. I like them a little better than the black, but definitely not enough to pay $1500 more. If they were an option at $500 more, I would definitely have jumped. At $1,000... eh. I would have gone back and forth and back and forth...

 

[fluxemag]

With the color price increases and silver metallic gone, the MR would have only saved me $3k. At that price it's a bit of a toss up for me, I would probably have stuck with the LR for the acceleration though. Delivery in 6-10 weeks is also putting a lot of faith in Tesla to deliver before Jan 1st.

 

[timk225]

The most important upgrade in this car is the range!

You can't add it later, and it's not only effect the range, especially in the winter, it's also effect the speed of charging!
Your stops becoming not only more frequent, but also much LONGER!!!

Tesla COULD swap in a big battery and change the software to upgrade the car. They just don't want to.

If MR had been available in April when I ordered my LR RWD 3, I probably would have gotten it for the cost savings.

 

[jsrawa]

What kind of real winter range do you think we in cold climates could see?

 

[MXWing]

Tesla COULD swap in a big battery and change the software to upgrade the car. They just don't want to.

If MR had been available in April when I ordered my LR RWD 3, I probably would have gotten it for the cost savings.

The 3MR was made for people like @timk225 . It's not an insult. Some people just want to get into a Tesla at the LOWEST price possible.

The 3MR is not the best 'deal' in 'relative' terms. It's the best deal in 'absolute terms'.

If you want to know about best deals, I'd rank them as

1.) CPO S P85D
2.) 3D or 3LRD
3.) Second hand 3 LR
4.) 3MR

 

[gambit48]

I wanted every extra mile I could get. If it were available at the time, I would have considered stretching for the AWD had it had even longer range. Feeling lucky that the AWD, bizarrely, doesn't have as good range as the LR like on the S/X.

 

[Kichwas]

I probably would have and then felt nervous about range for the first year and constant regret over “could I have afforded that”...

So glad I got what I did.
I already constantly question not paying $5000 for autopilot...

 

[Gavyne]

Long range and better acceleration means more to me than white interiors and slightly cheaper price. Although what I really want was LR RWD with white interiors lol.

 

[WileyTheMan]

No regrets at all.

 

[Sunshine Speed]

I ordered black LR RWD in August. I don't regret the purchase because I had to lock in the full tax credit. But if I knew 100% for sure that I could have gotten the car for $4400 cheaper (L.A. sales tax) with only 50 miles less range and slightly slower then I definitely would have taken the money and went for the MR version. In fact, what I REALLY wanted was the SR battery version to save $9900. That's a whole lot of money. I've been driving the car for 2 months and I barely use any of the range. I drive under 100 miles between charges even on weekend trips to Orange County. Most days I drive only 20 miles. Even with range loss to cold weather and uphill and AC and heating and 20%/80% charging I would be totally happy with the SR model and $9900 in my pocket. I have another car for long road trips (once a year).

 

[Carotene]

I would have had to think long and hard about it. That's for sure. I use my LR RWD for commuting with the occasional 3-5hr drive here and there. MR would have worked for my needs so I probably would have bit. But, I ended up buying a LR demo with ~3k miles so with the discount I pretty much got a LR for close to the price of a MR! The car is perfect in terms of paint, fit/finish, wind noise, etc. I'm guessing the demo cars get extra attention? I won't complain about the extra range and shorter SOC cycles on the battery.

That said, the great news is that you can't go wrong.
Got a LR? Neat, you have an awesome car!
Got a MR? Neat, you have an awesome car!

Don't look backwards with regrets folks. Eyes ahead and on to the next challenge.

 

[israndy]

I haven't seen anyone discuss if this is a smaller battery or a software-limited one like was done on the Model S 60 that you could upgrade later.

I REALLY wanted that car, all the advantages of the bigger battery, w/o the price. Since a software-limited battery would allow the same charging speed of the bottom half of the full battery, and you would NEVER come near overcharging the battery you would likely get greater lifespan out of the battery. I already do this when on a road trip, charge the bottom of the battery in 15-20 minutes and back on the road. The top half takes too long.

And since it's software it would always allow you that S60 worth of battery capacity even if the battery starts to degrade over time. And when there's a hurricane you get the full size of the battery to escape the destruction.

Of course, if it's not the same size battery with capacity only limited by software, then all that is moot.

-Randy

 

[CCIE]

No, I would have stuck with LR for that price delta. The RWD LR w/Aero is actually rated at 332 miles under the EPA test. If the RWD MR w/Aero is EPA-rated at 260 miles, that's a significant range difference to me and worth the money.

 

[Gavyne]

LR RWD Model 3 is the longest range Model 3 available, goes further than AWD/P3D. So the difference between LR and MR isn't just 50 miles, it's more like 70+ miles. I think 260 is plenty for most people to be honest, even myself. But I'm the kind of guy that appreciates a lil extra, and I love having zero range anxiety. LR is worth the money imo.

 

[N8Howell33]

I haven't seen anyone discuss if this is a smaller battery or a software-limited one like was done on the Model S 60 that you could upgrade later.

I REALLY wanted that car, all the advantages of the bigger battery, w/o the price. Since a software-limited battery would allow the same charging speed of the bottom half of the full battery, and you would NEVER come near overcharging the battery you would likely get greater lifespan out of the battery. I already do this when on a road trip, charge the bottom of the battery in 15-20 minutes and back on the road. The top half takes too long.

And since it's software it would always allow you that S60 worth of battery capacity even if the battery starts to degrade over time. And when there's a hurricane you get the full size of the battery to escape the destruction.

Of course, if it's not the same size battery with capacity only limited by software, then all that is moot.

-Randy

It is smaller battery, per Elon, so it is NOT software locked. Same structure with less cells as LR

 

[BOBEDIGITL]

No, I would have order LR either way. As many have mentioned, range is king.

 

[StellarRat]

You can't add it later...

Are you sure?

 

[StellarRat]

Had it been available I probably would have gone mid-range. That's more than enough for any trips I'm willing to take in a car. Once we're talking over a full day of driving I get on a plane. My original plan was to buy the SR with the premium interior and EAP, but I went LR to make sure I got the tax credit.

 

[Dogwhistle]

Perfectly happy with my LR RWD. Even more so as the temperatures drop this winter! More buffer to crank the heat, drive normally, and still not worry about range.

 

[lirandy]

I am actually even more happy with my LR RWD now since they have replaced it with mid range RWD. When all other automakers have their 250-range EV available, I am guessing the MR RWD used price will dive.