Model S Buyers: What's Your Income?

[morbot]

While it's interesting question to ask, you have to realize that income level is not the only way to measure finances and wealth. There's a lot of factors from where you are in life; young, old, married, kids, single, savings, etc.

A person could be retired, with a lot of savings and only taking out >40k a year from their investments for tax reasons... Maybe they bought it straight up with cash. Likewise they could be young and come from money and maybe they work for a non-profit or volunteer most their time... but their income is low.

On the mid-levels, you're not always comparing apples to apples. If the household income is 100k-120k with two people working and three kids, yeah maybe not a great idea to spend this much on car. If you're on that same level and your "household" is just you, a single person that is a whole different situation.

 

[eloder]

the poll I get, and I voted.

the novels being written here are not needed, sorry.

I find it interesting.

 

[Pilot_51]

On the mid-levels, you're not always comparing apples to apples. If the household income is 100k-120k with two people working and three kids, yeah maybe not a great idea to spend this much on car. If you're on that same level and your "household" is just you, a single person that is a whole different situation.

Household income is a pretty bad indicator of wealth or spending power. It makes some sense when the person answering has access to all the household income, such as a working couple with a joint account. However, in many cases such as my own, where other family members are employed and each keep their income to themselves, household income can make them look very wealthy when in fact they're just middle-class. My household income is approximately $300k with four employed, but none of us are anywhere near "swimmin' in cash"; more like "swimmin' in debt" with my car, brother having a medical accident without insurance a few years ago, and mortgage.

As you hinted, necessary expenses can vary considerably between individuals and households, making income sort of a moot point for determining someone's ability to buy something like a Model S.

 

[bonnie]

I defined myself as the only person realizing this is the dumbest tread on this forum ...

And yet you keep coming back and posting.

Hobbies: Long Walks on the Beach
Occupation: Gigolo
Income: $5.6M annual income
Favorite Food: Cheeseburger
Favorite Movie: Muppets Go To Manhattan
Favorite Color: Grey

I defined myself as the only person realizing this is the dumbest tread on this forum, followed by soap box ego strokers feeding the topic. Seriously. No one cares

the poll I get, and I voted.

the novels being written here are not needed, sorry.

 

[krisg81]

And yet you keep coming back and posting.

thanks Bonnie, I came back to respond not because I show interest in the topic. But thats fine, lets just continue the show n tell time folks, whose next??

 

[bonnie]

thanks Bonnie, I came back to respond not because I show interest in the topic. But thats fine, lets just continue the show n tell time folks, whose next??

Only point being that if you think this is 'the dumbest tread' on TMC, your posts make up a significant percentage of this thread. Ironic, isn't it?

 

[ecarfan]

I came back to respond not because I show interest in the topic.

Your statement seems inherently contradictory. Your repeated posts demonstrate your "interest in the topic". Your interest is in refuting it. That is still "interest".

 

[ThosEM]

In trying to justify spending so much on a car, it occurred to me that many people own boats, light aircraft, classic cars, off-road vehicles, sports cars, etc. in the category of recreational vehicles. That might have an impact on how much they are willing to spend on a car. I own a kayak, but otherwise no other significant recreational vehicles. I was strongly considering a classic car, maybe a restoration project, before zeroing in on the Model S. I don't mean to imply that the Model S is a "recreational vehicle", but it certainly does take up a lot of "mind space". What do you think, would it be worth another poll to see what kinds of other vehicles Model S owners have in their "stables"?

 

[hybridbear]

This thread is quite intriguing to me as a potential used Model S buyer. We'd fall at the lower end of the income spectrum, but we have no debt. We live in an apartment & have a ClipperCreek LCS-50 that we use for charging our BEV & PHEV that we have now. We could make more, but my wife & I both choose to work part-time so that we can spend a lot of our time volunteering for causes that we're passionate about.

 

[Grendal]

In trying to justify spending so much on a car, it occurred to me that many people own boats, light aircraft, classic cars, off-road vehicles, sports cars, etc. in the category of recreational vehicles. That might have an impact on how much they are willing to spend on a car. I own a kayak, but otherwise no other significant recreational vehicles. I was strongly considering a classic car, maybe a restoration project, before zeroing in on the Model S. I don't mean to imply that the Model S is a "recreational vehicle", but it certainly does take up a lot of "mind space". What do you think, would it be worth another poll to see what kinds of other vehicles Model S owners have in their "stables"?

There was a thread about what other cars people own. It was fun and interesting.

On topic, I voted wrong. I just did my income and not our household income. Oh, well.

 

[McHoffa]

In trying to justify spending so much on a car, it occurred to me that many people own boats, light aircraft, classic cars, off-road vehicles, sports cars, etc. in the category of recreational vehicles. That might have an impact on how much they are willing to spend on a car. I own a kayak, but otherwise no other significant recreational vehicles. I was strongly considering a classic car, maybe a restoration project, before zeroing in on the Model S. I don't mean to imply that the Model S is a "recreational vehicle", but it certainly does take up a lot of "mind space". What do you think, would it be worth another poll to see what kinds of other vehicles Model S owners have in their "stables"?

This thread is quite intriguing to me as a potential used Model S buyer. We'd fall at the lower end of the income spectrum, but we have no debt. We live in an apartment & have a ClipperCreek LCS-50 that we use for charging our BEV & PHEV that we have now. We could make more, but my wife & I both choose to work part-time so that we can spend a lot of our time volunteering for causes that we're passionate about.

Good points above. I'd add that in addition to maybe not having debt, is the size (cost) of the homes. I know people in my income range that choose to live in a house three times the price of mine. It's all about tradeoffs. Do you choose a big house as your "play" spending, or RV, or ATVs, or a third car, or project car? We like having spending money vs big payments on things. Well, I guess after the Model 3 unveiling, that will change a little, whether it's a deposit on a 3 or a 70D purchase.

 

[Pilot_51]

On topic, I voted wrong. I just did my income and not our household income. Oh, well.

If your income and spending is independent of others in the household, as mine is, going by household income would only skew the results higher than they ought to be, making owners look richer than they really are. I could only guesstimate what the incomes of the rest of my family in the household are and I'm not about to go around asking them. That said, I voted only for myself.

 

[Zybane]

btw, >$500k folks aren't always "swimming' in cash." Between alimony, child support, mortgages, lease payments, property upkeep, tuition, horses, moorings, etc., there are high-income people can't write a check for $90k. I don't have much sympathy for their "plight," but I certainly know a few in that category. We all make choices....

Depends on perspective. If you are making over $500K a year, you are swimming in cash. Just because you spend it all on the above items doesn't mean you didn't have a lot of cash to start with.

 

[green1]

It's not about how much you make, it's about how you spend it.

I just ticked the second lowest box on this poll, along with only 2.7% of respondents, but I just picked up an inventory P85+ with cash.

I didn't inherit the money, or win the lottery, or anything like that. I'm just good at saving. I bought my house 15 years ago, and paid it off in 8 years, I live relatively frugally and spend very little. I have no debt now, and apart from 8 years of a mortgage, I have never had any debt.

Now if I added my wife's income to mine, we'd be in a higher bracket, but that wouldn't really be an honest way of tracking it either. Although we each contribute equally to household expenses (food, utilities, home maintenance, children), discretionary spending is completely independent, and I wouldn't have dreamed of asking my wife to contribute to my Tesla purchase.

 

[!S4]

Just an interesting data point...my coworker found out I got a Tesla and said there's no way he could spend that much on a car. He made > $800k last year and leases a fully loaded 5 series.

 

[Johann Koeber]

Just an interesting data point...my coworker found out I got a Tesla and said there's no way he could spend that much on a car. He made > $800k last year and leases a fully loaded 5 series.

Even people making a lot of money can be poor.

It must be the mindset.

 

[aesculus]

If your income and spending is independent of others in the household, as mine is, going by household income would only skew the results higher than they ought to be, making owners look richer than they really are. I could only guesstimate what the incomes of the rest of my family in the household are and I'm not about to go around asking them. That said, I voted only for myself.

The definition of household or family income in this context is what you would put on your tax return, if filing jointly. Not adding up all the separate incomes of people who live in the same household. Its a common way to address this issue and is what is required if you take out a loan, even if you normally file separately.

 

[ozweepay]

Make no mistake, the Model S is expensive, but it's not out of reach for a lot of Tesla folks.

The guy who sold me my Tesla said he would love to own one, but it would be in no-way affordable. So he drives a Civic.

Of course most days, 9-5, he drives a Tesla.... to your house!

 

[Max*]

The definition of household or family income in this context is what you would put on your tax return, if filing jointly.

That's not how I took this poll. I have rental income too, but I didn't include that in my annual gross income, because the mortgage (principle + interest, maybe not fair to calculate this way), condo fees, insurance, etc. offsets it.

 

[Beryl]

A couple of years ago, I would have voted with the majority of respondents here. As an early retiree, my pension income is modest -- under $50K -- so that is how I voted. Frugal living enabled me to retire young.

I'm quite thankful that even in my new income category, I am able to reserve a Tesla Model X. I have no debts and no need to spend more than $40K annually except for next year when I might spend $170K with the purchase of a Tesla. I would never spend this much on a luxury ICE vehicle.