Tesla Model S Purchase Experience and First Impressions

[derekt75]

But the main reason I started this thread was to describe how terrible Tesla communication is.

Am I the only one still stuck on how a buyer emailed the founder of a company selling 5,000 cars per quarter and the founder manages to make things right for the buyer?

To me, that's much more remarkable than a college grad getting a luxury car with help from his parents.

 

[GruvyS]

Agreed on all counts. Lucky kid gets help from parents to get a luxury car of his choice (I am certain all of us wish we were in the same boat). Why press him over how it got done? It got done and as a TSLA shareholder, thank you for your purchase!
As a fellow owner: congrats and drive in good health!
derekt75 - agreed +1

 

[Jack_L]

Am I the only one still stuck on how a buyer emailed the founder of a company selling 5,000 cars per quarter and the founder manages to make things right for the buyer?

To me, that's much more remarkable than a college grad getting a luxury car with help from his parents.

Agreed. It's amazing and shows how different Tesla is.

 

[highfalutintodd]

I have to admit, it's kind of amazing how often someone is able to contact Elon Musk or George Blankenship directly for help.

On the flip side, of course, it's equally amazing how often someone reaches the point where they HAVE to reach out to the heads of the company just to GET any help....

I get growing pains and all, but Tesla has some serious work to do in order to get the (obviously excellent) corporate culture evident at the top of the chain to be represented all the way down.

 

[anticitizen13.7]

Ignorant words. But financial markets are good at teaching lessons. Happily, losing all one's money in their 20s can be a good learning experience.

I must emphatically agree with this. Betting on making the $1500/month payment with trading profits is an extremely dangerous move. Right now, trading looks easy, fun, and profitable because we're in a Bull Market. Look back on 2001 and 2008 though, and remember that things can turn very bad very quickly.

As a general matter, I disagree that one needs to save in their 20s. The Age-Earnings Profile research by the likes of Modigliani, Keynes, Friedman, Becker and Mincer shows that earnings are low in one’s 20s, rising to one’s 50s, and then falling in one’s 60s.

There are a couple reasons I disagree with this.

Starting to save early means getting in the habit of saving. People who never get into the habit of saving often grow their lifestyle to fit income increases.
Saving up an emergency fund is a necessary hedge against job loss, unanticipated home repairs, and other oddball financial events.
If one earns little money and is paying low taxes, putting money into a Roth IRA makes sense. Putting low-taxed income into an investment vehicle that is tax-free upon cash out is a potential gold mine.

I'm not advocating living like a monk and saving every penny. When I was in my 20's I did my share of partying, but I always put some money in savings and retirement accounts before getting around to buying nice stuff. With things as uncertain as they are today, I'm glad I have that extra cushion.

 

[ipdamages]

There are a couple reasons I disagree with this.

Starting to save early means getting in the habit of saving. People who never get into the habit of saving often grow their lifestyle to fit income increases.

Saving up an emergency fund is a necessary hedge against job loss, unanticipated home repairs, and other oddball financial events.
If one earns little money and is paying low taxes, putting money into a Roth IRA makes sense. Putting low-taxed income into an investment vehicle that is tax-free upon cash out is a potential gold mine.

I'm not advocating living like a monk and saving every penny. When I was in my 20's I did my share of partying, but I always put some money in savings and retirement accounts before getting around to buying nice stuff. With things as uncertain as they are today, I'm glad I have that extra cushion.

I think that what you say makes a LOT of sense. That's why I wrote this:

Because one’s earnings generally rise as one ages and then decline later in life, it makes sense to over-consume/dis-save as a child, in one’s early career, and in retirement. In other words, while it may be helpful to set a little aside from early on, it is also entirely logical to not keep one’s consumption to a level to permit savings from an income that is a fraction of one expects to make in the future. Instead, a more level consumption function would be justified, including in retirement.

Of course, living a life within one’s means is also a good idea. Many people have a bad habit of growing their consumption into their means (and then some). And life can get expensive with costs like private schools, medical or hospice care for the elderly, or other unforeseen events (long term disability, etc.). In general, the people I see who consume like crazy in pursuit of happiness tend not to find it, while those who live within their means tend to find a sense of calm that comes from knowing they can check out and do whatever they want to, whenever they want, and are not beholden to “the man.” They aren’t loud, but instead quietly happy and don’t feel a need to go yell about it to the world.

The underlined sections of your post align with the underlined sections in mine.

But my point about the Life-Cycle Hypothesis is that it happens and is not so rare, and in some ways is logical in that it calls for a smoothing of consumption rather than a significant change in lifestyle and spending. Here is another summary:

An extension to the two-period consumption model is that of the Life-Cycle Hypothesis or LCH model. The LCH model defines individual behavior as an attempt to smooth out consumption patterns over one's lifetime somewhat independent of current levels of income. This model states that early in one's life consumption expenditure may very well exceed income as the individual may be making major purchases related to buying a new home, starting a family, and beginning a career. At this stage in life the individual will borrow from the future to support these expenditure needs. In mid-life however, these expenditure patterns begin to level off and are supported or perhaps exceeded by increases in income. At this stage the individual repays any past borrowings and begins to save for her or his retirement. Upon retirement, consumption expenditure may begin to decline however income usually declines dramatically. In this stage of life, the individual dis-saves or lives off past savings until death.
The Life-Cycle Hypothesis

As to whether it is a good idea to dis-save in one's 20s, I have seen examples supporting a yes and a no position. But in general, extreme conspicuous consumption is not something that I've seen lead to much happiness. Nor does the other extreme offer much excitement to get the juices flowing. Moderation has its appeal too, but as I sometimes say, I prefer moderation in moderation. Occasionally a little excess is needed. My Roadster is a prime example. Nobody needs a Roadster, but mine makes me smile almost every day.