What to say when asked how much your X costs...

[Slappy32]

I was taught to never ask someone how much a major purchase cost, but there are plenty of folks that have no issue with asking the question. My wife and I have been trying to come up with a gracious answer without actually answering the question.

I'd love to get some ideas from fellow Tesla owners on this subject.

 

[Rockster]

I have an S, not an X, but I just say something along the lines of, "When purchased new, they range in price from X to Y, depending upon features selected." If they persist in knowing more, I just suggest they spend some time playing with the Design Studio (obviously not possible with the X at the moment).

 

[bigjsl]

"About the same as 'insert more well known similarly priced vehicle in your market'"

In Australia that means "About the same as a Benz C63 only faster and silent."

Anyone can go look up the price later if they get a kick out of that.

 

[JenniferQ]

I have an S, but if they ask, I tell them what they start at. Then there are options. Then I mention Model 3. And the tax credits. But, yeah, it's a lot. I tell them to visit a store at the mall. That's always fun. Buying a car at the mall...?!

 

[electricity]

You can always blame someone else. Yeah its pretty expensive but the wife insisted..

 

[omarsultan]

With my MS, I just say they start at $70K and go up from there--its debadged, so that helps. I'll probably take a similar tack with the MX.

 

[dwebb66]

'More than my first house' or 'if you have to ask...'

 

[Festerfeet]

Too much for a car, but I have been more fortunate than I probably deserve and live in a very polluted city. I would rather be part of the solution rather than problem and because of my good fortune I can do that. The great news is that Tesla will be building a much more affordable model in the next couple of years.

 

[hdnyc]

jokingly/seriously tell them, "that's what Google is for!"

 

[AB4EJ]

jokingly/seriously tell them, "that's what Google is for!"

Best idea I have heard so far. +1.

 

[X Fan]

or tesla.com......

 

[GottaGetRidOfICE]

I don't have mine yet, but I've been asked...

One response is "I'm doing penance for years of owning Range Rovers."
What I usually say is that it's difficult to figure out, with tax credits, much cheaper 'fuel" and maintenance, safety, no sales tax (in NJ), etc., so I figure it's actually cheaper than our Range Rover.

It's a bit like when people find out that our son goes to Yale. We're in an affluent town, so most people are just happy for him and don't question the cost. Some do and raise their eyebrows. I tell them that it's a bargain and that I'd gladly pay double for the education he's getting. That said, we don't have stickers on our car and don't bring it up. I guess the X will be difficult to be as low-key about. I think I will put college stickers on the X.

 

[dhrivnak]

On the Roadster I say cheaper than a Porsche turbo or a Farri 550 but it will out accelerate and handle both of them.

 

[boofagle]

I was taught to never ask someone how much a major purchase cost

I was raised like that too. I've been asked a lot about my house and although I don't like answering it, like others have said, anyone can go on Zillow and see what you paid for a house or tesla.com/news sites to see how much an X or S costs. There's really no point in not answering those types of questions anymore. Don't be embarrassed. If you have the income to afford it then it's only up to you to justify the cost. Personally, I still don't ask people.

 

[bonnie]

Normally I wouldn't share what I paid for something, but in this case, most people are asking because they're interested & thinking of the possibility of owning an EV. So I answer the question.

Much like others here, I give the base price (and say 'it starts at ...'). I usually will add that it's FAR more than I ever thought I'd pay for a vehicle and I have zero regrets and would do it again. That's my launching pad into talking about the benefits of driving an EV.

 

[digicool]

I wonder if the monthly payment number might sound better than the sticker price.

 

[loganintx]

I've had this conversation with my wife and I just told her not to give out any specific numbers. I live in a small neighborhood where the family income probably ranges from $60k to $200k and also includes some retired folks. The Home values when purchased new in 2003-2005 ranged from $190 - $250k and are now worth $325k - $400k a decade+ later. My neighbors don't need to know that it's a $100k+ car just that it's a nice car that they are welcome to ride in and maybe even drive a bit. The current nicest car in my neighborhood probably costs $70k new and the average current car value is probably around $25k or less.(picture 5+ year old minivans and Honda's) My wife and I both have nice jobs and a few other investments that net us some spending money and I've chosen to spend some of it on a Model X

 

[cdub]

I wonder if the monthly payment number might sound better than the sticker price.

The monthly payment is still a lot of money... not sure that'd be any different. I'm not a big fan of monthly payments and debt anyways.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

I tell them it's cheaper than sending our kids off to the Middle East to fight for oil. That usually shuts them down really fast. If it doesn't, I tell them to check out any VA hospital over the holiday and then ask them if they would pay more for an American made car fueled on American made energy.

 

[digicool]

The way I justified the Model X to my wife is by saying how it would cost only $20K over a comparable luxury 7 seater ICE SUV purchase and will likely amortize the same way the said ICE SUV over 8 years when gas and maintenance are factored in. Back then, I was thinking Model X to cost < $100K net. So in reality it is really not "that" different from buying a loaded Audi Q7 or top end BMW X5. Around where I live we have several tons of those on the road.

I'm not a big fan of monthly payments and debt anyways.

I'm not a big fan of paying 6 figures for cars anyways. The ONLY reason I am making an exemption to this is because this is an EV and hi-tech gadget.